Adana becomes one body to receive the title of gastronomy city from UNESCO

UNESCO Creative Cities Network 2021 Adana Gastronomy City Application-Nomination Committee Meeting was held within the scope of the works initiated to give Adana the title of Gastronomy City by UNESCO.

The meeting held at the Sheraton Hotel was attended by Adana Governor Süleyman Elban, Adana Metropolitan Municipality Mayor Zeydan Karalar, Adana deputies, district mayors, academicians, professional chamber presidents, and representatives of various non-governmental organizations. In the first part of the meeting, where city dynamics participated intensely, information was given about the scope, content of the UNESCO Creative Cities Network, and the criteria for nomination and inclusion.

WE HAVE THOUSANDS OF YEARS OF HISTORICAL MEMORY

Adana Metropolitan Municipality Mayor Zeydan Karalar stated that Adana is an ancient city and that it has hosted many civilizations for centuries. Mayor Karalar said, “Adana is an ecosystem that learns, teaches and educates people with its agricultural production capability, eating habits and deep-rooted cuisine culture, which has been filtered from its historical memory of thousands of years, with its atmosphere and gastronomy, which welcomes thousands of executives, business people, and artists. All these features of Adana will be presented to get the title of gastronomy city from UNESCO. The title of UNESCO Gastronomy City will develop and strengthen Adana’s ecosystem in the field of gastronomy ” and continued as follows:

ADANA’S PROJECT

– Thank you very much to our esteemed Governor in your presence. The project is the project of All Adana under the leadership of our Dear Governor. There is a sentence said by the UNESCO Director-General. The UNESCO Creative Cities Network represents an enormous potential for demonstrating the role of culture in enabling sustainable development. This is very important for a city. It is a serious deficiency that Adana, which has so many qualities, has not been included in the network so far.

– And as soon as you join the Creative Cities Network, there will be a lot of positive changes. Tourism, employment, and the economy will get stronger and the city’s perspective will change positively. This project is not only the project of Metropolitan, but Adana’s project. Under the leadership of our esteemed Governor, all the dynamics of Adana must fight together in this business and aspire to the ultimate goal.

OUR CITY’S WELFARE WILL INCREASE

– This meeting has two main aims. One is to ensure unity on this path, the other is to get the views of urban dynamics, if there is something missing about the file being a satisfactory file at the point of meeting UNESCO’s expectations and demands. It is very important to complete the deficiencies and to give the message that we are united as Adana in this regard.

– We are preparing a Tourism and Culture Action Plan to promote all the features that have remained hidden in Adana that Turkey and the world do not recognize. We know the characteristics of our Adana, but we want the whole world to know. We are preparing a very comprehensive action plan for this. We have created sehircilikatolyesi.org so that Adana residents can convey to us the features they think will contribute to tourism at every point they live.

– For this, it is very important that all Adana share this information with us. This is a first in Turkey in terms of ensuring the participation of all the people in such an issue. We all have to admit that joining the UNESCO network in the field of gastronomy, or ensuring the development of our tourism in other matters, are the developments we need the most. Thus, the welfare of our city will increase.

EXCITEMENT AND BEING TOGETHER IS VERY IMPORTANT

Adana Governor Süleyman Elban also mentioned that communication and transportation are progressing at a dizzying speed in the world and said:

– As such, unfortunately, the cities started to become monotonous. When the brands that dominate the cities began to be promoted like the flavors of the cities, the city’s own tastes were suppressed. UNESCO’s network of creative cities is a struggle against this monotony. Each city can have its own claim in the fight against this. It is very important to introduce this to the world at national and international level and within a certain framework, among the subjects included in this network.

– Being included in that network by a specialized, neutral institution brings incredible prestige to that city. Therefore, every city will want to benefit from such prestige and to be in such a network. Being in such a network can provide great advantages. Those that set the criteria and include new cities in the network are also looking at whether urban dynamics are excited to participate and whether they act together. Having all of you here shows that there is a serious infrastructure for participation. We want everyone to contribute to this process, whether they are here or not, and we think there is such a responsibility.

TO BE INVOLVED IN THE UNESCO NETWORK IS ADANA’S RIGHT

– We want a feature of ours that is known to everyone to be registered in the international arena. Therefore, our job is actually not very difficult. We can be assertive in all 7 areas in this network. In the upcoming period, we may enter the network in other areas. In our file, we have enumerated our features regarding the gastronomy of the city. Adana hosts many endemic species geographically. It has received a lot of immigration and everybody has added something to the cuisine of this city. Our kitchen also the cuisine of the place where Lokman Hekim lived and distributed healing. I call on all the dynamics of the city and our citizens to participate and support this campaign.