Guangzhou in Guangdong Province of China has been a notable winner of international awards in recent years for its bus transport system and its water management but in November it turned awarding host, with the launch of the first urban awards for innovation, which recognize the achievements of other cities globally.

By Richard Forster

With a tagline of “So Dreams Come True” and a line-up of glossy entertainment, city leaders could have been forgiven for thinking they had gatecrashed their own Oscars but there was a serious message behind the razzamatazz of the first Guangzhou urban awards -- global city cooperation is vital and Guangzhou had showed that it was prepared to take the lead in recognizing the importance of city-to-city exchanges.

“Establishing this Guangzhou award is a perfect example of the wisdom and courage of the government of Guangzhou,” said Nicholas You, Co-Chairman of the Technical Committee which studied and shortlisted the 15 nominations which went before the jury. “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.”

Guangzhou’s first international urban awarding ceremony took place before 1,700 guests marking a significant moment for city leaders, said Kadir Topbas, Mayor of Istanbul and President of UCLG, which together with Metropolis was co-organizer of the awards.

“The Guangzhou Award directly serves cities and local governments around the world,” said the Mayor. “Through this award, we can share with each other the experience and capacity of global cities in constant development and innovation.”

According to Topbas, the initiatives submitted represented positive and beneficial attempts by global cities at advancing sustainability, creating job opportunities, and promoting the development of culture, equality and urban management. Mayor Topbas said that the establishment of the Guangzhou Award would inspire further innovation and attract new partnerships.

In total, the Guangzhou team received 255 entries submitted by 153 cities from 56 countries and regions. Any city was entitled to enter a submission and 15 projects were shortlisted according to the criteria of innovativeness, effectiveness, replicability and significance, at a meeting of the Technical Committee in October 2012. Presentations by the shortlisted candidates were then made at a special forum that preceded the awards ceremony and which was attended by Chen Jianhua, Mayor of Guangzhou.

“How to face the common challenges, such as urban population growth, environment pollution and unemployment is a universal question,” said Mayor Chen. “The winning initiatives covering emergency management, citizen involvement in urban governance and other areas demonstrated the major focus of our award–innovation.”

The five winners were selected by a review committee of independent experts because, as Mayor Chen emphasized: “We are geared toward the objective of turning this into an authoritative and fair awards.”

The Review Committee comprised of Joan Clos, Executive Director, UN-Habitat; Yu Keping, Deputy Director of the Central Compilation and Translation Bureau; Margarita Wahlström, special representative of UNISDR; Cecil Steward, Emeritus Professor of Architecture at the University of Nebraska; and Yves Cabannes, Chairman of Development Planning at University College London.

“The five award winning cities come from five different continents and represent very different social, cultural and institutional contexts but what they all share is a willingness to tackle not just problems that they are facing today but also some important challenges that will shape their tomorrow,” said Nicholas You.

The winning cities received a US$20,000 cheque and a special trophy whose design mimics the two Chinese characters which represent Guangzhou. The next Guangzhou Award will take place in November 2014 and will run alongside China’s Sister Cities Friendship Forum, which brings together 700 cities globally.