(From L) Shenzhen Party chief Wang Rong, Davidson L. Hepburn, president of the General Conference of UNESCO, Zhang Xinsheng, president of China Education Association For International Exchange, Galia Saouma-Forero, director of the Division of Cultural Expressions and Creative Industries of UNESCO, and Shenzhen Mayor Xu Qin at the opening ceremony of the UNESCO Creative Cities Network conference in Shenzhen yesterday.
A four-day UNESCO Creative Cities Network conference opened yesterday in the InterContinental Shenzhen hotel, drawing together about 500 industry insiders, scholars and government officials from 23 cities in 17 countries to share creative ideas.
The 2010 Shenzhen Conference is the first UNESCO Creative Cities Network meeting to be held in a developing country and the first in Asia.
Participants and visitors will learn most advanced and developed ideas and designs during the conference, Davidson L. Hepburn, president of UNESCO General Conference, told the opening ceremony. The conference features keynote speeches, panel discussions and open discussions about creative ideas and experiences.
The conference also provides a platform for members of the network to exchange their ideas and strategies, Hepburn said.
Galia Saouma-Forero, director of the Division of Cultural Expressions and Creative Industries of UNESCO, said Shenzhen, which became the first Chinese city to be endorsed as a City of Design by UNESCO in 2008, has accomplished a list of achievements in economic, cultural and creative development.
Shenzhen had become one of the most attractive places for active Chinese artists, said Shenzhen Party chief Wang Rong.
We feel honored that UNESCO is holding this conference in Shenzhen, Wang said. In the past three decades, Shenzhen had undergone tremendous changes, including in the cultural industry and the environment, he said.
During the conference, participants and visitors will be treated to cutting-edge ideas on development in the fields of literature, film, music, craft and folk art, design, media arts and gastronomy.
There are 27 cities from 17 countries in the UNESCO Creative Cities Network, which has convened annually since 2008.
