UNESCO Cities of Music

In Port of Spain (POS) – the capital of Trinidad and Tobago – cultural difference, mixture and co-habitation infused and produced a rich melody of sounds unique in their rhythms and fusions. Alongside the first peoples, Africans, Indians, Chinese and Europeans, have all contributed to the diversity and the musical heritage of the city. This social history is acknowledged and the music celebrated in the annual Pan African Festival which pays homage to persons of African descent, in the Emancipation Day parade, the Obatala Festival of the Orisha faith, and in the Hosay Festival of the Muslim community of St. James. The resilience and vibrancy of the city is reflected in the annual Canboulay and Carnival too, and the innovativeness and musicianship of a people is evident in the annual Panorama steelband Festival. 

From the city’s multicultural heritage has emerged an outsized musical contribution for a geographically small place. POS is the heartbeat of the nation. There are many venues and locations across POS where in any given month you hear the sounds of traditional African drums, steel pan, calypso, spoken word performances, choral singing groups, carnival sound systems, the beating iron of rhythm sections and live concerts. 

Musical venues in POS are both open-air with the Savannah Grandstand, the St James Amphitheatre, Adam Smith Square and the numerous steelband Pan Yards, as well as enclosed spaces with the Beryl McBurnie Little Carib Theatre, the National Academy of the Performing Arts, Queen’s Hall, the Hasley Crawford Stadium and the many lounges and bars of the city and its suburbs of St James, Belmont and Woodbrook. 

Institutional support through programmes at the University of Trinidad and Tobago, the University of the West Indies and state agency MusicTT, sustain an eco system that feeds the creative and cultural fabric of POS. 

The future of POS, like its past, will be driven by its creative expressions. A new model of urban renewal for POS is proposed where creativity and culture generate employment, prosperity and innovation. This includes establishing Music Zones in historically relevant locations and Music Walks of Fame to honour the city’s musicians, pioneers and artists. A music museum in POS is another plan for the preservation and promotion of T&T′s indigenous music. 

From Panorama with the sweet melodies of the pannist musicians, to the infectiousness of tassa drumming, and the liberatory and sonic power of calypso, soca and all our music, POS is a UNESCO Creative City of Music because, like Havana, Kingston, and Santo Domingo (the other Creative Cities of Music in the Caribbean), music is the stitching that holds the city together. Music shapes us. It is the central element of our environment. It provides an original soundtrack for the moments and memories of this vibrant city. 

Music connects Port of Spain (POS) to the world. 

Port Louis, as a cosmopolitan capital city, is the showcase of Mauritius, the reflection of a mosaic of cultures and traditions which originated from all continents with a strong historical background and emerging modern elements. It is the place where all great events in the history of the country have taken place. The City is the birthplace of the historical, political, social and economic evolution of Mauritius.

The fusion of old and new is typical of many islands in the Indian Ocean.  Mauritius has a colourful past which is reflected in the various cultures, religions and traditions of its citizens.

During the period 1598 to 1710 when Dutch settled on the island, slaves were brought from African countries, particularly from Mozambique and Madagascar, for the main purpose of felling ebony trees and working on tobacco and sugar cane plantations. The economic foundation of the country was then developed as a sugarcane colony.

The island was later taken over by the French in 1715. Buildings were erected in the 18^th and early 19^th centuries by slaves, who produced bricks, lime, and also carried out wood and iron works. They did all the manual works to build up Port Louis, in terms of road and infrastructural development, under the leadership of Governor Mahé de Labourdonnais. The infrastructural legacy of slaves during the French settlement is reflected in the existing colonial buildings, like the Government House, Fort Adelaide, the Central Market and the military and civil hospitals.

Shortly after the British conquered the island in 1810,   slavery was abolished resulting in a drastic repercussion on the socio-economic and demographic fields. To counter the loss of manpower/labour force, Indian indentured labourers were employed to work in the sugar plantations. They came in large numbers and were of both Hindu and Muslim faith. They were later joined by some traders of Chinese origin. This eventually changed the fabric of the society.

