November 3, 2023 – The city of Varazdin is the first Croatian city that can boast the title of UNESCO creative city in the field of music. On World Cities Day, October 31, 2023, the Director General of UNESCO, Audrey Azoulay, announced the new cities that have joined the UNESCO Creative Cities Network, among which Varaždin was listed as a creative city of music.
As the Croatian Ministry of Culture states, by joining the Creative Cities Network, Varaždin has confirmed its willingness to share best practices and exchange experiences, develop partnerships that promote creativity and cultural industries, strengthen participation in cultural life and integrate culture in the city’s development plans, especially for music. The very process of Varaždin’s application for membership in the Creative Cities Network was the result of a participatory process that included relevant professional stakeholders and partners and the local community with the support of the Croatian Commission for UNESCO at the Ministry of Culture and Media.
UNESCO Creative Cities Network
The UNESCO Creative Cities Network (UCCN) was founded in 2004 with the aim of strengthening international cooperation between cities around the world that invest in culture and creativity as accelerators of various aspects of sustainable development.
The network covers seven creative fields: crafts and traditional arts, design, film, gastronomy, literature, media arts and music. Today, urban areas are the main place for the development of new strategies, policies and initiatives whose goal is to make culture and creativity the driving force of sustainable development and renewal of cities by stimulating growth and innovation and promoting social cohesion, the well-being of citizens and intercultural dialogue. In this way, cities respond to the main challenges they face, such as the economic crisis, environmental impacts, demographic growth and social tensions.
The mere inclusion of the city of Varaždin in this prestigious UNESCO World Creative Cities Network will be an incentive for further promotion of creativity and innovation in the musical arts, as well as culture in a broader sense.
