City of Literature: Kozhikode Mayor accorded rousing reception on her return from Portugal

Kozhikode Mayor Beena Philip was accorded a rousing reception upon her return from Braga, Portugal, on Monday. The Mayor, along with Corporation Secretary K.U. Bini, had attended the 16th annual conference of the Unesco Creative Cities Network

Mayor Beena Philip was accorded a rousing reception upon her return from Braga, Portugal, on Monday. The Mayor, along with Corporation Secretary K.U. Bini, had attended the 16th annual conference of the Unesco Creative Cities Network (UCCN) and had completed all formalities in connection with the City of Literature tag bestowed on Kozhikode by Unesco.

Sharing her experiences in Braga, the Mayor lauded the friendly nature and the love for music that the city shared with Kozhikode. Having been inducted into the UCCN officially, Kozhikode is now part of a sub-network of cities of literature across the globe with Heidenburg in Germany being its buddy city.

Ms. Philip said the creative cities network was formed in an effort to bring about peace and prosperity in the world relying on culture, equality, and collaboration. “These are the necessary qualities for any society to move forward peacefully,” she said. Regulating climate change through the effective involvement of the creative cities is another aim of the UCCN, and guidelines have been provided to all member cities to make sustainable changes.

Outlining the future activities to be undertaken for Kozhikode to retain its status, the Mayor said the ‘Kolaya’ culture and ‘mehfils’ should come back. Nurturing creative industries was essential in ensuring a good livelihood for youngsters, she added.

Writer Khadeeja Mumtaz presided over the event, while writers P.K. Gopi, K.P. Ramanunni, Subhash Chandran, U.K. Kumaran, Purushan Kadalundy, artist Madanan, musicians Wilson Samuel and Tej Mervin, and former MLA A. Pradeepkumar were present.