On the evening of November 14, upon the conclusion of the welcome banquet by Guangzhou Municipal Government and the opening ceremony of International Urban Innovation Exhibition, Chen Jianhua, mayor of Guangzhou met with members of the review committee of the first Guangzhou International Award for Urban Innovation (Guangzhou Award) and presented them letters of appointment. Five international renowned experts were appointed: Joan Clos, deputy secretary-general of the United Nations and executive director of the UN Human Settlements Program, Yu Keping, deputy director of Central Compilation and Translation Bureau and chairman of the technical committee of the Guangzhou Award, Margarita Wahlström, a special representative of the UNISDR, Cecil Steward, Dean Emeritus and Emeritus professor of architecture and planning at the University of Nebraska College of Architecture in Lincoln and Yves Cabannes, chairman of Development Planning, the Bartlett Development Planning Unit, University College London. In his speech, Mayor Chen Jianhua said that in this inaugural session of the Guangzhou Award, the overarching objective was to turn the Guangzhou Award into an authoritative and fair award that showcased the latest innovation achievements of cities and regions everywhere in the world. Mayor Chen also pledged that Guangzhou would draw new thinking and experience from all cities in innovation so as to make its due contribution to advancing the win-win cooperation among global cities for common development. The appointment ceremony was hosted by Zhou Yawei, secretary-general of the People’s Government of Guangzhou Municipality.

As Mayor Chen Jianhua indicated at the meeting, in today’s world, scientific and technological progress and the trend of urbanization have become the reservoir of power for human development. By setting up the “Guangzhou Award”, Guangzhou seeks to help find a way to advance the global trend of urbanization by relying on scientific progress, innovation and human wisdom. Mayor Chen also pointed out that global cities were committed to constant innovation for the purpose of helping our people live a happier life by practicing the concepts of people-oriented and urban sustainable development. The experience in urban innovation knows no boundary. In this sense, Mayor Chen also expressed his hope that through the Guangzhou Award, good innovation experience and initiatives could be pooled together as a treasure trove for global cities.

Mayor Chen also spoke in the appointment ceremony. As he said in his speech, Guangzhou felt extremely honored to have invited such a group of internationally-renowned experts into the review committee of the Guangzhou Award. He also said that the five experts, with discerning eyes, could select exemplary innovation initiatives that fully testified the authoritativeness, value and credibility of the Guangzhou Award. By doing so, as Mayor Chen said, the experts would help turn the award into a think tank and a treasure trove that could facilitate urban innovation and development, making the Guangzhou Award into a global platform for inter-civilization exchanges.

Mayor Chen said, “This is the inaugural session of the Guangzhou Award. We are geared towards the objective of turning it into an authoritative and fair award that showcases the latest innovation achievement of cities and regions everywhere. We will fully respect the opinions of all members of the technical committee and the review committee, allowing the experts to make their own judgments independently, so that this award can be imbued with burgeoning vitality and become better and better. Currently, Guangzhou is committed to renewing its concepts of urban development, strengthening development momentum and enhancing the quality of city life. Guangzhou is also committed to blazing a path to new urbanization that consists of the following elements: low-carbon economy, smartness, social civility, a picturesque ecology, rural-urban integration and a life of happiness. Guangzhou is ready to draw new thinking and experience in innovation from cities and local governments everywhere so as to make its due contribution to advancing the win-win cooperation among global cities for common development.

Mr. Naison Mutizwa Mangiza, head of the Policy and Strategic Planning Unit in the Office of the executive director of the United Nations Human Settlements Program also spoke in the appointment ceremony on behalf of Mr. Joan CLos, deputy secretary-general of the United Nations and executive director of the United Nations Human Settlements Program. In his speech, Mr. Mangiza expressed his thanks to Guangzhou for initiating the Guangzhou Award, which he deemed as a significant initiative. As he pointed out, the Guangzhou Award has attracted innovative initiatives from cities around the globe, covering Europe, Asia, Africa and Latin America. The participating cities are diverse in terms of their features, development levels and urban construction. Such diversity, as Mr. Mangiza pointed out, can help us explore various possibilities of urban development. By setting up the Guangzhou Award, Guangzhou will become a database of urban innovation that provides good innovation experience and thinking for other cities and regions.