By Ashley Sim
KUCHING, July 13: The ‘Unesco Creative Cities Network (UCCN) Kuching Open Forum’ held today at the Kuching South City Council (MBKS) Community Hall here has gotten excellent feedback from the city’s creative stakeholders, who identified and proposed solutions to major issues faced in Sarawak.
According to MBKS mayor Dato Wee Hong Seng, the UCCN Kuching aims to grow and develop Kuching’s creative economy in gastronomy as well as in the other six creative fields of crafts and folk art, design, film, literature, media arts, and music.
“We have an action plan, which is part of our application to be designated.
“We have committed to a number of programmes and activities during our first four years of designation, all of which will benefit the people of Kuching.
“But we can’t do it on our own. The Council and UCCN Kuching have roles to play, but this project is much larger,” he stated in his speech prior to the start of the ‘UCCN Kuching Open Forum’.
Wee mentioned that the project brings together all of the city’s gastronomic and creative players.
“That is why we have called you here today. We want to hear from you, the people that drive our city.
“We want you to help shape this programme by sharing your thoughts and ideas. We want you to tell us how we can best support you.
“We want you to meet each other and form new friendships. You are Kuching’s food and creative communities, and it’s wonderful to see so many of you here today,” he told the ‘UCCN Kuching Open Forum’ participants.
The mayor went on to say that in 2017, the Creative Cities of Gastronomy signed an agreement outlining how the 49 cities from South America to Australia wanted to collaborate, share experiences, build collaborative projects, and promote one another.
“This agreement established 11 priority areas of collaboration, which are as follows: Academic/Scientific; Communications; Creative Economy; Cultural Identity; Economic Development; Education; Food Security and Food Justice; Policies; Sustainability; Tourism; and Traditional Knowledge.
“This agreement provided a variety of ideas for how the cities of gastronomy could collaborate to improve each of these areas through creativity and innovation,” he explained.
Furthermore, Wee also encouraged participants to share their perspectives on Kuching’s strengths and challenges, as well as ideas on how to move forward as a city as a whole. — DayakDaily
