• Kerala's Kozhikode city acclaimed as India’s first ‘City of Literature’ by Unesco

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    Kerala's Kozhikode city acclaimed as India’s first ‘City of Literature’ by Unesco

    Kozhikode, Kerala, was the first city in India to be listed in the Unesco Creative Cities Network...


    Digital Desk: On Tuesday, the city of Kozhikode in Kerala was formally proclaimed as a Unesco City of Literature. Kozhikode is the first city in India to win this honour.


    The Kozhikode Corporation was formally recognised by Unesco as one of 55 newly designated innovative towns.


    Kozhikode Corporation Mayor Beena Philip expressed her delight at the honour, underlining that the title of "City of Literature" is a great recognition of the city's distinction in the sectors of literature and media. She attributed the corporation's persistent efforts over the last two years to the joint efforts of numerous personnel.


    The mayor went on to say that now that the city has been designated as a city of literature, the administration wants to launch other literary-related projects.


    Kozhikode has a history of setting up literary events such as the Kerala Literature Festival. On Tuesday, 55 cities joined the Unesco Creative Cities Network (UCCN) after being designated by Unesco Director-General Audrey Azoulay. 


    New cities were recognised for their great dedication to incorporating culture and creativity into their development strategies, as well as for demonstrating new practices in human-centred urban planning.


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    The newly recognised Creative Cities have been invited to attend the 2024 UCCN Annual Conference in Portugal, which will be held under the subject "Bringing Youth to the Table for the Next Decade."


    The Network presently encompasses 350 cities in over 100 countries, covering seven creative fields: crafts and folk art, design, film, gastronomy, literature, media arts, and music.


    Gwalior in Madhya Pradesh, India, has been included in the Creative Cities Network in the field of music.


    The newly selected cities will engage with network members to increase their resilience in the face of evolving risks such as climate change, rising inequality, and rapid urbanisation, with urban regions expected to house 68% of the world's population by 2050.