Port Louis is the first city in Eastern Africa to join the league of UNESCO Creative Cities Network (UCCN), following the designation by UNESCO Director-General Audrey Azoulay, in recognition of its commitment to placing culture and creativity at the heart of its development, as well as its dedication to foster knowledge sharing and good practices.
It should be highlighted that the 295 cities that currently make up this network cover seven creative fields namely, Crafts and Folk Arts, Media Arts, Film, Design, Gastronomy, Literature and Music.
Being among the 49 newly named creative cities, the Mauritian capital, Port-Louis city has joined the Category of Creative City of Music. Through a rigorous application process, the UNESCO Regional Office of Eastern Africa supported Mauritius.
The Economic Development Board was the initiator of this project following consultations made with private sector stakeholders in December 2020. A technical committee was co-chaired by Ministry of Arts and Cultural Heritage and the Economic Development Board for the preparation and submission of the application to UNESCO. The preparatory works were completed with the support of the City Council of Port Louis, the Ministry of Finance, Economic Planning and Development, as well as the Ministry of Local Government and Disaster Risk Management.
The achievement is principally based on the actions implemented in the fields of creative arts and music, during the past three years as well as a detailed action plan submitted for implementation spanning over the next four years.
This recognition will certainly create further dynamism and opportunities to local artists and develop the field of creative art as a new engine for economic growth.
It should be noted that the UNESCO Creative Cities Network was created in 2004 to promote cooperation with and among cities that have identified creativity as a strategic factor for sustainable urban development.
