• Secretary for Social Affairs and Culture Alexis Tam acknowledges the valuable contributions of various entities
  • The second ‘Macao・Creative City of Gastronomy’ gets down to brass tacks at its annual work meeting

‘Macao・Creative City of Gastronomy’ Annual Work Meeting Advocates Greater Collaboration

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The ‘Macao・Creative City of Gastronomy’ annual work meeting - held on 13th August - was presided over by Secretary for Social Affairs and Culture Alexis Tam, who took the opportunity to express his appreciation of the valuable contributions of various entities. He also highlighted that Macao’s two glamorous calling cards - its inclusion of the Historic Centre of Macao on the World Heritage List, and designation as a UNESCO Creative City of Gastronomy - have bestowed worldwide recognition upon Macao in a valuable boon to the city’s destination branding.

In the future, he added, the city will continue to collaborate with various fields in the public and private sectors, and harness synergies with innovation and technology to raise Macao’s profile as a Creative City of Gastronomy. The meeting was attended by representatives of Macao Government Tourism Office (MGTO) and other government departments plus academic institutions, industry organisations and so forth.

Secretary Tam stated that with the Central Government’s enormous support, Macao, China was designated a member city of the UNESCO Creative Cities Network (UCCN) in the field of gastronomy on 1st November, 2017. The Creative Cities Network embraces seven creative fields comprising Gastronomy, Crafts and Folk Art, Design, Film, Literature, Music and Media Arts.

He believes that new possibilities can be explored via innovative technology, which, powered by creativity, can unlock greater potential for the city’s development. He remarked that more tasks and projects, including Art Macao, are underway this year, while more creative elements are required in the future to advance Macao’s sustainable development and echo the United Nation’s ‘2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development’.

Meanwhile, MGTO Director Senna Fernandes stated that in the second year following its designation, Macao now has the right to vote for host destination for annual conferences and evaluate applications to UCCN in the field of gastronomy. In addition, she said, preparations for construction of a Macanese cuisine database are in progress, with work currently being undertaken to collect family recipes before the ingenuity of past generations is lost forever.

The Institute for Tourism Studies also shared information on its upcoming launch of Master’s programmes in the catering field, while the Education and Youth Affairs Bureau presented news of a project to build an activity centre for vocational and technical education. Equipped with an international culinary zone, the Centre is slated for service in the fourth quarter of 2020.

Secretary Tam believes that the foregoing initiatives will provide even more comprehensive and improved training programmes for catering professionals in tandem with the Macau University of Science and Technology and other tertiary institutions. In the future, through close co-operation across different fields and departments and with industry partners, and collaboration in preservation, creativity, education, training, food safety and other fields, all will work together to promote Macao’s status as a Creative City of Gastronomy, driving the growth and prosperity of Macao.