November 1, 2025 | 11:49am
MANILA, Philippines — Quezon City and Dumaguete City are among the new member cities of the UNESCO Creative Cities Network.
UNESCO Director-General Audrey Azoulay designated 58 new member cities on October 31, World Cities Day, for their commitment to championing creativity as a driver of sustainable urban development.
Joining Quezon City as Film cities are Sao Paulo in Brazil, Giza in Egypt, and Ho Chi Minh in Vietnam — making Quezon City and Ho Chi Minh the first Cities of Film in Southeast Asia.
Meanwhile, new Literature cities like Dumaguete are Gdansk in Poland, Abuja in Nigeria, Conakry in Guinea, Aberystwyth in Wales, Celje in Slovenia, Kahramanmara? in Turkey, Lund in Sweden, San Luis Potosi in Mexico and Tangier in Morocco.
Dumaguete is just the second City of Literature after the Indonesian capital Jakarta, which was recognized in 2021.
The UNESCO Creative Cities Network — which also recognizes Cities of Crafts and Folk Art, Design, Gastronomy, Media Arts, Music and introduced this year, Architecture — is now up to 408 member cities.
Previous Philippine designation include Baguio City (Crafts and Folk Art), Cebu City (Design) and Iloilo City (Gastronomy).
Quezon City’s designation as a City of Film comes just as the 2025 QCinema International Film Festival is set to take place later this month, coincidentally bearing the theme “Film City” because of the city’s rich history in film production.
Joy Belmonte, mayor of Quezon City, said in a statement that the “Film City” moniker will “forever be etched in the legacy of every filmmaker, artist, and storyteller who has shaped our city’s vibrant film heritage.”
She referenced icons like National Artists Lino Brocka, Nora Aunor, and Fernando Poe Jr. and the classic production outfit Sampaguita Pictures from the golden age of Philippine cinema, as well as the new generation of creatives bringing stories to life.
“This is for the workers behind the screen and the QCitizens who deserve access to quality films. Today, we celebrate a big achievement in Philippine cinema but the work starts again tomorrow,” Belmonte ended.
The 2025 QCinema International Film Festival will run from November 14 to 21.
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Disclosure: Quezon City Mayor Joy Belmonte is a shareholder of Philstar Global Corp., which operates Philstar.com. This article was produced independently in adherence to our editorial and ethical guidelines
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