VMC to rope in consultant for Creative City of Design documentation

Vadodara: Aiming to get the city nominated as a Creative City of Design under the UNESCO Creative Cities Network (UCCN) Programme, the Vadodara Municipal Corporation (VMC) is looking to start the documentation process. It has decided to rope in a consultant to prepare and process the documents for the nomination.
The UCCN programme aims at recognizing creativity as a strategic factor for sustainable urban development. Cities that are a part of the network aim at sharing best practices and developing partnerships to promote creativity and culture.
The programme nominates cities in seven different categories that include creative cities of craft and folk art, design, film, gastronomy, literature, media arts, as well as music. VMC plans to apply for nomination in one of these categories.
The UCCN Programme kicked off in 2004, and so far, 350 cities have been nominated globally. Eight cities from India, including Chennai, Gwalior, Jaipur, Hyderabad, Kozhikode, Mumbai, Srinagar and Varanasi have made the cut in five different categories. No city from the state has been nominated so far.
The plan to make a bid for getting the nomination for the city was discussed in symposiums organized under the banner of Team Vadodara. A seminar was also held to discuss the UCCN Programme by the VMC and city-based Heritage Trust. The VMC budget for the ensuing financial year also made provisions for the nomination.
VMC administration is now looking to hire the services of a consultant to do documentation and conduct other processes needed for making a bid for the nomination. The administration has sought a nod from the standing committee to invite expressions of interest from agencies that can take up the work and conduct subsequent procedures, including paying the consultant.
The proposal for roping in the consultant has now been put up before the elected wing of the civic body. The standing committee will discuss it on Friday.