Srinagar in fray for UNESCO Creative Cities Network

A workshop of stakeholders on preparation of dossier for inclusion of Srinagar City in UNESCO Creative Cities Network was held today at the Institute of Hotel Management, Rajbagh here.

The workshop is part of the Restoration and Strengthening ofLivelihoods component of Jhelum Tawi Flood Recovery Project funded by the WorldBank.

   

During the workshop most of the stakeholders which includedadministrators, artisans, academicians, representatives of business   houses associated with different crafts ,policy makers, representatives of design schools and civil society associatedwith the promotion and restoration of arts and crafts shared their thoughts onthe topic.

Director Technical, JTFRP Iftikhar Ahmad Kakroo, said theaim of the workshop is to provide a platform for all the stakeholders involvedwith the various aspects of Kashmir Handicrafts and obtain their valuableinputs for the preparation of the said Dossier.

Convenor, INTACH, J&K Chapter Saleem Beg said that thereis need for more pilot projects in the field and stressed on the need forinclusion of artisans in the policy formulation.

Prof N.A Nadeem from Central University of Kashmiremphasized on the need for developing of more innovative craft designs andquick  patent registration of newdesigns.

Director Craft Development Institute, Srinagar Zubair Ahmad,said that CDI is working on quality certification of various local crafts,Geographical Indication Labels of various local crafts and also working on thedevelopment of  more innovative designsand quality control of the products. 

Assistant Director, Handicrafts Mushtaq Ahmad, said “Inpresent times there is urgent need to blend the various crafts to make Kashmircrafts innovative to buyers”.

Sharing their thoughts many prominent artisans from variouscrafts like Pashmina weaving, Papier machie, wood carving, namdhaas, Khatambandetc said that finance and marketing support from the government is must for thesurvival and promotion of Kashmir handicrafts. Various designers andentrepreneurs also shared their thoughts on the topic.

The workshop was organised by INTACH, J&K Chapter, incollaboration with Dronah and sponsored by Jhelum Tawi Flood Recovery Projectfunded by World Bank.

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