The UNESCO Creative Cities Network (UCCN) is a project of UNESCO launched in 2004 to promote cooperation among cities which recognized creativity as a major factor in their urban development.
The network aims to foster mutual international cooperation with and between member cities committed to investing in creativity as a driver for sustainable urban development, social inclusion and cultural vibrancy.
The Network recognizes the following creative fields:
Crafts and Folk Arts
Media Arts
Film
Design
Gastronomy
Literature
Music
The overall situation and activities within the Network are reported in the UCCN Membership Monitoring Reports, each for a 4-year period for a particular city.
The Network recognizes the concept of creative tourism, defined as a travel associated with creative experience and participation
So far three Indian cities as bee added to UCCN, they are as follows,
Varanasi for Music
Jaipur for Crafts and Folk Art
Chennai for Music
To become part of the network of 180 cities, where development is believed to be intricately linked to their creative traditions.
Proposal to add Srinagar as a city of Crafts and Folk Art under UCCN is on cards, it is to be noted that Jammu and Kashmir do not have any site or monument with the UNESCO inscription of a World Heritage Site.
INTACH
The Indian National Trust for Art and Cultural Heritage (INTACH) was founded in 1984 with the vision to spearhead heritage awareness and conservation in India.
INTACH’s mission is to conserve heritage is based on the belief that living in harmony with heritage enhances the quality of life, and it is the duty of every citizen of India as laid down in the Constitution of India.
INTACH is recognized as one of the world’s largest heritage organizations and has pioneered the conservation and preservation of not just our natural and built heritage but intangible heritage as well.
National Commission for Scheduled Castes (NCSC)
NCSC is an Indian constitutional body established with a view to providing safeguards against the exploitation of Scheduled Castes to promote and protect their social, educational, economic and cultural interests, special provisions were made in the Constitution.
Article 338 of the Indian constitution deals with National Commission for scheduled castes and clause (A) of the article deals with National Commission for Scheduled Tribes.
Members of SC and ST commission includes a chairman, a vice chairman and four other members.
President of India appoints the chairman of SC and ST commission, Fifth schedule of Indian constitution deals with the administration and control of SC and ST.
Service condition and tenure of SC and St are determined by the president of India.
Article 341 deals with notification of scheduled castes and Article 342 deals with notification of scheduled tribes.
CLAWS
The Centre for Land Warfare Studies (CLAWS), New Delhi, is an autonomous think tank of the Indian Arm.
CLAWS is registered under the Societies Registration Act, 1860 and is a membership-based organization, and it works on strategic studies and land warfare in the Indian context.
It is governed by a Board of Governors and an Executive Council.
The mandate of CLAWS covers national security issues, conventional military operations and sub-conventional warfare.
The Centre also focuses on conflicts in the region and military developments in countries within India's strategic frontiers, particularly those in the Southern Asian region.
Aspergillus Fungi
Fungi are said to be grand recyclers of the planet and are considered vanguard species in habitat restoration.
Indian researchers have identified Aspergillus terreus strain fungi which can potentially help degrade polythene and reduce plastic pollution.
Polythene contributes to around 64 per cent of the total plastic waste and takes about 1,000 years to degrade under natural environmental conditions.
The plastic degradation fungi are identified from mangrove rhizosphere soil (root soil where microorganisms colonize) from 12 different locations in five coastal states Kerala, Karnataka, Maharashtra, Goa and Gujarat.
