The application process for Bendigo and the greater region to be recognised by UNESCO for its gastronomy has begun.
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City of Greater Bendigo regional sustainable development manager Trevor Budge said the application process involved creating an advisory group.
“We will be seeking out people to join and also opening up the opportunity for others to be involved with the application,” Mr Budge said.
“There will most likely be multiple drafts of the application which we will share to receive feedback.”
COGB mayor Margaret O’Rourke said it was important to “spread the word” to connect the community during the application process.
“Anyone that has an interest in being involved, we would like to hear from them, Cr O’ Rourke said.
The themes for the application include: recognition of Aboriginal heritage, sustainability, health and wellbeing, and innovation and diversity.
Dr Russell Kennedy from Deakin University was a committee member for Geelong’s successful UNESCO application to be recognised as a City of Design.
“I was invited by the COGB to join the advisory committee for the gastronomy bid,” Dr Kennedy said.
“Immediately ideas are coming forward as to how we can connect Melbourne, a City of Literature with Geelong, a City of Design with the potential for Bendigo to become a City of Gastronomy.”
Dr Kennedy said the application needed to highlight not just “what had been done in the past, but what is planned for the future”.
Dja Dja Wurrung Clans Aboriginal Corporation chair Trent Nelson said the inclusion of Aboriginal heritage within the application’s theme “put Dja Dja Wurrung people at the forefront of the discussion”.
“It’s about providing for our families and being sustainable, which includes the wider community too.”
Mayor O’Rourke said she was excited to work “even closer” with Dja Dja Wurrung during the application process.
“It’s great recognition of Aboriginal heritage, which is the connection to country and a sustainable food system which is thousands of years old,” Cr O’Rourke said.
The UNESCO Creative Cities Network was created in 2004 and is made up of 180 cities throughout the world covering categories such as design, film, music, and gastronomy.
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