6 NOVEMBER 2019
#ALLOVEROVERBERG We’ve Got You Covered
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NEWS
Artwalkers took to the streets and alleys of the Hermanus CBD on Friday to stroll from gallery to gallery during the First Fridays Artwalk on a balmy spring evening. (More on P 10) PHOTO: Taylum Meyer
O'strand gets nod from UNESCO Writer Raphael da Silva
T
he Overstrand has a brand-new and unique accolade to add to its already impressive list of reasons why the Whale Coast is one of the top tourist destinations in the world. The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation (UNESCO) last week announced that the Overstrand has been designated as Africa’s first Gastronomy Creative City. The Overstrand has been designated as the first Gastronomy Creative City in
Africa, joining Cape Town and Durban as the only other two cities in South Africa to be included, respectively, as designated Creative Cities in Design and Literature in 2017. “This is a win for the whole area stretching from Rooiels to Buffeljagsbaai. It is a win for the fishermen, the pancake makers, bakers, winemakers, beer brewers, distillers, foodies, farmers, coffee roasters, farm stalls, those who pick the fruit, stir the pots and serve the clients,” says Cape Whale Coast Tourism Manager, Frieda Lloyd, who points out that the gastronomy designation covers the whole range of “farm-to-fork” activities that happen every day across the Overstrand and
is not specific to Hermanus nor to restaurants. In total, 66 new cities were designated as UNESCO Creative Cities last week by the Director-General of UNESCO, Audrey Azoulay. Since 2004, when the initiative was launched, 246 cities across the world have qualified to be part of the UNESCO Creative Cities Network (UCCN) in one of seven categories: Crafts & Folk Art, Design, Film, Gastronomy, Literature, Media Arts and Music. To qualify to be part of UCCN, a city must commit to “placing creativity and the creative economy at the core of their urban development plans to
make cities safe, resilient, inclusive and sustainable, in line with the United Nations 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development,” says UNESCO. In the application process, candidate cities must also present a medium-term, four-year action plan describing the main initiatives that the city commits to in achieving the Network’s objectives. The Overstrand has proposed to UNESCO that it will implement the following: • The Hermanus Overstrand Food Bank Project Forming the cornerstone of the gas-
tronomy designation, a Food Bank will be set up to galvanise the Overstrand community to work in a more coordinated way to address social problems. The project will involve supermarkets and restaurants and include the role that education, technology, food gardens and forest foraging play in addressing food security.
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A Junior Master Chef Competition This project will be held annually on 21 March to coincide with World Home Economics Day and will have a schools division as well as a postschool category. Continues on P 3
