Braga in the UNESCO Network

What a decade ago might have been seen as an audacious project is now part of the city's identity, crossing different sectors of activity, paving the way for innovation, and opening doors to the critical imagination of our citizens.

Today, Braga is no longer just a city in northern Portugal, it is a hub of a wider network of cities that invests in the urban and sustainable development of populations through creativity. An Art and Technology Biennial, a pioneering educational service, an international cooperation network, and a manifesto that serves as a pact for the future of cities—these are some examples of what happens when a city challenges its conventions and limits.  

Our journey began before June 2017, with a bold step: applying for the title of UNESCO Creative City in the field of Media Arts. This was not just an act of claiming a title, but a serious commitment: to value youth, foster creativity, and encourage innovation. Since then, Braga has turned this promise into action, leveraging its most valuable attributes: its citizens, the synergy of its technological networks, and the excellence of its institutions, artists, companies, organizations, universities, and research centers.

As a UNESCO Creative City, we are part of a global network of cities in various creative fields, a living global ecosystem where culture and creativity are catalysts for change. We share experiences and best practices with hundreds of partner cities in a global innovation network through partnerships and transformative projects. 

Education is undoubtedly at the heart of this transformation. In partnership with the University of Minho, we have responded to a gap in specialized education in Portugal—higher education in Media Arts. In 2021, the Master's Degree in Media Arts was launched, a pioneering program that combines art, communication, and technology, promoting a direct link between academic training and the cultural dynamics of Braga in this field.

As a vital platform for cities, the UNESCO Creative Cities Network promotes peer learning, fosters the exchange of best practices, and encourages collaborative projects. At the same time, it empowers cities to integrate cultural vitality into the development of comprehensive urban development strategies. The network covers seven creative fields—Crafts and Folk Arts, Design, Film, Gastronomy, Literature, Media Arts, and Music—and its efforts extend beyond cultural preservation.

Braga has been a UNESCO Creative City in the field of Media Arts since 2017, forming part of this network of hundreds of cities around the world that place creativity at the heart of their social, cultural, and economic development.

The UNESCO Creative Cities Network Annual Conference is a unique opportunity to strengthen ties between cities around the world and serves as a platform for defining the strategic objectives of an expanded and balanced network.

After Paris (2008), Santa Fe (2008), Lyon (2009), Shenzhen (2010), Seoul (2011), Montreal (2012), Bologna (2013), Chengdu (2014), Kanazawa (2015), Östersund (2016), Enghien-les-Bains (2017), Krakow and Katowice (2018), Fabriano (2019), and Santos (2022), in 2024, Braga hosted the 16th Annual Conference of UNESCO Creative Cities under the theme “Bringing Youth to the Global Table.”

As the digital world becomes integrated into our socio-cultural fabric, it is essential to reflect on what this means for our democracies. It has gained a prominent role in how we disseminate and consume information or interact with public institutions, inevitably shaping our view of the world and our relationship with decision-makers.

Understanding the intersections between technology, communication and public institutions is a fundamental step towards building adigital agreement that is genuinely aligned with democratic principles and values.

Between January 2023 and December 2025, the project will develop a myriad of programmes aimed at creating a new format for apublic forum for reflection. This space brings together cultural institutions, artists, researchers and educators, promoting dialogue on how an agreement that safeguards democratic values in the digital context can be structured, and what role each agent can/should play in its construction.

The project does not merely expose the risks of the present — it also seeks to rethink the way we innovate, promoting an approach that considers the environmental and social impacts of technologies from the outset, favouring fair, ethical and sustainable solutions.

The European Digital Deal programme can be consulted in detail at Ars Electronica, and is the result of extensive cooperation between Ars Electronica (AT), Gluon (BE), iMAL (BE), Kersnikova Institute (SI), LABoral (ES), Onassis Stegi (GR), Pro Progressione (HU), Sineglossa (IT), Braga Media Arts (PT), gnration (PT), CPN (RS), The Culture Yard (DK), Waag (NL) and Zaragoza City of Knowledge Foundation (ES).

Benefiting from close ties with the city's cultural spaces, the course is aimed at graduates in the fields of visual arts, fine arts, performing arts, multimedia, audiovisual, design, communication sciences, and other related areas.

In addition to a methodological and laboratory-based study plan, the Master's in Media Arts seeks to provide its students with advanced training in media arts, delving into the intersection between art and technology, navigating digital communication, formal artistic expressions, and technologies in artistic practice. The inclusion of students in national and international media arts production circuits through a network of partners creates opportunities for contact and real interaction with agents and audiences.

Braga Media Arts