The only Italian city winner among the nominations for 2014 which included 28 cities in 19 countries www.centrounesco.to.it
The communication arrives from Paris that from 1st December 2014 Torino is a UNESCO “CREATIVE CITY” for the DESIGN category.
"A Recognition - said Mayor Piero Fassino expressing the satisfaction of the City - of which we are proud and that is a credit to the creative ability and regenerative energy of Turin. An acknowledgement that increasingly spurs us on to make Turin an innovative and cutting-edge city in every field".
The theme of design (one of the main categories of the Creative Cities Network, the one in which the city was a candidate) is suitable for the city of Turin, which has made this one of the keys for industrial and post-industrial development, and for which it has already received prestigious international awards.
The decision to put forward Turin for this international network originated during a meeting that was held at UNESCO in Paris in February 2013, during which the deputy director for culture, architect Francesco Bandarini, explained the importance of undertaking this process of cooperation for promoting historic motor sports worldwide.
The candidacy responds to a vision of the future of the City that begins from a past linked to cars, from an essentially industrial vocation to one open to innovation in the fields of technology, culture, arts and tourism.
The themes are the promotion of the automotive history and supply chain, design as a creative innovation, technological progress for mobility and vehicles, regeneration and sustainable urban development.
The title gives credit to Turin for having learned to broaden its identities in recent years, combining new vocations in research and technology, training and knowledge, culture, arts and tourism with its historic industrial profile.
Members of the Steering Committee, coordinated by the City of Turin, were UNESCO Centre of Turin, Turin Polytechnic University, National Automobile Museum (MAUTO), the Institute of Applied Arts and Design, the Chamber of Commerce of Turin, the Historical Italian Automotoclub (ASI), the European Institute of Design, the University of Turin, SiTI (Higher Institute on Territorial Systems for Innovation) , Fiat Chrysler Automobiles (FCA), Albertina Academy of Fine Arts, the Piedmont Region, MiBACT-General Directorate for Cultural Heritage of Piedmont, Turin Tourism Agency.
This therefore is an important award that the city has achieved thanks to its art and design projects and to the activities carried out along with numerous partners.
It was all the result of an initial proposal of ASI, the Italian Historical Automotoclub, which has long strived for adequate recognition of historic motor sports as an integral part of the Italian cultural heritage and which has identified the capital, at a national and international level, of this process as Turin.
The working group that prepared the application consists of many important public and private entities: in addition to the City (the official sponsor) and ASI, the Regione Piemonte, Turin Polytechnic University, the FIAT Group, the National Museum of Automobile and the Regional Directorate for Cultural Heritage and Landscape of Piedmont also were a part. Already a World Design Capital, Torino has been inserted permanently into the CREATIVE CITIES UNESCO Network, a recognition which until now had been awarded by UNESCO to only 69 cities in the world who make culture and creativity a strategic vehicle for sustainable urban development.
Through Creative Cities Network UNESCO supports the formation of a network with the aim of promoting international cooperation between cities which, by joining, undertake to collaborate and develop partnerships with the aim of promoting creativity and cultural industries, sharing best practices, increasing participation in cultural life, and to mainstream culture in economic and social development plans. Creative Cities Network aims to find and enrich the cultural identity of a member city right in the middle of a growing trend towards internationalism.
The project focuses on the main excellence product of these cities, and finds a way to maintain its relevance in the life of the city, the local economy and social development.
The fields of excellence are classified as: literature, cinema, music, crafts and Folk Art, Design, Media Arts and Gastronomy.
Launched in 2004, "UNESCO Creative Cities Network is an incredible tool for cooperation, which reflects our commitment to support an incredible creative and innovative potential for expanding sustainable development paths," said the Director-General of UNESCO, Irina Bokova.
Torino join the following cities as new member of the design network:
Beijing (China)
Berlin (Germany)
Bilbao (Spain)
Curitiba (Brazil)
Dundee (United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland)
Graz (Austria)
Helsinki (Finland)
Kobe (Japan)
Montreal (Canada)
Nagoya (Japan)
Seoul (South Korea)
Shenzen (China)
Shangai (China)
Saint-Etienne (France)
Santa Fé (USA)
Turin (Italy)
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Ph. Benedetta Terranova, Turin: new "Intesa - San Paolo Bank" Headquarter site (design Renzo Piano).
