As Citrawarna closes in Kuching, a four-day, full-on celebration of both Sarawak and Malaysia’s culture, arts, and food, Kuching’s creative scene has been relaunched. The Prime Minister of Malaysia has been in Sarawak to sample some of the unique culture of the State. During his speech, he noted Kuching’s success in becoming a Creative City of Gastronomy under UNESCO, describing it as a ‘boon for the nation’, one that would bring in international recognition, support local arts and culture and boost tourism. After the long months of lockdowns, this is a welcome relief for the city’s many creative players who have been hard hit by the pandemic. This membership of UCCN will be fundamental to rebuilding the sector and indeed the State in its wake.
Kuching is the first city in Malaysia to record such an honour. It joins 49 other Cities of Gastronomy around the world, spread across virtually every continent from the Americas to Europe to Asia. Added to this are 295 cities in 6 other creative fields – Craft and Folk Arts, Media Arts, Film, Design, Literature, Music. The goals of the network are clear: to strengthen cooperation with and among cities that have recognized creativity as a strategic factor for sustainable development.
Dato Wee Hong Seng, Mayor of Kuching South and Chairman of the UCCN working committee said: “This designation is, of course, a recognition of Kuching’s incredible gastronomic culture and of its role as a feeder city for the rest of the State. Our application is already a collaborative framework, conceived by MBKS in conjunction with DBKU, multiple state and federal agencies and civil society. It detailed our unique food diversity, our indigenous ingredients, our traditional food cultures and techniques and, of course, our creativity. But it also goes beyond that. In the end, this designation is not just an award for good food. Rather, it is a recognition of the government and the municapality’s commitment to growing our gastronomic and creative sectors towards the UN Sustainable Development Goals.”
“This links directly into the State Government’s aim to make Sarawak a place which enjoys economic prosperity, social inclusivity, and a sustainable environment. Sarawakians are enormously creative people and we can use this as a basis for providing a bright future for all our communities, both mainstream and more marginalised. Gastronomy is at the centre of the designation, but this membership will support all the creative fields through a highly cooperative framework. All those artists, writers, filmmakers, craft artisans, photographers, musicians, publishers and designers in the city stand to gain immeasurably from new events, programmes and opportunities that are already in planning.”
“Under the application, the State Government has committed to a four year action plan. This aims to extend infrastructure, build capacity, embed technology, create outreach, raise awareness and improve incomes for our creative players. Driven by our two councils and by the Ministry of Tourism, Creative Industries and Performing Arts (MTCP), it will feature programmes that run from improving education to raising our domestic standards in health and hygiene. MBKS, for example, will be extending and expanding its programmes to raise its markets and hawker centres to icons of modern sustainable practice.
The plan also aims to position Sarawak as a global highlight for gastronomic tourism, a destination which uses its food culture to support responsible and community-driven initiatives. A dedicated gastronomy in Jalan Padungan will link into this heritage food street. We will also be working on our ‘Pride of Sarawak’ campaign, a major brandmarking and benchmarking exercise that will put Sarawak products on the map, both across Malaysia and beyond.”
“UNESCO, as an organisation, aims to build collaboration. This starts at a local level. The Culinary Heritage and Arts Society Sarawak and Society Atelier Sarawak are already helping to drive this agenda. We hope all the creative players in the city will come together to make this a reality. From there, UCCN Kuching is able to connect them to both a national network, supported by the Ministry of Tourism, Arts and Culture Malaysia, and also to other cities around the world, all committed to the same goals. The opportunities are immense. Cross promotion, knowledge sharing, new initiatives, educational programmes, even trade agreements, all these are on offer in this international network. If you have an idea to boost the creative economy, then come and connect with us!”
