SRINAGAR AND WORLD CRAFT
CITY – REPORTS AND INDICES
News: Srinagar vies for global craft
city tag as World Craft Council International team tours craft clusters
What's in the news?
●
The World Crafts Council International (WCCI) has
chosen Srinagar to map its craft clusters before it’s officially nominated as
the World Craft City (WCC) from India this year.
Key takeaways:
●
A three-member team of the WCCI, which is headed by
Saad Al-Qaddumi, is in Srinagar to inspect craft clusters, processes involved,
and the status of artisans.
World Crafts Council International:
●
It is a Kuwait-based
organisation working on the recognition and preservation of traditional
crafts across the globe.
Founders:
●
It was founded by Ms. Aileen Osborn Vanderbilt
Webb, Ms. Margaret M. Patch, and Smt Kamaladevi Chattopadhyay at the 1st World
Crafts Council General Assembly in New York on June 12, 1964.
Objective:
●
To strengthen the status of crafts in cultural and
economic life.
Functions:
●
It promotes fellowship
among crafts-persons by offering them encouragement, help, and advice.
●
It fosters and assists cultural exchange through conferences, international visits,
research study, lectures, workshops, exhibitions, and other activities.
Status with UNESCO:
●
Since its inception, it has been affiliated with
UNESCO under Consultative Status for
many years.
World Craft City
Programme:
●
It is a groundbreaking initiative launched in 2014
by the World Crafts Council AISBL
(WCC-International).
Objective:
●
To recognize the pivotal role played by the local
authorities, craftspeople, and communities in cultural, economic, and social
development worldwide.
Indian Cities:
●
Under these initiatives Jaipur (Rajasthan), Mammalapuram
(Tamil Nadu) and Mysore have been
added as craft cities from India.
Potential of Crafting
Industry in Srinagar:
●
Srinagar has several clusters where artisans were
working on local crafts like Pashmina
shawls, carpets, papier mâché etc.
●
Srinagar, spread over 416 square kilometres, has a
registered artisan base of 20,822 craftsmen, who are involved in multiple
disciples of papier mâché, walnut wood
carving, hand-knotted carpet, Kani shawl, Khatamband, pashmina, Sozni craft
etc.
●
The total craft related workforce in Srinagar
stands at 1.76% approximately.
● The contribution of the handicraft to the overall economy of J&K stood at 2.64% by 2016-17.