Dakar, Lilingwe on shortlist for urban innovation award

INNOVATIONS

Dakar, Senegal, and Lilongwe, Malawi, have reached the shortlist for the Guangzhou International Award for Urban Innovation.

The Technical Committee of 2012 Guangzhou International Award for Urban Innovation today announced the result of the Guangzhou Award Technical Committee assessment. 15 short-listed initiatives and 30 deserving initiatives for the award were selected based on the criteria of innovativeness, effectiveness, replicability, and significance and the 15 cities making the final list are: Aguascalientes, Chiang Rai, Curitiba, Dakar, Kaohsiung, Kocaeli, Lilongwe, Medellin, Perm, Sakhnin, Salerno, Seoul, Sylhet, Vancouver, and Vienna.

Evaluated by a panel of eight judges from the Technical Committee, who met in Guangzhou from October 15 to October 17, 2012, the highly competitive submissions range from urban ecosystem, biodiversity conservations to cities transforming themselves to the digital age.

The Committee selected outstanding and deserving initiatives with a view of enhancing the implementation of sustainable urban development through inspiration and knowledge sharing. It also took into consideration the goal of the Guangzhou International Award for Urban Innovation to reward innovations in improving social, economic and environmental sustainability in cities and local governments worldwide. More specifically, the Committee strived to highlight exemplary models of innovative policies and practices and to motivate cities and local authorities to further promote innovation and improve urban governance.

The Committee reviewed all of the 255 initiatives submitted by 153 cities from 56 countries and regions. Of these 255 initiatives, 45 were identified as outstanding plans. The Committee further selected 15 of those initiatives as the shortlist to be submitted to the Jury for consideration and final selection of the five award-winning initiatives. The Committee plans to announce the five winners on November 16 and will host a ceremony to celebrate the honor.

"We are extremely satisfied by the scope and quality of the final entries, which demonstrate a high degree of dedication and creativity in the use of renewable technology and dedication to high-demanded public services," said Cao Jianliao, Deputy Director General of Organizing Committee of Guangzhou Award and Vice Mayor of Guangzhou. "Those initiatives feature strong innovativeness, high practicability and feasibility. We thank our judges, congratulate all of our finalists, and look forward to seeing the final award winners."

"Establishing this Guangzhou Award is a perfect example of the wisdom and courage of the government of Guangzhou. Nowadays, every city is planning their future and seeking their transformation. Guangzhou is such a city, which not only has the courage to learn but also the wisdom to learn. This is what defines Guangzhou's promising future. I firmly believe that Guangzhou Award will not only eenhance Guangzhou's reputation, but also elevate Guangzhou citizen's satisfaction and sense of belongs towards this city, because this honor brings innovation wisdom together and makes the most fresh city management information available," said Nicholas You, Co-Chair of the Technical Committee and Chairman of World Urban Campaign Steering Committee.