Cebu City hopeful to get Unesco’s ‘creative city’ badge

THE creative community in Cebu is anticipating the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization’s (Unesco) decision on the city’s bid to become a creative city before the year ends.

Patricia Kyle Mendoza, president of Matic Hub, said they had already submitted Cebu’s application to Unesco, a specialized agency of the United Nations based in Paris.

“We will know by end of this year. Whether we get this designation or not, we will still continue with the road mapping,” she said.

Matic Hub is an enabling space for Cebu’s creative sector.

Part of the long-term plan for Cebu’s creative industry is the proposed creation of a design museum, to be dubbed as Newd, whose location is yet to be identified.

In a recent interview, Butch Carungay, Matic board member, also said the museum, which will feature furniture, fashion, painting and sculpture, among others, will soon serve as a converging point for Cebu’s creative players.

He said whether or not Cebu gets the Unesco designation this year or in the next round in 2021, the bid team has agreed to pursue the sector’s action plan.

“We’re hoping we get it,” he said.

Carungay noted Cebu has sought the Unesco classification as a creative city under the design category, the highest designation among the seven categories.

Member cities of Unesco’s Creative Cities Network represent seven creative fields, including design, film, literature, media arts, gastronomy, crafts and folk art and music.

Carungay admitted that Cebu’s creative industry still needs to do a lot of work especially in terms of infrastructure.

For instance, he cited that Singapore took five years to apply for its bid as a creative city while it only took two months for Cebu to prepare for the Unesco application, he said.

Meanwhile, the 2019 Cebu Design Week is slated on September 8 to 15, 2019, where Cebu’s creative players converge.

The celebration aims to bridge the disparate creative fields and industries through events that will feature designs, arts and culture.

It is also a good opportunity for local designers to gather and collaborate.

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