DEPARTMENT: World Heritage Office
DEPARTMENT HEAD: Colleen Swain
COUNCIL DISTRICTS IMPACTED: City-wide
SUBJECT:
UNESCO Creative Cities Network - Creative City of Gastronomy Update
SUMMARY:
The World Heritage Office will provide an overview of the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) Creative Cities Network and a briefing on San Antonio's Creative City of Gastronomy program.
BACKGROUND INFORMATION:
On October 31, 2017, the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) designated San Antonio a Creative City of Gastronomy, making the city part of the UNESCO Creative Cities Network (UCCN). The designation is the result of a collaborative community effort that included the City of San Antonio, Visit San Antonio, San Antonio Chamber of Commerce, local nonprofit organizations and many private entities, including local chefs Johnny Hernandez, Elizabeth Johnson, and the team at Edible San Antonio.
As part of the City of San Antonio's acceptance into the UNESCO Creative Cities Network as a Creative City of Gastronomy, the application stated, that similar to the successful collaborative model used to develop and implement a work plan for the World Heritage San Antonio Missions, an advisory group would be established. The application outlined several initiatives, programs or projects that San Antonio committed to and which are aimed at achieving the objectives of the Network locally and at an international level. These are as follows:
* Initiate a public-private partnership to create a cultural and arts destination in the heart of downtown to develop business concepts and activities that interpret San Antonio's diverse culinary heritage;
* Use cultural mapping and oral histories to engage citizens to focus on the preservation of cooking techniques, foods, and recipes handed down from generation to generation;
* Develop a series of culinary trails connecting the city's historic and cultural...
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