Shenzhen is building a strong innovative cultural city based on support from UNESCO and cooperation with other countries, Shenzhen Mayor Xu Qin told a welcome banquet held yesterday (Dec 6) for the UNESCO Creative Cities Network conference.
Davidson L. Hepburn, president of the 35th session of the General Conference of the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO), address the inauguration ceremony of the UNESCO Creative Cities Network 2010 Shenzhen International Conference in Shenzhen, south China's Guangdong Province, Dec. 7, 2010. A series of activities such dialogues and exhibitions will be held during the conference. The Creative Cities Network connects cities who want to share experience, ideas and best practices for culture, social and economic developments worldwide. The network is divided into seven categories including literature, film, music, carfts and folk art, design, media arts, and gastronomy. (Xinhua/Wang Haoming)The city expects the four-day conference to further enhance its cultural and design cooperation and exchange with participating countries, companies and institutions, Xu said.
Shenzhen was the first Chinese city to be listed by UNESCO as a "City of Design" and is now home to a number of popular innovative cultural enterprises, including Huaqiang Technology and Tencent Holdings, Xu said.
The event has provided a platform for designers and those with innovative ideas to exchange views and learn from each other, said Frank Ragano, CEO of the Parallel Studios in Santa Fe, New Mexico, the United States.
"Shenzhen is a beautiful city and I like its industrial design and furniture design ... China is the next place of high design," said Ragano, who will give a presentation on new media arts tomorrow at the Seaview O<2022>City Hotel Shenzhen in Nanshan District. New media arts include video, audio, web and gaming arts.
Industry insiders, scholars and government officials from 24 cities in the UNESCO Creative Cities Network have gathered in Shenzhen for the conference, which features keynote speeches, panel discussions on UNESCO creative cities parallel workshops and open discussions on a series of themes on design and creativity.
The UNESCO Creative Cities Network has convened annually since 2008. The 2010 Shenzhen Conference is the first UNESCO Creative Cities Network meeting held in a developing country.
