AN EXPANSION to the City of Film network has been welcomed in Bradford, which was granted the first such UNESCO designation five years ago.
UNESCO has announced that 28 cities joined the UNESCO Creative Cities Network as of yesterday, including three new film cities, which are Busan in the Republic of Korea, Galway in Ireland and Sofia in Bulgaria.
They bring the total of City of Film designations to five, including Sydney in Australia, which joined the network in 2010.
It follows a call for applications to be part of the Creative Cities Network and a total of 50 valid candidates.
Bradford City of Film director, David Wilson said: "I am delighted to welcome three new film cities to the network and look forward to building new fruitful relationships them in the coming years and the opportunity to share experiences around film education, film production and film exhibition."
Mr Wilson was in Galway at a film event when the city received the news from UNESCO.
He said: "I am thrilled that Galway has been designated as a UNESCO City of Film, a title truly befitting a city with such rich film credentials.
"Home to Ireland’s longest running film association and the Irish Film Board and with breathtaking locations there is a real buzz around all things film in the city. "
By joining the network, cities commit to collaborate and develop partnerships with a view to promoting creativity and cultural industries, to share best practices, to strengthen participation in cultural life, and to integrate culture in economic and social development plans.
The UNESCO Creative Cities Network now includes 69 cities that have identified culture and creativity as a strategic driver for sustainable urban development.
Bradford was the world's first UNESCO City of Film.
The permanent title is in recognition of Bradford as a world centre for film because of the city’s rich film heritage, its inspirational movie locations and its many celebrations of the moving image through the city’s annual film festivals.
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