• Highlight exemplary models of innovative policies and practices in implementing the urban dimension of the SDGs and the NUA by cities and regions1;

• Motivate cities and regions to further invest in and upscale innovation and to learn from each other;

The Technical Committee wishes to express its appreciation to the City of Guangzhou, United Cities and Local Governments (UCLG) and World Association of the Major Metropolises (Metropolis) for their vision in establishing the Guangzhou Award.

The Technical Committee commends the Secretariat for the Guangzhou Award in the way it handled the call for submissions as well as the transparency in its guidelines and processes. It further commends the City of Guangzhou for its intention to invite all 15 shortlisted cities and regions to present their initiatives at the forthcoming International Seminar on Learning from Urban Innovation and to the Global Mayors’ Forum. It also wishes to express its appreciation to the Guangzhou Library for providing the Technical Committee with the facilities to conduct a successful meeting.

332 initiatives from 226 cities and regions representing 61 countries and territories have registered for the 2023 Guangzhou Award, among which 274 initiatives from 193 cities and regions from 54 countries and territories made successful submissions. The TC would like to recognize all submissions for their commendable efforts in making their respective communities more sustainable. Of these 274 initiatives, 45 were identified as exemplary initiatives. Of these 45 initiatives, the TC further shortlisted 15 outstanding initiatives. The key highlights and TC’s assessment for the 15 initiatives are presented in Annex.