Episode Details

You might know that London was designated as a UNESCO city of music back in 2021. The initiative is currently run out of the Tourism London Office. Ward 6 City Councillor Sam Trosow is going to join us to tell us how he thinks the first 5 years of the program have gone and he’s going to tell us what he wants to see next. UNESCO stands for United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization. It was formed in 1945 and has 194 members states today. It manages the World Heritage Centre (which designates World Heritage Sites), promotes education for all, supports scientific research and protects cultural diversity. There are currently over 50 "Cities of Music" within this global network, and it’s been about about 5 years since London earned its designation as a UNESCO City of Music. And still today, London is the only Canadian City to have that City of Music Destination. 2026 is a milestone for London. Last week, City Council reviewed a report that detailed what the city and community partners have been able to accomplish since earning the distinction. The report also includes some information on where the City of London’s Music Office thinks the program should go from here. That second part - where they are recommending council go from here - is an important one because the distinction has a kind of “use it or lose” clause. In other words if, among other things, future strategic planning doesn’t have a central focus on investing in Music, Art and Culture. That means that London could claim to be the first Canadian city to earn the distinction and it could also be the first Canadian city to have it revoked. That’s the background, Ward 6 City Councillor Sam Trosow joins the show to tell us all about it.