About Us
Bradford UNESCO City of Film’s 10th anniversary and the International Film Education Symposium.
For ten years Bradford UNESCO City of Film has been using the power of film to help drive social and economic change in the city. We’ve forged local, national and international partnerships for collaborative good. The outcomes have been substantial and diverse, reaching Bradford’s many communities in the form of education, cultural programmes, events, and festivals, all of which have increased opportunities and helped our ambitions.
Our Film Office has opened Bradford’s door to the business of international film production and the financial benefits this brings. UNESCO’s network now has 13 Cities of Film (and 180 cities in all) and we stand pre-eminent amongst them, enabling us to develop global partnerships in order to deliver business and education opportunities.
This year’s celebrations – which include events and activities across the city – are designed to profile the creativity of some of our longstanding partnerships and projects. The 10th anniversary is also a moment to focus on important agendas for change.
The International Film Education Symposium is an opportunity to place film literacy and media information literacy in the spotlight. We hope that the two day event enables the exchange of ideas and learning and leads to new collaborations. We’re delighted that you will be attending the Symposium, a format which enables us to keep the event informal and intimate so that all delegates and speakers have time for meaningful conversation. We’re delighted to be hosting experts in the fields of media information literacy and film literacy. Many of our delegates – some from the UK ,but others from Europe and Asia – have specialist areas of knowledge in these fields and we hope it’s an opportunity for people to discover new partnerships and research opportunities.
What is a UNESCO City of Film?
On June 8th 2009 Bradford was awarded the prestigious designation as the world’s first UNESCO City of Film.
The network now has 180 member cities from 72 countries whose collective mission is to place creativity at the heart of their strategy for local economic and social development.
By facilitating international collaboration and information sharing, this global network uses culture to bridge nations that are divided by geography, but united by creativity.
The group is divided into seven specialised fields: Craft and Folk Arts, Design, Film, Gastronomy, Literature, Media Arts and Music.
Bradford was the pioneer of the City of Film designation and is a key contributor to the development of the global network for film which now has 13 members worldwide, including Sydney and Rome. There are nine other UK cities in the Creative Cities network.
James Bridge, Chief Executive and Secretary-General of the UK Commission for UNESCO (UKNC) said:
“The work of the UNESCO Creative Cities Network is about sharing ideas and good practice to drive the sustainable development of cities using culture and creativity. This work transcends the confines of politics and enables people from across the world to work with good ideas to improve the lives of others. Bradford is a pioneer amongst UNESCO Creative Cities, as the world’s first UNESCO designated City of Film. It is respected across the world for its work undertaken in education and community development and its role bringing together the world’s UNESCO Creative Cities of Film. Bradford’s ongoing work to support other cities to join the network is to be commended. The UK National Commission for UNESCO Chair, Professor Colin McInnes, Vice- Chair and Culture Non Executive Director Helen Maclagan and Communications and Information Non Executive Director Karen Merkel and all the UKNC team would like to congratulate Bradford on its 10th anniversary and look forward to the next chapter of great ideas and initiatives.”
