SHAH ALAM, July 12 — The Petaling Jaya City Council (MBPJ) is furthering its Creative City agenda through the Bandung-Petaling Jaya Creative City Knowledge Exchange Forum, in preparation to face the UNESCO Creative Cities Network (UCCN).
MBPJ said the forum, held in Bandung, Indonesia, on Friday, saw the exchange of knowledge and best practices with representatives of Bandung city, which is recognised as a UNESCO Design City.
According to MBPJ’s statement on Facebook, the forum was a strategic initiative for it to prepare the Petaling Jaya Creative City Action Plan, which will direct the council’s creative economy ecosystem growth and fortify efforts to more comprehensively develop the sector.
“This effort supports Petaling Jaya’s aspiration to join the UNESCO Creative Cities Network and cement the city’s position as an internationally competitive creative economy hub.
“The forum also centred (information) on UNESCO recognition, creative city governance, and Bandung city’s creative economy ecosystem development,” it said in the post.
Besides the forum, MBPJ also conducted a technical visit to Bandung Creative Hub — an innovation and collaboration hub that catalyses talent, enterprise and creative industry development in the city.
MBPJ said the hub showed the council its best practices in creative space development, talent incubation, and creative economy ecosystem management that Petaling Jaya could refer to in preparing its action plan.
It added that the Petaling Jaya-Bandung “Friendship City” relationship, established in 2012, is being strengthened through a strategic cooperation in the creative economy field, which supports the Selangor government’s aspiration to empower the sector as a sustainable growth driver.
