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Cork is selected as a leading city in health and wellbeing by UNESCO

Cork has been selected by UNESCO as one of the lead cities in a global network focussing on health and wellbeing in cities. 

The announcement was made at the 4th UNESCO Conference on Learning Cities held in Columbia.

As a lead city, Cork will be invited to host a seminar on health and wellbeing where cities from around the world can share their experiences and learn about best practice in wellbeing learning.


Lord Mayor of Cork, Councillor John Sheehan said: “This places the work that the city has undertaken on a global stage and demonstrates that the innovations and initiatives taken by our partners, including the health services and Cork Healthy Cities, are world class in terms of citizen engagement”.

The Lord Mayor was given the honour of speaking at the opening handover ceremony in Medellin. A Cork delegation comprised of UCC President Pat O’Shea, CIT Deputy President Áine Ní Shé, CETB Chief Executive Denis Leamy and Cork City Council Director of Service, Adrienne Rodgers spoke at the first session. The session focussed on inclusion in Education and Learning, in which Cork has a strong track record in this area.  

The Lord Mayor addressed the 500+ crowd from the same stage as the President of Colombia, Iván Duque Marquez, the Director of UNESCO Institute for Lifelong Learning, David Atchoarena and the Mayor of Medellin, Federico Gutierrez. “To represent the city here today is a great honour and a clear recognition of the role played by Cork in advancing the Learning Cities agenda since it became the first European city to host the UNESCO Learning Cities conference two years ago,” he said.

Cork was one of the first 12 cities in the world to be awarded a UNESCO Learning City award in 2015. It remains one of just 38 cities to hold the award worldwide. Medellin in Columbia has now been presented with this award to recognise the transformation of the city.

Before addressing the UNESCO conference, the Lord Mayor held a private meeting with the President of Colombia Iván Duque Marquez.

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