The 2014 Guangzhou International Award managed to attract 259 submissions by 177 cities from 57 countries and regions. The Technical Committee (which is an international panel comprising 11 urban practitioners and scholars) identified 45 deserving initiatives and 15 of which were further chosen to make up the final shortlist of entries, based on their ability to enhance the implementation of sustainable urban development through inspiration and knowledge sharing. The 15 shortlisted cities were: Abu Dhabi, Antioquia, Boston, Bristol, Buenos Aires, Christchurch, Dakar, Eskisehir, Gwangju, Hamburg, Hangzhou, Jakarta, Linköping, Melbourne and Rio de Janeiro.
Prior to the ceremony of the Prize for Urban Innovation on 28 November 2014, a series of activities were conducted on 26-27 November in order to present the 15 shortlisted initiatives and to get votes from participants and media representatives. There were three new categories of winners in the 2014 Guangzhou International Award: The City of Public Recommendation, The City of Media Attention and The City of Online Popularity.
The 2014 Guangzhou International Award on Urban Innovation ultimately went to the following winning initiatives: “Educational Parks for All” (Antioquia, Colombia), “Smart City Bristol” (Bristol, UK), “Our Ever Evolving City” (Christchurch, New Zealand), “Dakar Municipal Finance Program” (Dakar, Senegal), “Public Bike Sharing System” (Hangzhou, China). Antioquia, with its projects, got the title of The City of Public Recommendation, Bristol was chosen as The City of Media Attention, and Hangzhou won as the City of Online Popularity. Each winner was awarded with USD 20,000, along with a trophy and a certificate.
The ceremony of 2014 Guangzhou International Award managed to attract approximately 600 participants, including mayors of more than 100 cities around the world, urban development experts and practitioners, and officials from international organizations.
Further information on Guangzhou Award, please click: http://www.guangzhouaward.org/en/index.html
