Representatives from Macao SAR and other Creative Cities from China at a UCCN Annual Meeting held in Sweden
The designation of “Macao, China” as a member city of UNESCO Creative Cities Network (UCCN) in the field of Gastronomy is set to bring new opportunities for the city to diversify the economy, with gastronomy as a driver to preserve Macao's cultural identity, while promoting a sustainable development and expanding its international cooperation.
Launched in 2004, the UNESCO Creative Cities Network was created to promote cooperation with and among cities that have identified creativity as a strategic factor for sustainable development as regards economic, social, cultural and environmental aspects. Aligned with UCCN’s mission and objectives, Macao expects the designation to bring a positive impact on the sustainable development of the city, via inheritance, creativity and exchange in the gastronomy field.
In terms of inheritance, the designation is set to endorse the global recognition of Macao‘s more than 400-year old culinary legacy, arousing interest among the young generation in gastronomy culture, especially in Macanese cuisine and providing favorable conditions for food traditions to continuously thrive.
As for the creativity aspect, the designation is expected to stimulate stakeholders in gastronomy and agents in other creative sectors to explore how culinary and other aspects of culture can fuse to diversify the economy. This will not only broaden the creative capacity in gastronomy but also enable Macao to collaborate with other UCCN members in different creative areas to experiment synergistic initiatives, such as gastronomy with films, music, design and more.
In terms of exchange, the network is expected to inspire and broaden Macao’s creative capacity in gastronomy and crosscutting initiatives by learning from member cities’ best practices and experiences, while fostering more opportunities for global cooperation with UCCN cities.
By becoming a member city of UCCN, Macao will be actively engaged in a series of activities conducted by Creative Cities of Gastronomy and other creative fields. Other Creative Cities of Gastronomy around the world include: Chengdu and Shunde (China), Belém and Florianopolis (Brazil), Popayán (Colombia), Rasht (Iran), Parma (Italy), Zahlé (Lebanon), Ensenada (Mexico), Bergen (Norway), Jeonju (South Korea), Tsuruoka (Japan), Dénia and Burgos (Spain), Östersund (Sweden), Phuket (Thailand), Gaziantep (Turkey), Tucson (USA), and this year, eight more cities have also been newly designated.
The Creative Cities Network covers seven creative fields: Crafts and Folk Art, Design, Film, Gastronomy, Literature, Music and Media Arts.