Macao’s experience as a UNESCO Creative City of Gastronomy showcased at World Food Forum flagship event
MACAU, October 13 - In cooperation with the UNESCO Creative Cities Network (UCCN) Secretariat, the Macao Government Tourism Office (MGTO) participated in a Biocultural and Food Heritage Pavilion session during the 2026 World Food Forum flagship event being held in Italy. Featuring Macao as a case study in its development as a UNESCO Creative City of Gastronomy, the session presented how the Macao SAR Government, high educational institutions, cultural associations, culinary professionals and youth are working together to reinforce the “golden calling card” as a Creative City of Gastronomy, to safeguard the Macanese cuisine while promoting innovation, international exchange and sustainable development.
Participation in a global platform dedicated to shaping a better food future
Organized in the framework of the World Food Forum (WFF), under the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO), the WFF flagship event is taking place from October 8 to 16 at the FAO headquarters in Rome. Delegations from around the world are gathering for the event, which serves as a global platform for dialogue and collaboration among young people, policymakers, scientists, innovators, and other stakeholders. Featuring a diverse program that includes high-level dialogue sessions, innovation labs and cultural showcases, the annual event aims to drive action to transform agrifood systems to shape a better food future.
Under the theme, “Youth-Led Innovation for Urban Gastronomy: Macao, UNESCO Creative City,” the Macao sharing session was held on Monday morning (October 12), as part of the WFF Biocultural and Food Heritage Pavilion programme. It follows Macao, China’s first-time participation this year in the Young Chefs Programme, where two chefs employed in Macao’s dining industry were among those selected from around the world to join this FAO initiative coordinated by WFF, aimed at training the next generation of culinary leaders to foster a more sustainable future for the food service industry and related sectors.
International knowledge-sharing session about Macao’s best practices
The “Youth-Led Innovation for Urban Gastronomy: Macao, UNESCO Creative City” knowledge-sharing session opened with remarks from UCCN. On behalf of the Secretary of UCCN, Denise Bax, the Project Officer for the UCCN Programme, Qiaobo Ni, first provided a framework for the session with an introduction to the Network and its mission and objective, giving insights on ways to leverage culture and creativity for a sustainable urban future, followed by a presentation of the report on the “Impact of the UCCN at Local, National, and International Level” and its findings. Afterwards, the presentations focused on Macao as a case study in its development as a Creative City of Gastronomy.
MGTO Director, Maria Helena de Senna Fernandes, outlined the key achievements and vision of Macao as a Creative City of Gastronomy, along with the preparations to mark the tenth anniversary of the designation in 2027. Moreover, the Dean of Faculty of Innovative Hospitality of the Macao University of Tourism, Clara Lei, offered an overview of the future of culinary arts education, youth engagement initiatives and the work surrounding the Macanese Cuisine Database.
Young voices in gastronomy were also featured in a conversation with the two chefs selected to participate in the 2026 Young Chefs Programme, Daniel Chio from Galaxy Resorts Macau and Safa Rodas from City of Dreams Macau. The chefs shared lessons learned from the programme and their perspectives on the future of gastronomy and sustainability.
A panel bringing together speakers from Macao community and civil society followed, including the Secretary-General of the International Institute of Macau, António Monteiro, along with Florita Morais Alves and Vitor Morais Alves from Macanese Gastronomic Brotherhood. The speakers discussed safeguarding Macanese culinary heritage, food heritage protection, recipes inheritance and youth promotion. The knowledge-sharing session concluded with an interactive panel for audience questions to all speakers, followed by closing remarks from Qiaobo Ni and Maria Helena de Senna Fernandes.
Celebrate 10th anniversary of designation as a Creative City of Gastronomy in 2027
The knowledge-sharing session at the 2026 WFF flagship event showcased the achievements of Macao as a Creative City of Gastronomy to an international audience, setting the stage for the celebrations in 2027 to mark the tenth anniversary of the designation. MGTO and other stakeholders are preparing a string of special activities to celebrate the designation as a Creative City of Gastronomy next year.
Since the designation in 2017, the Macao SAR Government has launched a related working plan. This includes participation in initiatives led by the UCCN, such as a research project focused on the development of the city’s gastronomic landscape since joining the Network, and other United Nations organizations, including the Sustainable Gastronomy Day and the Young Chefs Programme. Flagship initiatives have also been conducted according to the plan, such as the creation of a Macanese Cuisine Database to help preserve the city’s unique east-meets-west gastronomic culture, listed as China National Intangible Cultural Heritage as well as Macao Intangible Cultural Heritage. Another major initiative is the “International Cities of Gastronomy Fest, Macao,” gathering each year various Creative Cities of Gastronomy and other creative fields from the Chinese mainland and around the world while showcasing the destination’s strengths as an international platform and a “precision connector” between the Chinese mainland and the world.
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