Rewarding Transformative Actions to create productive, sustainable and resilient cities.

 

The shortlisted candidates for the 2018 Transformative Action Award were revealed today at the URBACT Festival in Lisbon, Portugal.

 

The award, which is co-organised by ICLEI – Local Governments for Sustainability, The Basque Country and the City of Aalborg (Denmark), rewards current or concluded Transformative Actions that address the pathways of the Basque Declaration related to three categories: socio-cultural, socio-economic and, technological transformation.

 

From a strong field of 40 applications, the following actions were shortlisted: the City of Bologna (Italy), for entering into collaborative pacts with their citizens in order to increase civic engagement and regenerate urban commons, the City of Ghent (Belgium), for seeking to transform the city’s local food system through participative governance models, and the City of Tirana (Albania), for increasing urban green space around the city, to counteract urban sprawl. For more information about the shortlisted candidates, click here.

 

Speaking about the wealth of applications, Jury Member and ENVE Commission Chair, Cor Lamers, said: “I was extremely pleased to discover that the 2018 Transformative Action Award attracted so many applicants from across Europe. These participative projects make our local communities and local economies more inclusive, green and sustainable. As a result, they provide better quality of life to our citizens. I hope that these initiatives will serve as examples to be replicated everywhere and unleash a chain reaction of transformational actions in our regions and cities.”

 

Congratulating the shortlisted candidates, Hakan Lucius, Jury Member and Head of Civil Society Division, European Investment Bank, said: “Representing Europe’s geographic diversity, these three cities managed to address different components of sustainable development, in particular social inclusion, urban development, and food-supply, by meaningfully involving all stakeholders. Their innovative actions take on key challenges for our common future and should be inspirational for all actors committed to sustainability.”

 

The award ceremony will take place on 15 November 2018, at the European Committee of the Regions (CoR), where the winner will be announced and will receive €10.000 to kick-start a Transformative Action in their city, region or municipality. The winner will also receive a trophy and the right to be called “Transformative Action of the year 2018.”