4 Iranian Cities Now on UNESCO’s List of Global Creative Cities

By IFP Editorial Staff

A Kurdish woman playing the traditional instrument Daf in the city of Sanandaj, which has been picked as a global creative city in music / Photo by Tasnim

The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) has added two more Iranian cities to the network of the world’s creative cities.

After UNESCO’s biennial reviews, the cities of Sanandaj (for its music) and Bandar Abbas (for its handicrafts) joined the network of global creative cities. Rasht (for its food) and Isfahan (for its handicrafts) had already joined the network.

Bandar Abbas and Sanandaj have been picked due to their creativity in the fields of handicrafts and music respectively, said Hojjatollah Ayoubi, the secretary general of UNESCO’s Iran National Commission.

“Joining the network of creative cities is a fresh opportunity for these cities to draw on global experiences and better introduce what they have to the world,” Ayoubi noted.

Photo of a woman in the city of Bandar Abbas in southern Iran, making a special type of handicraft called khoos-doozi. The city has been picked by the UNESCO as a global creative city in the field of handicrafts / Photo by Fars News Agency

“One of the important duties of UNESCO’s national commissions in all countries is to tap into all existing potentialities at this international organization in favour of that country in order to secure national interests,” he added.

“One of the projects welcomed at UNESCO over the past few years is joining the network of creative cities,” the official noted.

“There are very few countries which manage to present complete cases in this regard and upgrade their infrastructure to a level which will make them known as a global creative city, and these cities can introduce what they have better, and if this happens, we will see an increase in the number of trips and promotion of tourism and drawing on global experiences and transferring one’s experiences to other countries,” he said.

He noted many Iranian cities have what it takes to become global in numerous areas.

Following the inscription, Iranian Foreign Ministry Spokesman Seyyed Abbas Mousavi tweeted that the two cities’ joining the global network of creative cities will provide them with an opportunity to learn from global experiences and further introduce what they have to the world.