Auckland awarded Unesco tick
Auckland is now an international music capital of the world.
Last Wednesday United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation (Unesco) director general Irina Bokova announced in Paris that Auckland had joined the ranks of 18 cities including Glasgow and Adelaide as a Unesco city of music.
Auckland Council and the Government are also working together in a bid to get the city’s volcanic cones recognised as Unesco World Heritage sites
Unesco’s Creative Cities Network was established in 2004 to promote co-operation between cities that identified creativity as a factor for sustainable urban development.
Auckland will join 116 members from 180 countries around the world covering seven creative fields.
Auckland Council applied to Unesco with Recorded Music NZ and APRA as music sector partners accompanied by a letter from mayor Phil Goff.
Recorded Music manager Mark Roach who was the project leader said it was a bit like winning an election and the hard work was only just beginning.
‘‘There will be changes for the music scene,’’ Roach said.
‘‘Perhaps not radical change, but certainly change for the better.’’
Changes like paying better attention to Auckland’s grassroots venues, which were ’’the research and development labs’’ of any music eco-system, protecting and preserving Auckland’s music heritage for future generations, improving Auckland’s liveability and attraction through a thriving music scene, and celebrating its unique sounds and musicians, he said.
Former Split Enz member Mike Chunn said the focus this would bring to the city’s creative sector was reason to celebrate.
‘‘Now at last there is an environment for the creative and imaginative pursuits of citizens to be fostered, developed and celebrated,’’ Chunn said.
In 2016 Auckland Council adopted an arts and culture strategic plan to promote growth in the industry.
Auckland Council said seven out of 10 Aucklanders had attended a music event in the last three years, and more than 18,000 Aucklanders worked in the field.
New Zealand already has a Unesco creative city with Dunedin recognised for literature.