In 2004, Edinburgh was the first city to join the UNESCO Creative Cities network.  There are currently 25 cities appointed in seven thematic areas, as listed below.

The UNESCO Creative Cities titles are permanent, non-competitive designations intended to recognise:

• Past - a strong cultural heritage
• Present - vibrant and diverse contemporary cultural scene
• Future - aspirations and vision to develop cultural potential 

The Creative Cities will work together, in particular with cities in their own creative area, to:

• Highlight each city's cultural assets
• Share knowledge within the network
• Build local capacity and train local creative participants in business skills
• Promote diverse cultural products
• Cultivate innovation through exchange of experience and expertise
• Make creativity an essential element of economic and social development

UNESCO Cities of Design

Find out more about the current Cities of Design: Berlin, Buenos Aires, Kobe, Montreal, Nagoya, Shenzhen, Shanghai and Seoul.

 

UNESCO Cities of Folk Art

Find out more about the current Cities of Folk Art: Aswan, Icheon, Kanazawa and Santa Fe.

 

UNESCO Cities of Literature

Find out more about the current Cities of Literature: Edinburgh, Melbourne, Iowa City and Dublin.

 

UNESCO Cities of Media Arts

Find out more about the current City of Media Arts: Lyon.

 

UNESCO Cities of Music

Find out more about the current Cities of Music: Bologna, Gent, Glasgow and Seville.

 

UNESCO City of Film

Find out more about the current City of Film: Bradford.

 

UNESCO Cities of Gastronomy

Find out more about the current Cities of Gastronomy: Chengdu, Ostersund and Popayan.