UNESCO Creative Cities Network XIV Annual Conference

ByUnited Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization

UNESCO Creative Cities Network XIV Annual Conference

📅 18-22 July 2022 🕑10:00 AM – 6:00 PM
Santos, Brazil

The XIV Annual Conference of the UNESCO Creative Cities Network (UCCN) will be held in Santos, Brazil, from 18 to 22 July 2022. The Conference will bring together representatives of the cultural and creative sectors and mayors of UCCN member cities, in order to promote sustainable development through culture and creativity.

Organized by UNESCO in collaboration with the city of Santos, a UNESCO Creative City of Film since 2015, the 2022 UCCN Annual Conference will be an opportunity to share innovative ideas and projects and to create new synergies around the theme “Creativity, the path to equality”.

Under the theme “Creativity, Path to Equality”, the role of creativity as a driving force for building inclusive and equal societies will be highlighted over the course of diverse sessions and workshops of the event.

Member cities will be invited to highlight their respective experiences and good practices and illustrate the various ways in which cultural and creative industries are leveraged at the local level and through intercity collaboration to revitalize urban areas, from historical centers to urban surroundings. Participants of the Annual Conference will have the opportunity to exchange their views, experiences, and initiatives on creating enabling conditions for more inclusive and equal cities, in line with UNESCO’s global priorities.

During the pandemic, cities worldwide have been on the frontline to respond to the crisis, highlighting their pivotal role in tackling contemporary challenges, but also in fulfilling the various opportunities that arise from their positioning as strategic platforms for innovation and creativity. This unprecedented context has opened a renewed dialogue regarding the substantial contribution of cultural and creative industries to recovery and development at both the local and global scales. In people-centered urban development, citizens represent a key and valuable resource for creativity and innovation. Therefore, it is of primary importance to nurture inclusive urban environments, so as to tackle different contemporary and emerging challenges with creative and sustainable solutions.