Padang Launches Bid to Become UNESCO Creative City of Gastronomy
- 14 Agt 2026 17:37 WIB
- Voice of Indonesia
Poin Utama
- Padang has officially launched its bid to join the UNESCO Creative Cities Network as a Creative City of Gastronomy.
- If successful, Padang would become Indonesia’s first UNESCO Creative City of Gastronomy, promoting its culinary heritage and local creative industries internationally.
RRI.CO.ID, Padang - Positioned as a flagship national initiative to showcase Indonesian culinary culture on the global stage, the Padang City Administration has officially launched its bid to join the UNESCO Creative Cities Network (UCCN) as a Creative City of Gastronomy.
The candidacy was highlighted as the central theme of the Taste of Padang Experience 2026: Road to Gastronomy City, held from August 6 to 10, 2026, in the historic Kota Tua Subdistrict of Padang in conjunction with the city's 357th anniversary. The milestone event gathered administration officials, international culinary experts, industry leaders, and creative practitioners to solidify the strategic roadmap for international recognition.
As part of the initiative, municipal authorities and ministry representatives outlined plans to standardize authentic recipes, curate local intellectual property (IP), and integrate culinary traditions with complementary creative subsectors including design, music, publishing, and performing arts. If successful, Padang will become Indonesia’s first designated UNESCO Creative City of Gastronomy.
State ministers and municipal leaders emphasized that securing international recognition requires robust public-private collaboration, standardized storytelling, and systemic support for local creative entrepreneurs.
Minister of Creative Economy and Head of the Creative Economy Agency (Bekraf) Teuku Riefky Harsya pledged comprehensive national backing for the municipal initiative.
"I fully support the mayor's seriousness in proposing Padang City to become a city of gastronomy within the UNESCO Creative Cities Network, if this succeeds, it will not only be a victory for the mayor or the people of Padang City, but a national achievement for the Indonesian government, including the Ministry of Creative Economy," he said in Padang on Sunday, August 9, 2026, as quoted on the ministry's official website.
He highlighted the strategic importance of expanding local intellectual property and building international exposure for regional creative actors.
"I hope that increasingly more IP and creative economy actors from Padang City can scale up to national and international levels, we will continue to curate together with experts, industry practitioners, and regional governments to discover local heroes who possess the potential to be brought to the global stage," He added.
Padang Mayor Fadly Amran affirmed the city administration's commitment to enhancing local infrastructure, cultural preservation, and service standards to fulfill UNESCO benchmarks. "We are ready to be challenged to realize Padang City as a City of Gastronomy," Fadly Amran expressed. ***
News Recomendation
Memuat berita terbaru.....