This multiculturalism gave birth to a blend of artistic and musical form.  Sega music and dance emerged during the slavery epoch. Subsequently, the rural forms of music, like the Mauritian Bhojpuri songs and kawali, melted in the cultural fabric during the period of indentured labour and remained popular. Musicians in Mauritius are talented and, throughout the years, Mauritian music has evolved to international standards. For instance, the Geet Gawai, a pre-wedding ceremony of Bhojpuri speaking people, was listed on the Intangible Cultural Heritage List of UNESCO in 2016.

Promoting traditional folk music, encouraging contemporary music, building capacity especially in suburbs and providing platforms, act as a powerful tool to empower the youth while protecting them from social ills (Agenda 2063).

Music will enhance the discovery of other heritage treasures, thereby benefiting the City’s creative and heritage economy.  The City will collaborate with all stakeholders to achieve this goal (SDG 17).

The City Council of Port Louis implements projects at grassroot level, promoting social inclusion (SDGs 1,8) while partnering with Non-Governmental Organisations (NGOs), Civil Society Organisations (CSOs) and the private sector in line with SDG 17 and UN Agenda 2063.

Port Louis is home to a rich cultural scene. Visitors have access to cultural heritage sites, namely the Aapravasi Ghat (AGWHS) designated as the UNESCO World Heritage Site in 2006, and cultural landmarks such as the St Louis Cathedral, the Jummah Mosque/Masjid, the Sockalingum Meenatchee Ammen Temple (Kaylasson), the Western Cemetery and Chinatown.

In addition, the world-class assets of the city include the Company’s Garden (Jardin de la Compagnie) serving as a cultural musical platform for artists ; the Municipal Theatre, the Champ de Mars race course and the Natural History Museum.

Valledupar, is the corner of the Colombian Caribbean Region, located north of the Valle de río Cesar (Cesar’s river valley), between Sierra Nevada de Santa Marta, on the west, and the Serranía del Perijá (mountain range of Perijá), on the east. This zone, which sits on the margin of the rivers Cesar and Guatapurí, is distinguished from others by transforming its music into a cultural model. This accentuates the relationship of the inhabitants with their territory and the social dynamics. This is the origin of Vallenata Traditional Music, a harmonic cultural fusion derived from the spirit of three millennial cultures (Spanish, Indigenous, and African) and that was included in the 2015 list of Intangible Cultural Heritage, with an urgent safeguard requirement, as part of the UNESCO.

The history and sense of the town are expressed through four methods: Puya and Merengue, life, wellbeing, and overflowing joy; Son and Paseo, expression of sentiment and contemplation, wellbeing, and overflowing joy. Through the latter, vallenato becomes a vehicle to build the collective imagination and the participation for sustainable urban development, due to the location of the city as a musical and cultural symbol for the country.

Valledupar is music, the historical influence that it has also had from other Caribbean rhythms such as cumbia and bullerengue perfectly demonstrates it. Its rural zone has been a cradle for minstrels of vallenato for 4 generations.

The Festival of the Vallenato Legend Foundation, placed the great acordeon party as the greatest event of such genre, in 1968. Since then, and throughout several decades, Valledupar has been an attractive territory  for visitors from other regions and which bring other musical tendencies. This has allowed the diversification of music genres along with the surge of events such as:

• Earth of Composers of Patillal Festival
• Guitar and Tambo bands Vallenato Music Festival
• The Quinta KX Rock Festival
• Cultural Ethnic and Folcloric Encounter of Sierra Nevada (ethnic encounter)
• Bagpipes Encounter in the Village of Guatapurí
• Vallenato Festival of Children with Down Syndrome FIDES
• Feminine Vallenato Encounter

These festivals are conducted in partnership with public and private organizations.

Currently, Valledupar has an adequate number of cultural stages such as; plazoletas (small squares generally in parks), schools, and spaces capable of development and maximizing creative economic resources of the city. Over thirty three organizations are dedicated to the creation of cultural music for children, youth, and adults, including the vulnerable and displaced population. This sector has flourished around vallenata music, with the following schools:

• School of the Turco Gil
• The Music Academy Dinastía Romero
• The Municipal Administration School Leonardo Gómez

The private sector and the academy have also seen opportunities of continuous productivity resulting in the strengthening of the vallenato universe, supporting the artistic formation of old and new generations. A constant job that promotes the exposure of knowledge of such music genres, its instruments, and its influence on a national and international level.

