KUCHING: The UNESCO Creative Cities Network open forum, to be on July 13 here has attracted attention from all sectors in the gastronomic and creative food chain, from agriculture to education.
To be officiated by the mayor Datuk Wee Hong Seng, it aims to tap into the collective knowledge and experience of the city’s talented gastronomy and creative players so that the UCCN programme going forward can be tailored to their needs.
“We are heartened by the engagement so far as we already have 80 opinion makers registered and we are aiming for more.
“All Kuching stakeholders who are holding back until the last minute still have a chance to register and even if they just turn up on the day, we will welcome them in and we want to make sure that this forum and any solutions that it comes up with is a true reflection of the breadth of our gastronomic and creative communities,” he said.
He added that the kind of representation they are hoping for can be seen in their excellent panel of facilitators.
“These are drawn from the very field, a reflection of the kind of public or private partnership that we want to see in the UCCN project going forward,” he explained.
He added the keynote speakers are not only experts in their fields as they are also facing the same issues as all participants in their daily working lives.
“With the support and expertise of the city councils behind this project, we are expanding our reach, and now we want to pool our talents and resources to find a city-wide way forward. If this project is to serve the needs of the whole city, the we must hear from you,” said Wee.
On the other hand, strategic director of the UCCN Kuching programme, Karen Shepherd said that they will be asking the participants to share their views on Kuching’s strengths and also on the challenges that the creative sectors in gastronomy are facing.
“Our participants will also be given a chance to propose the kind of activities and support that they would like to see going forward.
“We want to hear ideas on how the UCCN can support growth in the creative economy, in academic and scientific research in food, in coverage and awareness of our food culture in a range of media, in preservation of our cultural identity and in creativity in its expression, among a whole host of other ideas,” said Karen.
