On February 23, the launch ceremony of the 6th Guangzhou International Award for Urban Innovation (Guangzhou Award) was held in Barcelona, Spain during the 2023 United Cities and Local Governments (UCLG) Retreat and Campus. At the meeting, UCLG, World Association of the Major Metropolises (Metropolis) and Guangzhou jointly announced the call for submissions of the 6th Guangzhou Award, inviting global cities to participate in the Award. Mr. Deng Changxiong, Deputy Director of Guangzhou Foreign Affairs Office, Ms. Emilia Saiz, Secretary General of UCLG, and Mr. Jordi Vaquer, Secretary General of Metropolis, attended the meeting and delivered speeches.

Mr. Deng read out a congratulatory message from Mr. Yan Dong of the Chinese People's Association for Friendship with Foreign Countries (CPAFFC) in his speech. “The CPAFFC is willing to work with the governments of all cities to support the UCLG and Metropolis to play a greater role, and continue to make good use of international platforms such as the Global Mayors' Forum and the Guangzhou Award to create opportunities for cooperation and development among global cities and to make new contributions to the peaceful development of the world and the progress of human civilization.” Mr. Yan wrote in the message. In addition, he expressed his sincere welcome to cities around the world to follow the development of the Guangzhou Award, submit urban innovation initiatives to the 6th Guangzhou Award, strengthen exchanges and mutual learning, and jointly implement the Global Development Initiative.

Ms. Emilia Saiz and Mr. Jordi Vaquer highly appreciated the achievements and contributions made by Guangzhou in recent years in actively promoting international exchanges and cooperation among cities and fostering the innovative development of global cities, and expressed their continued and unwavering support for the development of Guangzhou Award.

The Guangzhou Award is co-sponsored by the City of Guangzhou, the UCLG and Metropolis. The aim of the Guangzhou Award is to recognize innovation in improving social, economic, and environmental sustainability and good urban governance in cities and regions and, in so doing, to advance the prosperity and quality of life of their citizens. So far, five cycles have been held, attracting over 1,300 initiatives worldwide. It has become a global platform for city-to-city learning and the documentation, dissemination, and analysis of the local implementation of global agendas including SDGs and the New Urban Agenda (NUA).

The 6th Guangzhou Award is now calling for participation from all cities and local governments around the world with ongoing or recently completed initiatives, including those that are implemented in collaboration with private and civil society partners. By advocating exchanges and mutual learning, we hope to bring together the urban synergy for sustainable development. Please click here, to learn more about the detailed guidelines and follow the updates on our official website:

http://www.guangzhouaward.org/The6thGuangzhouAward?lang=en