The administration, has defined strategies from the impact they have in reaching the goals of the 2030 agenda as well as the base of culture and local identity, through which can be found programs that directly impact SDG 3 (good health and wellbeing), 4 (quality education), 8 (decent work and economic growth), 16 (peace, justice, and strong institutions), and SDG 11, 12, and 13, which strive for sustainable cities and communities, responsible consumption and production, and climate action.

As a Creative City of Music, Valledupar in the future:

The membership has allowed Valledupar to harness its musical diversity, understanding the importance it has for an integral development, confirming the acquired commitment on October 31st, 2019, as a creative city. Securing the search to preserve our music, identifying successful experience through training processes at the Leo Gómez, applying different methods such as: accordion, flute, guitar, caja (type of drum), guacharaca (percussion instrument), piano, percussion, strengthening the social fabric of our city through music, currently has more than 500 participants from different age groups, providing the opportunity in the rural and urban sector of the municipality, appointing gender equity and differential focus.

Land Acknowledgement:

We acknowledge that the land on which London gathers is the traditional territory of the Attawandaron, Anishinaabeg, Haudenosaunee and Lunaapeewak peoples who have longstanding relationships to the land, water and region of Southwestern Ontario. The local First Nation communities of this area include Chippewas of the Thames First Nation, Oneida Nation of the Thames and Munsee-Delaware Nation. Additionally, there is a growing urban Indigenous population who make the city of London home. We value the significant historical and contemporary contributions of local and regional First Nations of Turtle Island (North America).

OVERVIEW

Vision: Develop London into a more robust, culturally diverse and enriched music community.

London has deep roots in the creative field of music and continues working towards improving and growing the sector. As Canada’s first UNESCO City of Music, we recognize the importance of this designation and the on-going commitment.

Hub for Music Education, Production and Engineering

London is a music education and production hub with three internationally recognized post-secondary schools. London continues to develop world-renowned, award-winning talent including artists, songwriters, producers and engineers through Western University, Fanshawe College and Ontario Institute of Audio Recording Technology (OIART). Distinguished scholars, composers, administrators, teachers and performers educate London’s 1,000+ post-secondary music students.

Music education starts at an early age. Local organizations reduce participation barriers and promote inclusive music education through formal music lessons, mentorship opportunities, use of recording facilities, audio engineering programs, music instrument lending libraries, performance opportunities and unique bursary programs to help students achieve academic success. London’s music community also recognizes excellence through a dedicated local music hall of fame and regional awards show.

Leading Music Event City:

London has proven itself on the Canadian stage, hosting large nationally significant events such as the Canadian Country Music Awards in 2016 and 2021 as well as the JUNOS in 2019. London is gaining international attention as a leading Music City with hundreds of thousands attending festivals, large events, concert and community performances annually. Local partners have also elevated London’s name on the international stage through unique programming offerings, collaborative partnerships and artist exchange programs using London as a landing pad for the international music community.

Established Music Strategy:

The London Music Strategy (2014) was developed through multiple years of consultation with local stakeholders including a 25-member Music Task Force. This focused strategy led to the creation of a dedicated Music Office to monitor and implement the Music Strategy with support from key city partners.

Focus Areas of London’s Plan:

• Music Incubation: Nurture music talent and aid in transitioning students into meaningful music careers
• Inclusive Community: Create inclusive participation and representation in the local music community
• Music & Film: Work collaboratively within the film sector to strengthen the relationship between music and film
• City of Music Exchanges: Work with national and international UCCN cities to host artists and industry exchange opportunities
• Music Conferences: Attract and host regional, national and international music meetings and conferences
• Media Arts: Strengthen the UCCN and London’s media arts sector through collaborative work with Cities of Media Arts

Tallinn is the capital city of Estonia located by the Baltic Sea. The pleasantly perceivable scale of the city encourages musicians from different fields to cooperate with one another, as a result of which unique musical events are born – historical organs alongside modern experimental electronic music, or jazz alongside the opera are a part of everyday life in Tallinn.

