The Tribune

CREATIVE Nassau President, Pam Burnside, Vice President, Patricia Glinton-Meicholas, and Gevon Moss, of the Downtown Nassau Partnership, represented the City of Nassau at the UNESCO Creative Cities Network (UCCN) annual meeting in Östersund, Sweden, last month.

The event took place over a packed week of activities, which began with a three-day pre-Conference at the Mid Sweden University.

The academic gathering focused on Sustainability, a topic that is the subject of UNESCO’s forum in Quito, Ecuador in October.

Significantly, it is also the platform for action and innovation towards integrating culture into the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development.

Roland Krebs, Consultant for the Inter-American Development Bank’s Emerging and Sustainable Cities Initiative and the Nassau Urban Lab study, joined the team to make a presentation based on the recent plan prepared for the Bahamian Government’s National Development Plan for Downtown Bay Street and the Grants/Bain Town areas in Nassau. The project was developed by the consultants in conjunction with with Bahamian stakeholders, civil society groups including Creative Nassau, and architecture students from the University of Vienna and the College of The Bahamas.

The following days in Östersund - designated a UNESCO Creative City of Gastronomy in 2010 - were taken up with the UCCN’s extensive Meeting Agenda, including several sessions hosted by author Charles Landry, well known for his various books dealing with the concept of ‘Creative Cities’. During visits to various venues in the Östersund and Jamtland areas, delegates were treated to exciting samples of Swedish art, culture, heritage as well as gastronomical delights.

Mr Moss received first hand experiences of Östersund, as he shadowed the Deputy Mayor of the City, and was hosted to a reception by the Governor. Additionally, during the Mayor’s round table discussion at the Conference, he issued a short, passionate address on why the work of practitioners must be continued, stressing the importance of them understanding their purpose. He challenged the UCCN to push the creative envelope in order to design one-of-a-kind experiences in their respective cities.

He reminded the delegates that their work superseded the here and now, and the impacts of the same would be felt by future generations.

“We were particularly impressed by the variety of sites and institutions promoting history and heritage,” Mrs Glinton-Meicholas said. “Of particular note was Jamtli, a multi-structure museum that highlights Swedish history and lifeways from prehistoric times. We were delighted by the performances, cooking, household appointments and food offerings at the different stages. Not least among the attractions was a horse-drawn carriage ride and all museum staff and volunteers in period dress. We might take a page from this exposition for the promotion of our own rich Bahamian history and culture.”

Following the UCCN Conference, the Creative Nassau team travelled to Vienna to visit with Mr Krebs and several of the Vienna University students, and also to meet with an urban planning organisation that oversees an area of the Austrian captial, who shared his expertise in the programme.

The UCCN numbers 116 cities from 54 countries, and the annual meeting offers a unique opportunity to strengthen ties between the cities, to discuss and exchange information, to formulate partnerships and to determine and implement Network objectives, strategies and operations.

Nassau to be designated as a UNESCO Creative City of Crafts and Folk Arts in December, 2015, one of only three cities in this region to hold this prestigious designation, the others being Jacmel, Haiti (Crafts and Folk Arts), and Kingston, Jamaica (Music).

The 2017 UCCN annual meeting will be held in Enghien les Bains, France.