KUALA LUMPUR – Perak’s capital city, Ipoh, can now boast of being the first city in Malaysia to have its media, arts, and music scene recognised by the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation (Unesco).
The city was listed as one of 55 new cities to join Unesco’s Creative Cities Network (UCCN) today, which is also World Cities Day, in recognition of its incorporation of the creative scene into its development strategies.
Last year, Ipoh mayor Datuk Rumaizi Baharin said the city was aiming to join the network, with support from the Tourism, Arts and Culture Ministry, in a bid to develop and boost the creative and arts scene in the city.
In a statement, Unesco said the 55 new cities inscribed today were acknowledged for their strong commitment to harnessing culture and creativity as part of their development strategies and displaying innovative practices in human-centred urban planning.
With the latest additions, the network now has 350 cities in more than one hundred countries, representing seven creative fields – crafts and folk art, design, film, gastronomy, literature, media arts, and music.
Kuching, the capital city of Sarawak, was the first city in Malaysia to be added to the list in 2021 in recognition of its unique gastronomic heritage.
Newly designated cities will cooperate with network members to strengthen their resilience in facing evolving threats such as climate change, rising inequality, and rapid urbanisation, with 68% of the world’s population projected to live in urban areas by 2050.
“The cities in our Creative Cities Network are leading the way when it comes to enhancing access to culture and galvanising the power of creativity for urban resilience and development,” said Unesco director-general Audrey Azoulay.
The newly designated Creative Cities will be invited to participate in the 2024 UCCN Annual Conference (July 1 to 5, 2024) in Braga, Portugal, under the theme Bringing Youth to the Table for the Next Decade.
Perak’s creative agency PORT (People Of Remarkable Talents) general manager Nur Hanim Mohamed Khairuddin said the agency worked closely with the Ipoh City Council towards realising this listing.
Ipoh has had a thriving independent music scene since the 1980, she said, adding that the city has hosted various genres of music and performances, including that involving traditional arts.
“We have also organised annual symposiums that bring together people from the music and creative industries, where scholars are invited to share their research and findings on the music industry,” said Nur Hanim.
She added that PORT has been actively compiling, archiving and developing an awareness on Ipoh’s music history and industry that has produced some big names in the Malaysian music scene, including Datuk Francisca Peters and Datuk Jamal Abdillah, Amy Mastura and Fauziah Latiff, to name a few.
“We are happy that all our effort towards this listing has paid off, and hope it will further boost our effort to making Ipoh a hub for music, cultural and arts activities,” she said, adding that the state hopes that this listing will put Ipoh on the map as a preferred destination for the creative industry’s activities and programmes.
PORT is the brand name of Kampung Karyawan Amanjaya, a cultural agency that is fully funded by the Perak government.
Its main objective is to provide opportunities, especially for Perakian youth from all backgrounds, to develop their talents in the visual arts, performing arts, literature, film and other creative fields – which sums up PORT’s motto “Unity Thru Arts”. – November 1, 2023