site.btaVarna Awarded City of Media Arts Title by UNESCO

The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) has awarded Varna the title of City of Media Arts and membership in its Creative Cities Network, the Varna Municipality said on Monday.

Together with Varna, the cities holding the title of City of Media Arts are now 29 in number, located on five continents. All of them are committed to working together to support cultural products, as well as to share inspiration, technological innovations and good practices. They work to strengthen the role of creativity and culture in the life of every citizen and community and promote their importance for sustainable urban development. 

"This is an extremely high recognition, because it allows for development in coordination with many other cities in Europe and around the world," Acting Varna Mayor Pavel Popov emphasized during the regular weekly operational meeting in the Municipality. He pointed out that in the UNESCO network, cities are divided into eight creative areas, and the sea capital has been distinguished in the most advanced of them with an exceptional opportunity to use new technologies as a means of art.

Popov noted that Varna is only the third Bulgarian city to become a member of this network, with Sofia being included in the Film Art section and Gabrovo in the Crafts and Folk Arts section before that. He thanked the team of the Culture and Spiritual Development Directorate for bringing Varna's candidacy to a successful conclusion and expressed confidence for many future cultural events in Varna, related to the recognition of the international organization.

UNESCO Director-General Audrey Azoulay presented 58 cities as new members of the Creative Cities Network and emphasized their commitment to promoting creativity as a driver of sustainable urban development, with proven experience in building stable and dynamic communities within the Network. With these new additions, the Creative Cities Network of UNESCO now includes a total of 408 cities from over 100 countries.