Tallinn is a city that connects people through music. The Song Festival is the largest music festival in Estonia, with tens of thousands of singers and even more spectators, along with choirs and orchestras from all over Estonia, but often also from other parts of the world. In every two years a powerful ‘river of music’ passes through Tallinn, a procession of choirs which walks the route from the city centre to the singing stage.

Tallinn is also home to three outstanding international festivals: one of the most important jazz festivals in Northern Europe – Jazzkaar, Tallinn Music Week – festival for tomorrow’s music and ideas, and the Estonian Music Days, which introduce contemporary Estonian music, top collectives, and various leading performers. 

Tallinn is the city of composers and new music, having witnessed the emergence of several unique music styles. It was while working in Tallinn that Arvo Pärt achieved his own personal style (tintinnabuli), which has made the composer the world’s most widely-performed living classical music composer. Thanks to the composer, Veljo Tormis, a dying tradition of the runic song was given a fresh form with a relation to art music. Today, the runic song has influenced various musical styles, from classical to pop and rock. Tallinn is also one of the most important centres in the region when it comes to experimental music, such as, for example, people who come here to study modern improvisation based on original tradition.

Estonia is one of the few countries in the world where musical education is a compulsory part of general education. It is considered natural for every child to sing, and that thousands of children sing in choirs and participate in music studios. It is this educational peculiarity that has made song festivals possible, with them being attended by tens of thousands of amateur singers, and with a repertoire which often does not lag behind that of a professional choir. It was in Tallinn that experimental music classes were established in general education schools, with innovative musical teaching methods being used and where the work which has been undertaken has raised Estonia’s general choir culture to such a high level.

To offer world-class opportunities to create and enjoy music in all its diversity, Tallinn has set six strategic objectives:

• To increase the professionalisation, diversity and internationalisation of the entire music scene.
• To discover, nurture and empower new talent in music through multi-layered music education and young audience engagement.
• To make music more accessible for everybody.
• To encourage re-emergence and development of sustainable cultural tourism.
• To make Tallinn a more inclusive community based on shared values.
• To support viable and sustainable music industry with strong innovation and digital capacity.

Kharkiv is the major scientific and cultural center of Ukraine, with youth being the driving force and the ambassador of music and creativity in the city. The philosophy of our city is the synergy of creative, spiritual potential together with the economic component. Creativity is seen as the driving force of culture and the main purpose of its formation.

How does Kharkiv sound?  Kharkiv and its citizens adore music so much that it pervades official events and youth initiatives, performances by musicians with world-famous names and performances by street culture representatives. Kharkiv is one of the fastest growing cities in Ukraine.

Our city is unique in its multicultural heritage, has rich folk music traditions. Kharkiv is famous for its orchestras, the brightest representative of which is the extremely popular first private orchestra Prime Orchestra, the founder of a new kind of symphony show, combining all modern music directions and the classical symphony. Prime Orchestra is the music ambassador of modern Kharkiv and represents the city worldwide.

In 2020, 2021, the city holds the Creative IndustriesFestival “Creative Kharkiv”, which aims to create a single platform and cross-sectoral support for all participants in the creative industries sector in the city. The festival brings together theater, music, IT, artists, sculptors, singers and all other creative people in one place. It creates conditions for the mentioned to share experience and knowledge. This festival creates new cross-sectoral projects, such as augmented reality galleries, or online concerts with augmented reality effects.

As a creative city Kharkiv proposes:

– Creation and sustainable work of the creative industries cluster as a permanent platform for interaction among business, science, investors with representatives of creative industries of the city. The main goals are: to unite the best world practices in the field of creative industries into a single ecosystem; to promote investment to support projects in the field of creative industries; to form the positive image of the city of Kharkiv; to discover, support, develop young talented artists in the field of creative industries; to foster the development of representatives of creative industries by uniting different members in a cluster system. This will provide an opportunity to create a cohesive community, to facilitate mutual learning and exchange of experiences, to provide opportunities for integration and cross-sectoral projects among cluster members. It also stipulates for the creation of educational programs, carrying out educational courses,cultural hubs with use of modern world tendencieson a regular basis.

