By DayakDaily Team
KUCHING, June 26: Kuching took the global spotlight at the XVII Unesco Creative Cities Network (UCCN) Annual Conference in France as Kuching South City Council (MBKS) mayor Dato Wee Hong Seng showcased the city’s unique integration of gastronomy, heritage, and sustainability in driving community progress.
According to a press release, Wee represented Kuching and Malaysia at the prestigious XVII Unesco Creative Cities Network (UCCN) Annual Conference, held from June 24 to 28, 2025, in Enghien-les-Bains, France.
Themed around cultural innovation and sustainability, this annual gathering brought together over 350 member cities from 100 countries across seven creative fields.
Kuching, designated as Malaysia’s first UNESCO Creative City of Gastronomy in 2021, joined the global network of Creative Cities to share best practices in using culture and creativity as key enablers for sustainable urban development.
Since its designation, Kuching has led various community-based initiatives that integrate gastronomy, heritage, and sustainability.
As one of the key highlights of the conference, Wee was invited to present during the Mayors’ Forum, a high-level session attended by 95 mayors and deputy mayors from across the globe.
In his presentation entitled ‘From Braga to Borneo: Implementing the Braga Manifesto through Gastronomy and Culture in Support of the Mondiacult 2025 Agenda’, Wee highlighted Kuching’s commitment to embedding cultural policy into local governance, social inclusion, and economic empowerment.
“This international platform provided Kuching the privilege to showcase how a city in Borneo has translated the Braga Manifesto and Mondiacult 2025 agenda into tangible community-based programmes that preserve heritage while driving forward a sustainable, inclusive future,” Wee was quoted as saying.
The Mayor’s participation reaffirmed Kuching’s commitment to UNESCO’s vision of culture as a global public good and its role in the post-2030 global development agenda.
The conference also provided valuable opportunities for strategic collaboration with other member cities across gastronomy, crafts and folk arts, design, literature and other creative sectors. — DayakDaily
