The annual conference "The role of creative Industries in the socio-economic development of tourist areas, including those included in the UNESCO Network of Creative Cities" was held in St. Petersburg. The event is organized under the auspices of the Commission of the Russian Federation for UNESCO

On December 13, First Deputy Mayor Inna Mitrofanova and Head of the Directorate of Ulyanovsk — UNESCO Literary City Elena Cherkas presented the experience of Ulyanovsk as a UNESCO literary city online at a plenary session devoted to the development of creative territories through traditions and innovations.
The session participants learned about the cultural code of the city based on the literary heritage, as well as about the transformation of the tourist image of Ulyanovsk with an emphasis on the creative potential of history and modernity. The names of Nikolai Karamzin, Ivan Goncharov, Denis Davydov, Nikolai Yazykov, Dmitry Sadovnikov and others were heard.
UNESCO Deputy Director General for Culture Ernesto R. Ottone, Second Secretary of the Secretariat of the Russian Federation Commission for UNESCO Anna Ermachenkova and other representatives of creative cities of Russia and foreign countries made welcoming speeches.

"Ulyanovsk has been in the UNESCO Creative Cities Network program for 8 years and works in two main directions: the organization of literary and creative projects together with the urban community and international cooperation. Since the city was included in the Network, Ulyanovsk and the region have been assigned the status of "The Literary flagship of Russia", "The most reading region", "The Territory of books and reading", etc. The historical and literary heritage and rich cultural and entertainment program attract the attention of citizens and guests of the city, this is reflected in the flow of tourists, which increased by 15%. During our stay in the international creative Network, we have accumulated experience that is of interest to colleagues from the regions of Russia and other countries," said Elena Toporkova, Head of the Department of Culture and Leisure of the Population of Ulyanovsk.

About 1,000 people from Russia, China, Benin, Serbia, Saudi Arabia, Mexico, Cuba, Tajikistan, Belarus and others took part in the conference offline and online.

The UNESCO Creative Cities Network program was established in 2004 to expand cooperation between cities that consider culture and creativity as a strategic element of socio-economic development. To date, the Network has 350 cities in more than a hundred countries, 53 cities represent the direction of "Literature". Ulyanovsk was the first in Russia to join this international Network and is the only UNESCO literary city in our country.