– Holding a series of festivals and forums aimed at forming and developing the city’s creative industries sector, namely holding an annual international city music festival, creating social music and educational projects, provision of access to music education for a widercommunity, developing ethnic and contemporary national music in city.

– Creation of conditions and platforms in city parks, squares for musicians, the purpose of which is to stimulate the development of unique musical content, which has territorial and ethnic special features. Creating music that would characterize a certain city and will be associated with it and reveal its philosophy.

Creation of an international music festival, with the aim to promote the goals of the network, contribute to international cooperation, expand access for citizens and all those interested in the creative sphere, to promote the idea of gender equality. It is planned to involve network partner cities in the festival. This event will become a kind of keystone of creativity. The participants of the event will have the opportunity to gain new knowledge, skills, present themselves and gain new contacts in the international and local professional environment.

Sanandaj the capital of Kurdistan province is the cultural capital of the Kurdistan. With a population of around 500000 in 2016 it is the second most populated Kurdish city of Iran. Some ancient works found in this historic city date back to 6000 years ago.

About 400 years ago Sanandaj was the centre of Ardalan rule the longest and most powerful local government of Kurds in history. Some very picturesque and historic monuments of the past history of this city have been preserved. Sanandaj has a long history of peaceful coexistence of different religions and deep-rooted cultural tolerance. The city has an area of about 2906 Km2 and is located in the middle reaches of Zagros mountains and plains in western Iran. Sanandaj is an immigrant city and most of its population is in the service sector. In addition handicrafts – including the making of musical instruments – and in villages around the city livestock and crop production are prevalent.

The city is administered by a City Council with members elected by direct vote for 4 years. The Municipality is responsible for implementing the Council’s decisions in urban management. The shared strategy of the authorities and the people is to move towards investing in and development of music and its related arts. For various reasons Sanandaj is less known globally and its designation as a Creative City of Music will be an opportunity to introduce the city’s potentials to the world and will contribute to its development.

Vision: Our vision for the city of Sanandaj is to use culture, creativity and music as a factor for the development and strengthening of social capital.

Areas of action:

      The objectives of UNESCO Creative Cities Network are implemented both at the level of the member cities at the international level, notably through the following areas of action:

• sharing experiences, knowledge and best practices;
• pilot projects, partnerships and initiatives associating the public and private sectors, and civil
• professional and artistic exchange programs and networks;
• studies, research and evaluations on the experience of the Creative Cities;
• policies and measures for sustainable urban development;
• communication and awareness raising activities.

Located approximately 16km north of Jerusalem in the West Bank, and perched some 880m above the sea level, Ramallah means God’s Hills in Aramaic and Semitic language. Currently, there are 71,880 persons inhabiting Ramallah, living on a 21 sq. km of land, and surrounded by 80 localities (towns and villages) with a total population of 350,000.

Ramallah beholds a historic landmark, “Khirbet al Tireh”, which tells that Ramallah  was inhabited from the Hellenistic, Roman, Byzantine and Early Islamic periods and its land was used for agriculture through the Ottoman period to modern times; it is one of the most important excavated archeological sites in Palestine, and based on an inscription incised in Greek letters on broken pieces of a marble “church screen” found in the ruins of the Byzantine church it is concluded that Saint Stephanos – the first Christian martyr, was originally buried at Khirbet al Tireh in the garden of Ghamla before being reinterred in Jerusalem in 415 A.D.

Early modern history of Ramallah shows that it was established in the mid-1500s by the Haddadin family as a Christian family. Ramallah grew throughout the 17th and 18th centuries as a predominantly agricultural village, and by the mid-1800s, missionary groups built different schools and churches. More people moved to the newly incorporated city in the early 1900s. Since then, our prosperity, continuity, and identity have been tested through separate periods of occupation and mass immigration. Today, Ramallah remains under Israeli occupation, meaning we lack control over Palestinian resources that are crucial for our resilience, including mobility, land and water.

