We propose Chiang Mai as part of the Learning City Network
Chiang Mai City, “A model of a learning city that uses community culture to drive the economy and quality of life”, presents a learning model that “connects the places, communities, and people” through the demonstration of “community culture” through traditional and cultural events in the city area in the form of “Community-Cultural Based Demonstration Event (CCBD)”, supporting learning through direct experiences between visitors and owners of culture, opening up opportunities for learning for people of all ages, both learners and passers of cultural knowledge, with continuous support from the government sector in budget and space. Such city-level learning processes help stimulate the circular economy in both urban and peripheral communities, leading to the elevation of local handicrafts, and the revival and passing on of knowledge with traditions, culture, and handicrafts as an important foundation for the new generation.
คุณลักษณะสำคัญ
Project Brief
Chiang Mai City, represented by Chiang Mai Municipality, was elected as a member of the UNESCO Global Network of Learning Cities (GNLC) in September 2020. Improving the process of promoting the Learning City at the civic level by identifying learning resources has been effected via collaborations between Chiang Mai Municipality and partners in the academic sector, such as Chiang Mai University, to implement research projects with budget support from the Research and Innovation Management Agency for Local Development, Office of the Higher Education, Science, Research and Innovation Policy Council, and Ministry of Higher Education, Science, Research and Innovation.
Local literature, local study, and database creation under three project sets between 2021-2023 include (1) Local Network and Learning in Chiang Mai Project Set, (2) Development of Chiang Mai, a Learning City for Sustainable Dynamic Urban Development, and (3) Chiang Mai City Promotional Mechanism Project Set for Chiang Mai UNESCO Learning City Network Initiative. The mechanisms for promoting the Learning City were co-designed between Chiang Mai Municipality, civil society, communities, and young people in the Chiang Mai Municipality area.
In 2023, Chiang Mai Municipality proceeded to announce the appointment of a committee to promote urban development with the objective of submitting a proposal to UNESCO for the Learning City Award, in order to improve the quality and effectiveness of learning within the city.
The project has also collaborated with Chiang Mai Municipality to promote the city’s membership in the Learning Cities Network and apply for the UNESCO Learning City Award, according to the theme “A Model Learning City – Using Community Culture to Develop the Economy and Quality of Life”, by integrating the potential within the Old City area of Chiang Mai, linked by the value of urban morphology, which connects traditional cultural activities, community diversity, economic areas, biodiverse areas, and educational areas, to present a model Learning City that “links the government, private sector, community and public” through the value of “community culture” and important city-wide traditional and cultural events in the form of “Community-Cultural-Based Demonstration Events (CCBD)” which convey through physical aspects beliefs concerning the morphology of Chiang Mai Old City. This supports learning through direct experience between visitors and cultural owners and provides learning opportunities for people of all ages, including both learners and inheritors of cultural knowledge, with continuous support of budget and space provided by the government and community. Such urban learning processes help to stimulate the circular economy in both urban and peripheral areas, effecting development of local handicrafts, revitalization and dissemination of knowledge related to traditions, culture and local crafts, which provide an important foundation for younger generations