E-Paper
Warangal, Thrissur join UNESCO Global Network of Learning Cities
Union culture and tourism minister G Kishan Reddy thanked Prime Minister Narendra Modi for his sustained efforts” to obtain recognition and exhibit the “rich cultural heritage of India”.
Telangana's second largest city, Warangal, and Kerala's culture capital, Thrissur, have joined the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization's (UNESCO) Global Network of Learning Cities, a statement by India at UNESCO said.
Taking to Twitter, Union culture and tourism minister G Kishan Reddy called Warangal's achievement “great news” and also congratulated the city and the southern state for its “second recognition in the last 1 year” by the UN agency.
“Great News! Warangal in Telangana state joins The UNESCO Global Network of Learning Cities! Congratulations Warangal and Telangana on this momentous occasion. After the inscription of World Heritage Site Tag by UNESCO to the Great Ramappa Temple in Warangal, Telangana gets its second recognition in the last 1 year by the UNESCO,” Reddy's post on the micro-blogging site read.
The Union minister thanked Prime Minister Narendra Modi for his “sustained efforts” to obtain recognition and exhibit the “rich cultural heritage of India”.
Speaking about the achievement, Warangal mayor Sudha Rani Gundu said that “learning is an investment”. “I believe that our Warangal’s vision for inclusive and sustainable development is in line with the UNESCO GNLC concept,” she added.
What is the Global Network of Learning Cities?
According to UNESCO's website, the network is an global policy-oriented network offering “inspiration, know-how and best practice”. It further stated that learning cities at all stages of development can benefit vastly from “sharing ideas with other cities”, as solutions for problems that come as one city develops may already exist in other cities.
“The Network supports the achievement of all seventeen Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), in particular SDG 4 (‘Ensure inclusive and equitable quality education and promote lifelong learning opportunities for all’) and SDG 11 (‘Make cities and human settlements inclusive, safe, resilient and sustainable’).” UNESCO said.
What features define a learning city?
There are six features that define a learning city. These include one that effectively mobilises its resources in every sector to advocate inclusive learning, revitalises learning in families and communities, facilitates learning for and at workplaces, extends the use of modern learning technologies, augments quality and excellence in learning, and fosters a culture of learning throughout life.
What features of Warangal and Thrissur helped the cities win the UNESCO tag?
Several features were considered by the UN agency to include Warangal in the Global Network of Learning Cities. The UNESCO highlighted the Telangana city's good practices of advocating healthy environments for children and caregiver, free training for the transgender community, and self-help groups.
Meanwhile, the UN agency highlighted the initiatives focusing on vulnerable groups undertaken by Thirssur as one of its good practices. The other one was the Thrissur Pooram Festival - an annual event celebrating artistic, musical, folk-art, and cultural traditions in the region.
