UNESCO names Jakarta as City of Literature

Jakarta was named a City of Literature by UNESCO on Monday (8 November) as announced in UNESCO’s official website. Jakarta is one of 49 cities worldwide to join the UNESCO Creative Cities Network.

Jakarta Governor Anies Baswedan said that he is proud of this achievement. He highlighted the importance of developing sustainable infrastructure while simultaneously improving the quality of the human resources as the key points to support the advancement of Jakarta. 

“Jakarta is the city where the first ever newspaper company and book publisher Balai Pustaka as well as the Indonesian Publishers Association (IKAPI) were established. The Independence Day of Indonesia also began in Jakarta - the founding fathers drafted and composed the words and sentences needed for the independence here before it was spread to other parts of the country,” said Anies. 

He added that the Jakarta administration will continue to maintain and develop the strong historical roots of the capital city in the future by still promoting the importance of sustainable development. 

Today, 246 cities make up the network, each tied to one of seven creative fields, namely crafts and folk arts, media arts, film, design, gastronomy, literature and music.

Before Jakarta, three Indonesian cities have already joined the network, namely Pekalongan as a Creative City of Crafts and Folk Arts for its batik, Bandung as a Creative City of Design for its urban design and Ambon as a Creative City of Music.

Director General of UNESCO Audrey Azoulay said that she hopes that the election of Jakarta along with the other cities could help foster the commitment to placing culture and creativity at the heart of their development in an innovative way.

“A new urban model needs to be developed in every city, with its architects, town planners, landscapers and citizens. We are urging everyone to work with States to reinforce the international cooperation between cities which UNESCO wishes to promote,” she added.