UNP Highlights Padang's Strengths to Achieve UNESCO Gastronomy City Status
Padang City (ANTARA) - Universitas Negeri Padang (UNP), West Sumatra, has presented several key strengths and assets possessed by Padang City to achieve UNESCO Gastronomy City status by 2027.
“There are several primary strengths that serve as capital for Padang’s journey towards becoming a UNESCO Gastronomy City,” said Haris Satria, a representative of the expert team for the gastronomy roadmap preparation from the Institute for Research and Community Service (LPPM) UNP, in Padang on Monday.
This was stated by Haris in relation to Padang City’s efforts to draft its 2026–2030 gastronomy roadmap as preparation for its 2027 application to UNESCO, a process supported by UNP.
“What we want to demonstrate is not just the food, but the entire gastronomy ecosystem,” he said.
This includes traditions, culture, business actors, communities, and the support of academics and the government, all working together to preserve and develop this heritage.
The 2026–2030 gastronomy roadmap is expected to serve as a strategic direction for the sustainable development of Padang’s gastronomy, while also acting as the foundation for the proposal to be submitted to the UNESCO Creative Cities Network (UCCN).
In addition to drafting the roadmap, pentahelix collaboration involving the government, academics, communities, media, and business actors is considered vital. This is because UNESCO’s assessment looks not only at a region’s culinary richness but also at the commitment of various stakeholders to preserve, develop, and promote gastronomy as part of the city’s identity.
He stated that as an institution coordinating research and community service activities within the university, LPPM UNP plays a strategic role in supporting the development of a roadmap based on scientific studies and academic data. UNP’s involvement is expected to strengthen the scientific foundation and the sustainability of Padang’s gastronomy development programmes.
The university’s involvement in drafting Padang’s 2026–2030 gastronomy roadmap also supports the achievement of several Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). These include Goal 4, related to quality education, realised through contributions from research and academic studies.
Furthermore, it supports Goal 8, regarding decent work and economic growth through the development of a culinary-based creative economy; Goal 11, concerning sustainable cities and communities, realised through the preservation of Minangkabau gastronomic cultural heritage; and Goal 17, which focuses on partnerships to achieve these objectives.
The 17th SDG will be pursued through collaboration between the local government, universities, communities, and business actors to realise Padang’s vision as a UNESCO Gastronomy City in 2027.