World cities culture forum is a network of local governments. It is consist of 43 members. The world is going through urbanization and rural culture is getting replaced by urban development. World leaders are concerned about old cultures and have acknowledged culture as one of the key features of human existence. World cities cultural forums developed on the same line to share research, and intelligence and explore the prospects of the culture for future development and prosperity. The purpose holds to not lose the culture in the name of development. Recent news regarding this from India was Delhi’s chief minister will be representing India at the world cities culture forum summit. The last summit was held in 2021.
Formation of World Cities Cultural Forum:
- It was established in 2012 with eight cities. Currently, it has 43 members. The member cities include London, Amsterdam, Edinburgh, San Francisco, Shanghai, and Hong Kong. India is not a member of this forum but was invited in 2021.
- It was founded by the mayor of London and is currently chaired by Deputy Mayor for culture and creative industries. It is managed by the (Greater London Authority) GLA culture and creative Industries team. It is proposed that (World Cities Culture Forum)WCCF should be transitioned into an independent charitable organization to diversify income sources and ensure transparency.
- It is attended by Deputy Mayors for culture and Heads of culture from the member cities.
Management and Functioning of World Cities Cultural Forum:
World cities culture forum and its activities are managed by BOP consulting, a special consulting firm on the behalf of the Greater London Authority, London municipal government.
Bop’s role is to conduct comparative research and measure the impact of creativity and culture. Outputs of the research are to be provided to the forum so that forum can take evidence-based policy decisions.
WCCF functions after collaborating with members through a program of events including regional summits, workshops, and themed activities. Achievement of these events is provided to work cities cultural summit forum. Summit is hosted on a rotation basis by member cities. During the summit, different leaders share ideas and knowledge regarding the role of culture in the sustainability of the city. It functions based on peer-to-peer exchange and communication. The personal experiences of world leaders are heard and acknowledged.
Objectives of World Cities Cultural Forum:
- To achieve the goal of development and urbanization but keeps cultural development a priority
- culture of a place help in the basic and minute growth of the region, its impacts will be felt from a small place to large cities.
- To deal with climate change and its rigorously expanding issues.
- Dividing the region based on culture will help in conserving it and in the long term, it will help to unite different cultures.
Significance of World Cities Cultural Forum:
- Rapid urbanization and two third the population getting urbanized by 2030 will increase climate change and other social problems. These climate changes are majorly tackled by cities.
- Network of 40 world major cities helps in collaboration on research and policy.
- It functions on shared opportunities and challenges for culture and creativity in cities across the globe.
- Members shares idea and data which promote innovations and positive changes in the cities.
- Growth of urban population challenges leaders to maintain city culture. They attract businesses and skilled jobs by staying resilient and adaptable to cultures.
- WCCF believes culture to be key for sustainable urban centers.
- BOP which started in three cities has turned into an international entity that helps in focusing on development.
World Cities Culture Summits and its Finance Report:
- The representatives of all member cities meet annually and decide on a theme for the summit.
- The theme for the summit held in 2021 is “The future of culture”. Delhi was invited to the summit. After Mumbai Delhi is the second city that got the platform for cities to share their culture.
- The report is published after every 3 years. Delhi’s involvement in the summit will play a crucial role in drafting a cultural policy specially during the challenging and devastating time of covid 19 crisis.
Finance Report of WCCF:
- It is the first global comparative study to examine how much is spent on culture and from which city.
- 60 % percent of the public direct culture funding is provided by the city and local government.
- In USA cities, culture funding is dominated by private sources. Outside the USA only Tokyo has an exception with private funding of more than 19%.
- Individuals dominate private giving in US and UK and corporations in Asia.
Impact of Covid 19 on world cities:
- Impact on the cultural sector is enormous across the world.
- All the world heritage sites are majorly closed to the public.
- 13 % of museums around the world may permanently close according to a report by the International labor organization.