After more than a year of negotiations and with the support of the Organization of Ibero-American States in Brazil (OEI), São Paulo officially became part of the international network of cities for culture World Cities Culture Forum (WCCF). To celebrate this act, an online ceremony organized by the OEI was held on Tuesday (01), and was attended by the City Hall and the WCCF Board of Directors.

During the ceremony, representatives of the OEI and WCCF reinforced the importance of São Paulo's membership in the network because of the actions carried out in the local cultural context, which are references for other cities in the country and also abroad the country. The WCCF expects a new approach on urban culture to be included in the network discussions through the São Paulo perspective, contributing with new ways of promoting the sector and with ideas and solutions for the resumption of activities in the post-Pandemic.

Besides being the capital of São Paulo, the cities network includes: Amsterdam (Holland), Austin (USA), Bogotá (Colombia), Brasília (Brazil), Brussels (Belgium), Buenos Aires (Argentina), Cape Town (South Africa), Chengdu (China), Dublin (Ireland), Edinburgh (Scotland), Stockholm (Sweden), Helsinki (Finland), Hong Kong (China), Istanbul (Turkey), Lagos (Nigeria), Lisbon (Portugal), London (United Kingdom), Los Angeles (USA), Melbourne (Australia), Milan (Italy), Montreal (Canada), Moscow (Russia), Nanjing (China), New York (USA), Oslo (Norway), Paris (France), Rome (Italy), San Francisco (USA), Seoul (South Korea), Shenzen (China), Singapore (Singapore), Sydney (Australia), Taipei (Taiwan), Tokyo (Japan), Toronto (Canada), Warsaw (Poland), Vienna (Austria), Shanghai (China), Zurich (Switzerland).

The member cities' activities at the Forum strengthen the exchange of international cultural initiatives through collaboration in events - such as thematic symposia, regional summits and workshops. These activities also contribute to the WCCF World Summit, an annual meeting to discuss the role of culture as an organizing principle of the sustainable city in the future. In 2020, because of the new coronavirus pandemic, the World Summit was postponed and will be held between March 10th-12th of 2021 in Milan.

About the World Cities Culture Forum

Created in 2012, the network is formed by local governments and leaders of 40 cities that dialogue about the issues related to culture. WCCF actions are organized and carried out by BOP Consulting, a consulting firm specialized in cultural and creative economics, which provides network with research and policy analysis services. Currently, the network of cities is chaired by the Deputy Mayor of Culture and Creative Industries at London City Hall, Justine Simons.