In today’s world, cultural diversity, particularly in cities, presents a range of administrative challenges. The way in which municipalities meet such challenges has been a key factor in selecting the winning cities for the 2002-2003 UNESCO Cities for Peace Prize.
Open to municipalities from all over the world, the UNESCO ‘Cities for Peace’ Prize pays tribute to the initiatives of municipalities which have succeeded in strengthening social cohesion, improving living conditions in disadvantaged neighbourhoods and developing genuine urban harmony.
The 2002-2003 UNESCO Cities for Peace Prize award ceremony will be held September 6, 2004 in Barcelona at the occasion of the Universal Forum of Cultures.
The laureates of the 2002-2003 UNESCO Cities for Peace Prize are:
- Harar (Ethiopia) and Ouagadougou (Burkina-Faso) for Africa (ex-aequo)
- Dushanbe (Tajikistan) for Asia-Pacific
- Ras-El-Matn (Lebanon) for Arab States
- Gernika-Lumo (Spain) for Europe
- Bogota (Colombia) for Latin America and Caribbean
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Honourable Mentions have also been awarded to:
- Yala (Thailand) for Asia-Pacific
- Aswan (Egypt) for Arab States
- Stuttgart (Germany) for Europe
- Porto Alegre (Brasil) for Latin America and Caribbean
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Eligibility and Criteria
To qualify, nominations must demonstrate ‘Exemplary action against exclusion and in support of the dialogue between communities’ and at least two of the following. ‘Exemplary urban action; ‘Exemplary environmental action’; ‘Exemplary action to promote culture’ and ‘Exemplary action in the field of education and especially civic education’.
The Selection Process
The Director-General of UNESCO selects the laureate cities on the recommendation of regional juries composed of at most five eminent persons designated in a personal capacity by him.
The Prize is awarded by the Director-General of UNESCO to five cities, one in each of the regions that UNESCO has delimited for the purpose of carrying out its regional activities : Latin America and the Caribbean, Africa, Asia and the Pacific, the Arab States and Europe.
The Cities for Peace Prize consists of a certificate and a financial award of US $25,000 intended to encourage each of the prize-winning municipalities to continue its work and to foster the formation of new partnerships.
The Cities for Peace Prize is awarded to the mayors of the prize-winning cities or to the person designated by the municipal staff to represent it. The Prize is meant to reward a collective effort.
UNESCO gives international visibility to the innovative practices submitted by the candidate cities by including them in a unique database referred to as "The city: network of cultures" database.
The Cities for Peace Database contains innovative municipal projects presented by cities in the context of the UNESCO "Cities for Peace" Prize. Its objective is to encourage the emergence of inter- and intra-urban solidarity by sharing local initiatives which have strengthened social cohesion, improved living conditions in vulnerable neighbourhoods and contributed to the development of a true urban conviviality. The geographic diversity of the projects assembled is such that it can offer a wide range of responses to a global problem.
This database is an information tool giving access to concrete municipal actions undertaken by cities in all parts of the world; a place of virtual interaction and sharing among local partners of diverse cultural and geographical backgrounds undertaking, or wishing to undertake projects for their city; a means of action allowing multiple partners to find each other and work together on common issues.
Innovative projects that tally with the aims of the Action Plan for the Implementation of UNESCO’s Universal Declaration on Cultural Diversity were also of particular interest.
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