Macao Participates in UCCN Annual Meeting in Poland

The 12^th UNESCO Creative Cities Network Annual Meeting was held in Krakow and Katowice, Poland, Creative Cities of Literature and Music, respectively, from 12^th to 15^th June. The Director of Macao Government Tourism Office (MGTO), and Macao SAR focal point of the UNESCO Creative Cities Network (UCCN), Maria Helena de Senna Fernandes, represented Macao in its first UCCN meeting, during which she presented the city's strategic thinking as a Creative City of Gastronomy. Ahead of the meeting, she also inked a memorandum committing the city to a research project concerning the gastronomic cultural history of the Silk Road.

The memorandum - signed by nine Creative Cities of Gastronomy - is one of the first multilateral collaborative initiatives Macao has entered into with other member cities in the gastronomy field.

160 network member cities gather to define future development

Over 370 delegates attended the annual meeting, including mayors, experts, academics, artists and other stakeholders from the government and private sector, representing 160 UCCN member cities from 64 countries, in the seven creative fields covered by the network; namely, film, music, literature, media arts, design, gastronomy, crafts and folk art.

The theme of this year's meeting - 'Creative Crossroads' - celebrates the collaborative and creative spirit as drivers for sustainable urban development that lie at the core of the network. Delegates gathered at the annual meeting held discussions, shared best practices, and agreed on future collaboration and priorities for the coming year. High on the agenda during plenary and creative fields working sessions was how member cities' initiatives could fulfill and further implement the United Nations' 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development.

MGTO presents Macao's Creative City of Gastronomy initiatives

On 13^th June, Macao, one of the eight newly designated UNESCO Creative Cities of Gastronomy in 2017, introduced to its peers the initiatives and plans devised for Macao in a gastronomy subnetwork session. Director Senna Fernandes also briefed other member cities on Macao's Four-year Work Plan (2018-2021) and attended gastronomy group meetings together with representatives from 24 other Creative Cities of Gastronomy. The fruitful results of the gastronomy subnetwork sessions were shared at the UCCN General Assembly on 15^th June, together with other creative fields.

On 11^th June, Director Senna Fernandes signed a memorandum of agreement for the research project 'History of Food Culture-based Relations on the Silk Road' on behalf of Macao. The multilateral project is dedicated to studying and disseminating knowledge about the gastronomic history and culture of the Creative Cities of Gastronomy located along the old land and sea trade network.

Macao became one of the city partners of the research project given its unique history as a trading port along the Maritime Silk Road fully represented by its Macanese cuisine, as well as the city's participation in the Belt and Road initiative.

Italy to host next UCCN Annual Meeting

The 13^th UCCN Annual Meeting is slated to take place next year in the Creative City of Crafts and Folk Art of Fabriano, Italy. Meetings of the different creative fields will bring together city members at events such as the 'International Gastronomy Forum, Macao 2019'.

Created in 2004, the fast-growing network currently comprises 180 member cities from 72 countries in seven creative fields, including 26 cities in the area of gastronomy.