By DayakDaily Team
KUCHING, Aug 26: Kuching South City Council (MBKS) Mayor Dato Wee Hong Seng proudly showcased Kuching’s success story as Malaysia’s first UNESCO Creative City of Gastronomy during the Creative Cities Session at the 2025 Culture and Creativity–Driven Sustainable Urban Development Forum in Wuhan.
The session, held at D+M Creative Haus by AG, brought together 11 UNESCO Creative Cities from China—Beijing, Changsha, Chongqing, Hangzhou, Jingdezhen, Macao, Nanjing, Qingdao, Suzhou, Weifang, and Wuhan—along with representatives from Italy, Qatar, Slovenia, Egypt, and Indonesia.
It was moderated by Denise Bax, secretary of the UNESCO Creative Cities Network, and Qianbo Ni, project officer of the UNESCO Creative Cities Network Secretariat.
In his presentation, Wee highlighted Kuching’s achievements since its UNESCO designation in 2021, noting how the city has used gastronomy to drive creativity, sustainability, and community pride.
He pointed to initiatives such as food festivals, chef exchanges, community workshops, and digital campaigns that have raised Kuching’s profile as a global gastronomy hub.
Wee also announced Kuching’s plan to bid for the UNESCO Gastronomy Cluster Conference in 2026, which will further cement the city’s position as a leader in the global gastronomy network.
“Being a UNESCO Creative City of Gastronomy is more than a title. It is a story we are writing together—one festival, one chef exchange, and one bowl of Mee Kolok at a time. Today, I can proudly say that everyone is talking about Kuching, where culture is served on a plate,” said Wee.
The mayor’s presentation reinforced Kuching’s growing role as a cultural and creative hub, while contributing to UNESCO’s global vision of culture-driven sustainable urban development and international collaboration. — DayakDaily
