Gwalior In MP And Kerala's Kozhikode Are New Entrants In UNESCO Creative Cities

Two Indian cities have featured on the list of UNESCO Creative Cities in two different categories. Madhya Pradesh's Gwalior and Kozhikode in Kerala made it to the list.

Gwalior and Kozhikode now UNESCO creative cities.

Source : Getty Images

Two Indian cities, Gwalior and Kozhikode, have made it to the list of UNESCO Creative Cities on World Cities Day, the UN agency said on Tuesday. Sharing the news, the Union Minister for Culture and Tourism called this a moment of pride for the country. Madhya Pradesh's Gwalior has been categorised as the 'City of Music' while Kozhikode in Kerala has been bestowed with the stage 'City of Literature'.

"A proud moment for India. Kozhikode in Kerala has been designated as the UNESCO ‘City of Literature’ and Gwalior as the ‘City of Music’ in the latest @UNESCO List of Creative Cities Network," the minister said in a post on X, formerly Twitter.

"These cities get acknowledged & recognition for their strong commitment to harnessing culture and creativity. Congratulations to all stakeholders!" he added.

A proud moment for India 🇮🇳

Kozhikode in Kerala has been designated as the UNESCO ‘City of Literature’ and Gwalior as the ‘City of Music’ in the latest @UNESCO List of Creative Cities Network.

These cities get acknowledged & recognition for their strong commitment to… pic.twitter.com/XCa7da0lv1

— G Kishan Reddy (@kishanreddybjp) November 1, 2023

A total of 55 cities have joined the UNESCO Creative Cities Network (UCCN), an official press release of the UN agency said. It added that the new cities were acknowledged for their strong commitment to "harnessing culture and creativity as part of their development strategies, and displaying innovative practices in human-centred urban planning."

"With the latest additions, the Network now counts 350 cities in more than one hundred countries, representing seven creative fields: Crafts and Folk Art, Design, Film, Gastronomy, Literature, Media Arts and Music," the statement read.

Here are the cities that made it to the list: 

1. Asaba – Film 
2. Ashgabat – Design 
3. Banja Luka – Music 
4. Battambang – Gastronomy  
5. Bissau – Music 
6. Bolzano – Music 
7. Bremen – Literature  
8. Buffalo City – Literature 
9. Bukhara – Crafts and Folk Art 
10. Bydgoszcz – Music  
11. Caen – Media Arts 
12. Caracas – Music  
13. Casablanca – Media Arts 
14. Castelo Branco – Crafts and Folk Art 
15. Cetinje – Design  
16. Chaozhou – Gastronomy 
17. Chiang Rai – Design 
18. Chongqing – Design  
19. Concepción – Music 
20. Da Lat – Music 
21. Fribourg – Gastronomy  
22. Gangneung – Gastronomy 
23. Granada[1] – Design  
24. Gwalior – Music  
25. Herakleion – Gastronomy  
26. Hobart – Literature  
27. Hoi An – Crafts and Folk Art 
28. Iasi – Literature  
29. Iloilo City – Gastronomy 
30. Ipoh – Music  
31. Kathmandu – Film 
32. Kozhikode – Literature 
33. Kutaisi – Literature  
34. Mexicali – Music  
35. Montecristi – Crafts and Folk Art 
36. Montreux – Music 
37. Nkongsamba – Gastronomy 
38. Novi Sad – Media Arts 
39. Okayama – Literature 
40. Ouarzazate – Film  
41. Oulu – Media Arts 
42. Penedo – Film  
43. Rio de Janeiro – Literature 
44. Şanlıurfa – Music  
45. Suphanburi – Music  
46. Surakarta – Crafts and Folk Art 
47. Taif – Literature  
48. Toulouse – Music 
49. Tukums – Literature 
50. Ulaanbaatar – Crafts and Folk Art 
51. Umngeni Howick – Crafts and Folk Art 
52. Valencia – Design 
53. Varaždin – Music 
54. Veliky Novgorod – Music 
55. Vicente Lopez – Film