Srinagar city of the Union Territory of Jammu and Kashmir has joined the UNESCO Creative Cities Network 2021, under the Crafts and Folk Arts category on November 8, 2021.

The result was announced on the official website of UNESCO wherein 49 cities have joined this coveted list. The exercise for the UNESCO nomination was started by Jammu & Kashmir in 2018, however, the nomination was not accepted then.

The UNESCO Creative Cities Network (UCCN) is a project of UNESCO launched in 2004 to promote cooperation among cities which recognized creativity as a major factor in their urban development. As of 2017, there are 180 cities from 72 countries in the network.

The nomination by UNESCO is a global recognition of the artisans and weavers of J&K. This a great recognition of the vitality of the arts and crafts sector in Srinagar,

Which other Indian cities have been recognized under UNESCO Creative Cities Network?

Srinagar joins Varanasi and Chennai - UNESCO Cities of music; Jaipur - UNESCO city of crafts and folk arts; Mumbai - UNESCO city of film and Hyderabad - UNESCO City of gastronomy.

Total number of cities in the network
With the inclusion of 49 new cities this year, total numbers of cities in this network stands at 295 from across 90 countries. These cities have been included to the list as they invest in culture & creativity like crafts & folk art, film, design, literature, gastronomy, music and media arts, in order to advance sustainable urban development.

Significance of inclusion in UCCN
By joining UCCN, cities commit for sharing their best practices and developing partnerships among public sectors, private sectors and civil society for strengthening the creation, production and distribution of cultural activities, goods & services. Cities also pledge for developing hubs of creativity & innovation.