December 12, 01:23 PM 
514 Chai Chee Lane 03-16, Singapore 469029 Singapore has just been named as one of 47 new cities to be added into UNESCO's Creative Cities Network (UCCN) on Dec. 11.
The UCCN was formed in 2004 to "promote cooperation with and among cities that have identified creativity as a strategic factor for sustainable urban development."
The network covers seven fields - Crafts & Folk Art, Design, Film, Gastronomy, Literature, Media Arts, and Music. Member cities of the network are expected to pool their resources, their experiences and knowledge towards sustainable development.
Singapore joins the network under the Design field.
Yaacob Ibrahim, Minister for Communications and Information, whose Ministry oversees the DesignSingapore Council, said, "This is indeed a proud moment for all of us and puts Singapore’s design industry on the world stage."
Here's what he posted on Facebook:
Just'>
Posted by Yaacob Ibrahim on Friday, 11 December 2015
How significant is this accolade?
Together with Bandung in Indonesia, Singapore is one of the first two cities in Southeast Asia to get the designation.
Kobe (Japan), Shanghai (China), Beijing (China), Berlin (Germany), Seoul (South Korea) are among the Unesco creative cities of design. Hence, Singapore is in illustrious company.
Looks like UNESCO hasn't updated its UCCN map. Singapore is still not listed on its interactive map:
Click on image to go to the interactive map.
The UCCN hopes to assert the role of culture as an enabler of sustainable development.
Its 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development highlights culture and creativity as key levers for sustainable urban development. UCCN will serve as a platform to contribute to the implementation and achievement of this international agenda.
What can design do exactly for sustainable development?
Design, and design thinking, is one of the reasons why products we use today are getting better and better.
That sounds pretty abstract so here are a few quirky pictures to drive home the point about how design can help improve things:
No more tripping over wires or bulges under the carpet. Source: Imgur
Source: Quora
Old habits using new design = save water. Source: Quora
Top image from Leonid Yaitskiy
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