Ramallah today is the temporary administrative seat of the Government of Palestine ‘GoP’ and growing as a hub for culture, economic and recreational activities in Palestine, making it cosmopolitan city, caring for and serving its surroundings and country-wide.

Ramallah is a base for many major organizations, including NGOs of different mandates and private sector such as telecommunication, Banks and insurance companies. It is also a home to a burgeoning cultural and arts scene. Ramallah is a city that embraces diversity, free exchange of ideas, creativity, and respect for the human and cultural rights of its residents and visitors.

Ramallah also has an increasingly international outlook. Not only are we proud to be part of the Global Resilient Cities network (formerly known as 100 Resilient Cities Organization), but we also have formal connections with more than 35 cities from all over the globe. Through these connections we seek to represent the voice of our city, share knowledge and help implement best practice initiatives for our citizens, eventually build city resilience and achieve sustainable development.

In light of this background, in 2017, the city had launched is first ever Urban Resilience Strategy “Ramallah Resilience Strategy 2025” with a Vision:

“We are optimistic, sustainable, inclusive, and proud of our own culture and in control of our own destiny.”

With the leadership of the municipality and in partnership with local and international partners, Ramallah Municipality had developed its Resilience Strategy, a long-term strategy for Ramallah and its surroundings. The strategy provides a promising model for an integrated approach to realizing sustainable urban development in our city, as well as Palestine.

Norrköping is the cultural capital of the Region Östergötland – just south of the swedish capital and fellow music city Stockholm. As a UNESCO City of Music Norrköping has a history of making music and other cultural expressions part of the city development – in an innovative, diverse  and including way.

Events like Willhelm Stenhammar International Music Competition, Hugo Parkfestival, Bob Marley memorial, Rock in the forest, Pratté harpfestival and the Folk music festival combined with institutions like the Norrköping Symphony Orchestra and musical heritage like raising the producer of pop phenomenon ABBA – Michael B Tretow make Norrköping a small, but solid part of music cities on the global arena.

The municipality of Norrköping make music available for all and supports all genres, creating a very interesting mix of creative, indie music communities. The beatuiful city centre  and Norrköping being a logistic centre in Sweden make it a good place for event production and a growing cluster of music producers within genres like techno/electronic music, reggae, jazz, metal and the unique pop sound make up an interesting mix.

Music and arts have been a part of the city identity for hundreds of years. The municipality of Norrköping are working with the concept ”Let´s create” (together). Arbis Night club was once the place for local soirees when the workers for the textile and paper industries 150 years ago. Today the cultural hub of Hallarna is a place where people, organizations and creative industries meet.

In 2017 a coordinator for music development was placed at the Trade and industry office to explore the development of the creative sector. Norrköping make music available for everyone through classes included in the educational system, music classes and secondary art schools. Programs like El Systema and School of culture provide musical education for young people (4-24 yr) after school hours. The higher education for Folkhögskola and the University of Linköping with programs that combine culture and entreprenurship.

International talents like solo violinist Johan Dalene, not yet 20 years old, Royal opera singer Elin Rombo and popstar Marcus Krunegård were nurtured here and the Norrköping Symphony orchestra collaborate with the Royal academy of music in Stockholm.

The night of culture is a unique, joint project for all creatives in all expressions since more than 20 years and Norrköping was named City of jazz in 2019. Clusters for culture tech, Visual Sweden and East Sweden Game and a strong development for gastronomy and film are part of the cultural scene, that also boasts a great spread of performing arts like theatre, new cirkus, dance and visual media art.

With a world class Visualization center and art museums , the Concert hall Louis De Geer and Kolmarden Zoo & entertainment park in Sweden Norrköping has a lot to offer tourists apart from big events and festivals.  

2015-2018 Norrköping hosted the swedish showcasefestival ”Where´s the music”, in 2019 we hosted Sound Diplomacy Music Cities Forum. Starting 2021 there will be a new, annual, innovative  – national and international – platform for music cities and industry.