The highly respected Designated Areas for Sustainable Tourism Administration (Dasta) has gone into high gear to solidify Chiang Rai and Suphan Buri’s standing as key nodes in the Unesco Creative Cities Network (UCCN). This year’s goal set in its sights: landing a place in the prestigious UCCN list, expected to be unveiled in October. Spearheading this audacious venture is none other than Dasta’s director, Gp Capt Athikun Kongmee.
The specialized Thai UCCN Experts Committee has put forth Chiang Rai under the liberating banner of the City of Design category. On the other hand, they’ve championed Suphan Buri under the melodious City of Music category for the 2023 UCCN Call for Applications. These nominations root themselves in the characteristics that paint these cities distinct: their organic identities, the populace’s creative prowess, and their emerging potential as paragons of global creativity, as delineated by the esteemed Unesco.
But wait, there’s more! There were also rumblings about nominating Nan for the City of Crafts and Folk Art categories this year, yet, upon discretion of the Thai UCCN Experts Committee, this plan has been set aside for now.
As for the vision for these iconic cities for the next half-decade, Gp Capt Athikun shed light on plans of further nurturing Suphan Buri into a “City of Musical Creativity”, given its robust music tradition embedded deep within its citizenry. This city proudly boasts artists such as Yuenyong Opakul, also fondly known as Aed Carabao, and the acclaimed Kwanjit Sriprachan, a luminary in the pleng puen bahn (folk music) genre.
Meanwhile, Chiang Rai’s push will continue as a City of Design, the spotlight beaming its Lanna-inspired arts which are breath-taking displays of intelligence and culture, Athikun adds.
The UCCN traces its roots to Unesco, with its mission to foster cooperation for urban development among cities dappled with creativity and innovation. The network spans nearly 300 cities, graced by five Thai cities: Bangkok (City of Design), Phuket, Phetchaburi (Cities of Gastronomy), Chiang Mai and Sukhothai (Cities of Craft and Folk Art).
As the world watches with anticipation, the final announcement of Thailand’s ambitious bid will be disclosed this October during the annual UCCN conferences that will be held in the historical city of Istanbul, confirms Athikun.
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