Mumbai member of UNESCO creative cities network for film, Hyderabad for gastronomy

UNESCO has designated Mumbai as a member of UNESCO Creative Cities Network (UCCN) in the field of Film, and Hyderabad in the field of Gastronomy.

Culture Minister Prahlad Singh Patel has congratulated the people of Mumbai and Hyderabad for this unique distinction, an official release said on Friday.

UCCN, created in 2004, is a network of cities which are thriving, active centres of cultural activities in their respective countries. The UNESCO Creative Cities Network now counts a total of 246 cities.

The member cities that form part of the network come from all continents and regions with different income levels and populations.

The release said that they work together towards a common mission - placing creativity and the creative economy at the core of their urban development plans to make cities safe, resilient, inclusive and sustainable in line with the United Nations 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development.

The 7 categories for recognition under UCCN are: crafts and folk arts, design, film, gastronomy, music, media arts and literature.

Three Indian cities have been earlier recognised as members of UCCN - Jaipur (Crafts and Folk Arts) in 2015, Varanasi (Creative city of Music) in 2015 and Chennai (Creative city of Music) in 2017.

Culture ministry is the nodal ministry for all matters in UNESCO relating to culture.