Mayor Trent Sullivan will travel to Europe to represent Geelong at UNESCO annual meeting in July

One Geelong councillor says $13,000 is a small price to pay for the benefits generated from City Hall’s attendance at a UNESCO meeting in Portugal.

Geelong Mayor Trent Sullivan is off to Portugal in July.

Geelong council has voted in favour of sending Mayor Trent Sullivan to Europe to represent the region at an international conference.

Mr Sullivan will be joined by a council officer on a trip that will first take in Braga in Portugal for UNESCO’s Creative City annual meeting from July 1-5 and then conclude with a two-day visit to Covilhã – Portugal’s only UNESCO City of Design.

The cost of the trip to ratepayers is estimated at $13,000.

Councillors voted 7-3 on the motion at Tuesday night’s council meeting, with Melissa Cadwell, Sarah Hathway and Eddy Kontelj opposing.

City Hall’s international engagement strategy was endorsed by councillors at the same meeting.

Jim Mason said Geelong was not represented at the most recent UNESCO meeting, which meant it was even more important Mr Sullivan attended.

“There’s depth in our vision and we do need to network,” Mr Mason said.

“Our membership has already generated a lot of international interest in Geelong and that means jobs for those unemployed and jobs for aspiring graduates.

“The $13,000 travel cost is very powerful investment.”

Geelong became a member of the UNESCO Creative Cities Network in 2017 and is the only UNESCO City of Design in Australia.

Bruce Harwood twice attended the annual meeting when mayor.

“What I found most interesting is that in a very short period of time, the powerful impact you can have on delegates there … their countries, their cities,” he said.

Mr Sullivan said Geelong benefited greatly from its UNESCO membership.

“It’s incredible … it gives us access to an international network of world-class cities,” he said.

He warned that non-attendance to the annual meetings could see UNESCO strip Geelong of its membership.

“We can’t let that happen,” he said.

There are almost 300 cities in the network today and the July meeting will see members share best practices, develop partnerships that promote creativity and cultural industries, strengthen participation in cultural life, and integrate culture in urban development plans.

Council’s international engagement strategy identifies five priority markets for “immediate targeted engagement”: India, Japan, Korea, Singapore, and Taiwan.

Deputy mayor Anthony Aitken said the strategy reflected “the aspirations of our community and sets the foundation for our future success”.

“I believe this strategy is paramount to ensuring Greater Geelong thrives in the global landscape,” he said.

Earlier: Geelong Mayor’s international plans a creative idea

Geelong Mayor Trent Sullivan could soon be on his way to Europe, but his colleagues must first be convinced that the trip is a valuable use of ratepayers’ money.

Councillors will vote at their Tuesday night meeting whether Mr Sullivan and a council officer should represent the City of Greater Geelong at UNESCO’s Creative City annual meeting in Braga, Portugal.

Following the July 1-5 meeting, Mr Sullivan and the officer – potentially chief executive Ali Wastie – would spend two days in Covilhã.

Covilhã is Portugal’s only City of Design and the pair would be hosted by city officials.

The estimated cost of the trip is $6500 per person.

It is recommended the trip is approved, according to the council meeting’s agenda, but the vote comes against the backdrop of budget tightening at City Hall and, more broadly, a cost of living crunch in the community.

Some councillors might also view it as an opportunity to register their dissatisfaction with Mr Sullivan, for whatever reason.

Geelong became a member of the UNESCO Creative Cities Network in 2017.

There are almost 300 cities in the network today and the July meeting will see members share best practices, develop partnerships that promote creativity and cultural industries, strengthen participation in cultural life, and integrate culture in urban development plans.

“Outcomes expected from attending include sharing our priority projects and testing these with the network, continue to build our relationships with other City of Design network cities to understand Geelong’s future opportunities, then bringing back to our secretariat,” council documents state.

“As an integral member of the Victorian Creative Cities Network it is vital that Geelong is represented at a council level.”

Geelong last year hosted the Cities of Design sub-network meeting, which saw 26 delegates from 17 cities visit the region for four days of meetings, presentations, cultural tours and networking.

Trent Sullivan wants to take Geelong to the world. Picture: Alan Barber.

Around the same time, councillors voted against sending Mr Sullivan on an 18-day, $25,000 overseas trip that was to take in South Korea, Turkey, Belgium and Scotland.

“(Our duty) is not only to operate heavily locally, but to attract and market ourselves internationally with other like-minded communities,” Mr Sullivan said at the time.

Mr Sullivan, Anthony Aitken and former mayor Stephanie Asher voted for the trip.

“You can’t be a part of the world if you are going to shut the door on it,” Mr Aitken said.

Councillors Sarah Hathway, Melissa Cadwell, Jim Mason, Belinda Moloney and Peter Murrihy voted against it.

“I don’t believe this trip has any tangible benefits for the city or its residents,” Ms Cadwell said.

At Tuesday night’s meeting, councillors will also be asked to endorse City Hall’s international engagement strategy.

The strategy sets out the city’s objectives and guiding principles against which international relationships and activities can be evaluated.

It identifies five priority markets for “immediate targeted engagement”: India, Japan, Korea, Singapore, and Taiwan.

“Measuring the success of our engagement activity can be challenging in the short-term,” the strategy states.

“That’s why it is important the international engagement strategy considers a blend of short, medium and long-term success measures.”

Originally published as Mayor Trent Sullivan will travel to Europe to represent Geelong at UNESCO annual meeting in July