PARIS: Lahore has been designated on Wednesday as a member of UNESCO’s Creative Cities Network (UCCN) along-with 65 other cities of the world.
Less than a year after the head of the UNESCO City of Literature Heidelberg informed about Lahore’s suitability for the program at the Lahore Literary Festival, the UNESCO Creative Cities Network has added Lahore to its creative cities in literature in recognition of their efforts to place creativity and the creative economy at the core of their urban development plans to make cities safe, resilient, inclusive and sustainable and in line with the United Nations 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development.
Unesco Director-General Audrey Azoulay who said this step would favour ‘political and social innovation’ and would be particularly important for the youth.
He said that Lahore’s designation as the City of Literature would boost Lahore’s cultural importance around the world, attract internationally acclaimed global literary figures to Pakistan and would greatly help in improving Pakistan’s soft image and promoting tourism in the country.
Last year in November, Pakistan’s first independent nomination, the ‘Suri Jagek’ tradition practised by the indigenous Kalasha people, had been approved by the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation (UNESCO) for inclusion in that year’s list of Intangible Cultural Heritage (ICH).
