Srinagar has become the fourth Indian city to be recognised as a ‘World Crafts City- WCC’ by the World Crafts Council (WCC). Jaipur, Malappuram and Mysore are the other three Indian cities that have been recognised as World Crafts Cities earlier. In 2021, the city of Srinagar was designated a creative city as part of the UNESCO Creative City Network (UCCN) for crafts and folk arts. Paper pulp, walnut wood carving, carpets, sozni embroidery and pashmina and kani shawls are some of the crafts of Srinagar.
WCC-World Crafts City Programme
- It was launched in 2014 by the World Crafts Council AISBL (WCC-International) to recognise the important role of local authorities, craftsmen and communities in craft development around the world.
- WCC-International was established in the year 1964 and Smt. Kamaladevi Chattopadhyay, being one of the founding members, attended the first WCC General Assembly.
- Smt. Kamaladevi Chattopadhyay established the Crafts Council of India in the year 1964 to preserve and enhance the craft heritage of India.
Srinagar
- Srinagar city has been designated as a creative city in the field of crafts and folk arts. It is the second city in India in this category after Jaipur.
- This will not only give global recognition to the city of Srinagar but will also help in ‘pitching craft’ in the form of international funding, collaboration with craft universities and product promotion.
- With this, the capital of Jammu and Kashmir (Srinagar) has joined the club of 295 ‘Network of Creative Cities’ of the world. • Every year UNESCO invites applications from different cities of the world to be included in its ‘UCCN’ project. In India, these applications are sent through the Ministry of Culture.
UNESCO’s Creative Cities Network
- It was started in the year 2004.
- Its objective is to “promote cooperation between cities that recognize creativity as a strategic factor in their urban development.”
- The objective of Sustainable Development Goal- 11 is related to sustainable cities and communities.
- The network includes seven creative areas crafts and folk arts, media arts, film, design, gastronomy, literature and music.
UNESCO
- It is a specialized agency of the United Nations (UN). It is striving to establish peace through international cooperation in the field of education, science and culture.
- It was established in the year 1945 and its headquarters is located in Paris (France).