Malta, June 2 - On the afternoon of June 2, the Finals of the 21st International Awards for Liveable Communities (LivCom Awards) drew to a successful close in Malta. At the grand Awards Ceremony, Mr. Arab Hoballah, Chairman of LivCom Jury, officially announced winners of the Whole City Award, Environmentally Sustainable Project Award as well as Technology and Solution Award of the Finals.
Awards Ceremony
The International Awards for Liveable Communities is the "Green Oscars" contest recognized in the world. It is also one of the highest honours in the field of city construction and human settlement environment in the world. LivCom Awards is endorsed by the United Nations and promoted globally. Every year hundreds of cities and projects from dozens of countries are drawn to the competition; they actively sign up and participate. This year the LivCom Finals is co-hosted by the International Institute on Ageing (United Nations - Malta) / UN-INIA, the United Nations Centre for Regional Development / UNCRD, the International Society of City and Regional Planners / ISOCARP and the LivCom Committee, and co-organized by the Birgu City government and the University of Malta. A total of 22 cities and 33 projects from 24 countries around the world are shortlisted for the Finals.
After the fierce three-day online and on-site competition, for Category E, the highest level group (population over 400,000), Abu Dhabi from UAE won the 1st place with Gold Award, Xinyang from P.R. China the 2nd place with Gold Award; for Category D (population 150,001-400,000), Gdynia from Poland won the 1st place with Gold Award; for Category C (population 75,001-150,000), Torres Vedras from Portugal won the 1st place with Gold Award; for Category B (population 20,001-75,000), Águeda from Portugal won the 1st place with Gold Award; for Category A (population up to 20,000), Mizhi Community from Chinese Taipei won the 1st place with Silver Award. For project award, the 1st and 2nd places with Gold Award belong to Alacaatlı Recycling Centre of Türkiye and Sustainable revitalization of Ljubljana tailored to people: expansion and up-scaling of the central pedestrian zone of Slovenia respectively. The Yellow River International Eco-City from Qihe County of China won the Special Award. The JW Eco-Technology: Revolutionary Infrastructure for Achieving Sustainable Development Goals of Chinese Taipei won the 1st place in Technology and Solution Project Award. (For more award winner information, please turn to the full award list)
Hon. Dr. Ian Borg, Minister for Foreign and European Affairs and Trade of Malta, and Prof. Marvin Formosa, Director of United Nations International Institute on Ageing delivered welcome remarks at the Opening Ceremony. More than 10 distinguished guests including Ms. Angela Kane, Former UN Under-Secretary-General & Former Council Chair of the United Nations University, Ms. Rosette Bonello, Deputy Director of UN INIA, Mr. Choudhury Mohanty, Environment Programme Coordinator of UNCRD, Dr. Khalid Adli, Chairman of LivCom Committee, Mr. Arab Hoballah, Ex-Chief of UNEP SCP & Chairman of LivCom Jury, Mr. Pietro EIisei, President of ISOCARP, Mr. John Boxall, Mayor of Birgu, etc. attended the Awards Ceremony and presented the city and project winners with awards. Dr. Abdelaziz Saqr, LivCom Secretary General moderated the event.
The theme of the 21st LivCom Finals is "City Age-Friendliness", which runs through the Opening Ceremony of the Finals & the First International Forum on Age-Friendly and Liveable Cities on May 30 and all serial activities. The First International Forum on Age-Friendly and Liveable Cities was hosted by the LivCom Committee in collaboration with UN-INIA, UNCRD, ISOCARP, and the Birgu City government. China SUC Institute provided conference logistics support. During the Mayors’ Dialogues section, Mr. Jorge Almeida, Mayor of Águeda, Portugal, Mrs. Sarah Katholnig, First Deputy Mayor of Villach, Austria, Mr. Zhang Yan, Deputy Mayor of Qihe County of Shandong Province, China, Mr. Krzysztof Smętkiewicz, Chief Expert of Katowice, Poland, Ms. Tanja Hodnik, Head of Department for Health and Social Care of Ljubljana, Slovenia, Mr. Noorazrein Noorazlan Ong, Legal Officer of George Town City, Malaysia, Ms. Hanan Alhashmi, Acting Director, Urban Policy and Strategy Division, Dubai, UAE, and Ms. Salama Al-Ketbi, Head of Design Department, Abu Dhabi Government, UAE, put forward enlightening suggestions on topics like "the importance of active ageing for liveable city construction" and "how your city integrates active ageing into the practice of building liveable cities", which provided important references for responding to ageing challenges and building liveable cities.
The success of 2023 LivCom Finals also benefited from the strong support of Malta and the Birgu City government. In particular, Prof. Marvin Formosa, Director of United Nations International Institute on Ageing, and Mr. John Boxall, Mayor of Birgu made a great contribution to the success of the event including visit and field trip, reception rituals, gift exchange, etc. which enriched the event with cultural elements and memorable occasions. It was a great honour for the delegations.
Welcome Gala Dinner & Forum, Exchange of Civic Gifts
Presentations & Excursion