KINGSTON, Jamaica (JIS) – The Kingston and St Andrew Corporation (KSAC) is taking advantage of the designation of Kingston as a Creative City to position the municipality as a major attraction for visitors.

Kingston was named a “Creative City of Music” by the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) on December 11 last year.

Mayor of Kingston Dr Angela Brown Burke, said a committee has been established to develop a programme to market the city. She informed that the KSAC logo and stationery will be redesigned to include the UNESCO logo.

“For the KSAC, the work now begins for focusing on the plans and programmes and initiatives that are expected to help us build and sustain brand Kingston as a destination for creativity, where our music and culture continue to be beacons of hope for so many across the world,” she said.

Brown Burke was addressing the first monthly meeting of the KSAC for the new year, held yesterday at its head office at Church Street, downtown Kingston.

The mayor said the designation is a major achievement for Kingston and the entire country and thanked all the stakeholders, who made the achievement possible.

She cited the contribution of the Ministry of Tourism and Entertainment, Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Foreign Trade, University of the West Indies (UWI), Urban Development Corporation (UDC), Creative Production and Training Centre (CPTC), Edna Manly College of the Visual and Performing Arts, Association of Sound System Operators, Jamaica Federation of Musicians, among others.

“While we were confident that we would have received the designation, because of the work that we know had been done by so many in Kingston, this conferment did not come easily and we are eternally grateful to all our partners, who have worked so diligently to get us to where we are,” she noted.

“I believe special thanks must go out to our musicians, our artistes, our producers, our production engineers and other persons, who are not often at the front of our music but whose work place our music where it is today,” she added.

The Mayor is calling for multi-sector collaboration in ensuring that Kingston is positioned as a major cultural attraction.

Representatives of the KSAC presented a work plan at UNESCO’s World Creative City Forum held in Hamamatsu, Japan, from December 4 to 5.

The UNESCO Creative Cities Network (UCCN) was created in 2004 to promote cooperation with, and among cities that have identified creativity as a strategic factor for sustainable urban development.

The network includes 69 members from 32 countries covering seven creative fields – Crafts and Folk Art, Design, Film, Gastronomy, Literature, Music and Media Arts.