Varanasi and Jaipur make it to UNESCO’s Creative City Network

First time 2 Indian cities have been selected in UNESCO's Creative City Network.Varanasi and Jaipur, selected as the City of Craft and City of Music respectively.

About Creative Cities Network.
-  Created in 2004.
- Aim: to promote cooperation with and among cities which have identified creativity as a strategic factor for sustainable urban development.
- 69 cities are members of this network.
- Objective of the members: placing creativity and cultural industries at the heart of their development plans at the local level and cooperating actively at the international level.
- The Network covers seven creative fields: Crafts and Folk Arts, Media Arts, Film, Design, Gastronomy, Literature and Music.
The UNESCO Creative Cities Network aims to:
• strengthen international cooperation between cities that have recognized creativity as a
strategic factor of their sustainable development;
• stimulate and enhance initiatives led by member cities to make creativity an essential
component of urban development, notably through partnerships involving the public and
private sectors and civil society.
• strengthen the creation, production, distribution and dissemination of cultural activities, goods and services;
• develop hubs of creativity and innovation and broaden opportunities for creators and
professionals in the cultural sector;
• improve access to and participation in cultural life as well as the enjoyment of cultural goods
and services, notably for marginalized or vulnerable groups and individuals;
• fully integrate culture and creativity into local development strategies and plans.