Abuja emerges UNESCO Creative City of Literature 2025
By Editor
ABUJA, Nigeria’s capital city, has emerged UNESCO Creative City of Literature and joins many other world cities so designated for Crafts and Folk Art, Design, Film, Gastronomy, Literature, Media Arts and Music and now Architecture, the new creative field. With these new designations, the Network now includes 408 cities across more than 100 countries. On World Cities Day 2025, UNESCO Director-General Audrey Azoulay designated 58 cities as new members of the UNESCO Creative Cities Network (UCCN). Recognized for their commitment to championing creativity as a driver of sustainable urban development, these cities bring their proven expertise in building resilient and vibrant communities to the Network.
According to a statement on UNESCO website, “UNESCO Creative Cities demonstrate that culture and creative industries can be concrete drivers of development. By welcoming 58 new cities, we are strengthening a Network where creativity supports local initiatives, attracts investments, and promote social cohesion.”
About the new 58 new creative cities, the UNESCO Director-General, Audrey Azoulay, said, “Since its launch in 2004, the UNESCO Creative Cities have actively promoted human-centred urban living and governance, offering a wide range of cultural and creative activities to their citizens. From Sao Paulo’s Affirmative Network of Cinema and Audiovisual Professionals to the Al-Mashtal Creative Incubator in Riyadh, the 2025 cohort of Creative Cities is already making meaningful contributions to the UCCN mission, marking the beginning of their long-term dedication to the Network.”
Abuja has been designated in the creative field of Literature, in recognition of its literary assets and infrastructures, its action plan for the forthcoming period, and more broadly its commitment to boosting cultural participation, developing literacy and encouraging a culture of reading. Initiatives like the Creative Writers Empowerment Workshop, organized by the Nigerian Academy of Letters (NAL), to empower writers across various genres and improve their literary skills, or the Literacy by Radio programme from the Commission for Mass Literacy are some key examples of the city’s engagement at every level.
Following the success of MONDIACULT 2025 Conference, where countries renewed their commitment to culture-led sustainable development, the cities will respond to UNESCO’s call to establish culture as a global public good.
Other African cities also designated are Conakry (Guinea) for Literature, Kisumu (Kenya) for Music and Korhogo (Cote d’Ivoire) for Music. It will be recalled that before Abuja, Bida City in Niger State was the first creative city in 2022 while Asaba City, Delta State was the second in 2023. Abuja now makes three cities in Nigeria so designated by UNESCO as part of its global Creative Cities Network.
