More than 60% of world’s population will be living in cities and urban areas by 2030. Cities are powerhouses of economic growth contributing about 60% of global GDP while accounting for about 70% of global carbon emissions and over 60% of resource use. Therefore, there is an urgent need for solutions to be implemented to have more sustainable, inclusive and environmentally friendly cities and communities.

The International Awards for Liveable Cities and Communities (LivCom) is the right place for cities from all around the world to gather, discuss and share their best practices to become a more sustainable community.

Due to the global pandemic, the 2021 LivCom awards will take place for the first time in its history online between 6th to 8th of December 2021. Cities from different corners of the world will gather online to share and celebrate their endeavors in enhancing the quality of environment and lives of their citizens. How to promote green recovery of the cities from the global pandemic will also be one of the topics that will be shared.

Finalists at the awards are judged against a range of criteria, covering a range of key areas such as enhancement of public spaces, environmental protection, green economy, community empowerment, sustainable planning policies, healthy lifestyles and art, culture and heritage management.

For this year the LivCom received over 160 registrations for Whole City, Project and Technology and Solution Awards from more than 30 countries. By the end of October, the LivCom jury had identified more than 20 cities and 30 projects for the final round, covering the Whole City Award in five demographic categories as well as the Environmental Sustainability Project Award and the Technology and Solutions Project Award, which will be announced shortly.

As a UN-backed Awards Competition, the LivCom Awards was launched in 1997 and is endorsed or engaged by multiple UN Agencies and international organizations.

LivCom is non-political, embracing all nations and cultures, and over 70 countries are represented within the Awards. The LivCom Awards are the only forum in which International best practice may be observed and developed, and participation in the Awards is an investment in the future of a community.

First Online International Livcom Awards will take place between 6-8 December 2021