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Tens of thousands of people
join in World Mayor Project
London, 14 June, 2010: More than 40,000 people from across the world have already taken part in this year’s World Mayor Project since the organisers published the shortlist of nominees for the 2010 World Mayor Prize. The names, which were released three weeks ago, include two mayors from Australasia, six from Asia, eight from The Americas and nine from Europe. Among the shortlisted mayors are some big names such as Marcelo Ebrard, Mayor of Mexico City, Ole von Beust, Mayor of Hamburg, but also leaders from smaller towns. The Italian entry, Domenico Lucano, represents a community of some 1,700 people.

Members of the public are invited to vote for and comment on any of the shortlisted mayors. The World Mayor organisers say that public participation in deciding the winner of this year’s Prize raises the profiles of outstanding mayors nationally and internationally.

All nominees for the World Mayor Prize are also expected to sign up to the City Mayors Code of Ethics, which has become a yardstick for open and honest local government. Early signatories include the mayors from Karachi and New Plymouth.

The World Mayor website publishes a selection of comments received in support of the nominees. One commentator supporting Mayor Kamal says it takes a special kind of person to manage and improve Karachi, a city of 17 million people. “….one with inexhaustible energy, an ability to think out-of-the-box and on his feet and equally importantly provide the infectious enthusiasm for public service that motivates teamwork and gets things done.”

The deputy of New Plymouth Mayor Peter Tennent describes his boss as a man with boundless energy, passion and vision. “Whilst you may think my comments are biased, I am 20 years his senior and have to say his competencies and dedication to the issues he faces are outstanding. I have never met or worked with such an extraordinary person before. I wish him all the best.”

The World Mayor Project is open to public participation until September. The results will be announced in October. More

City Mayors reveals the nominees
for this year’s World Mayor Prize
25 May 2010: City Mayors revealed today the names of mayors shortlisted for this year’s World Mayor Prize. Among the 25 candidates are four mayors from Canada and the US, four from Latin America, nine from Europe, six from Asia and two from Australasia. The candidates include city leaders from megacities such as Karachi and Mexico City as well as mayors from smaller communities such New Plymouth (New Zealand), Newark (USA) and Ulm (Germany). The Italian contestant is the mayor of Riace (Calabria), a village of some 1,800 people.

The World Mayor Prize is awarded bi-annually by City Mayors to a mayor who has substantially improved the quality of life of his/her citizens. Mayors to be considered for the Prize are also expected to have developed an understanding of and concern for the needs of other towns in their own countries and indeed worldwide. Particular weight will be given to ideas and projects that have the potential to improve urban and social environments beyond a mayor’s own community. Previous winner are Cape Town Mayor Helen Zille (2008), Melbourne Mayor John So (2006), Athens Mayor Dora Bakoyannis (2005) and Tirana Mayor Edi Rama (2004).

Between now and September, citizens from across the world will be voting via the internet for the mayor they believe most worthy of Prize. In 2008 more than 200,000 people took part.

After the close of voting the City Mayors editorial board will choose the winner and two runner-ups based on the number of votes received and the persuasiveness and passion of supporting comments. The organisers believe that the strength of argument is as important as the number of votes. City Mayors’ Editor Tann vom Hove said that the selection procedure ensured that a ‘good’ mayor from a smaller town can compete on equal terms with a mayor from a large metropolis. He also added that this year all 25 shortlisted mayors will be asked to sign up to the City Mayors' Code of Ethics.

The 25 mayors shortlisted for the 2010 World Mayor Prize:
From Australasia
Campbell Newman, Mayor of Brisbane, Australia
Peter Tennent, Mayor of New Plymouth, New Zealand

From Asia
Omar Manni, Mayor of Amman, Jordan
Hussain Nasser Lootah, Mayor of Dubai, United Arab Emirates
Syed Mustafa Kamal, Mayor of Karachi, Pakistan
Shraddha Jadhav, Mayor of Mumbai, India
Jesse M Robredo, Mayor of Naga City, Philippines
Huang Xingguo, Mayor of Tianjin, China

From Canada & the US
Dave Bronconnier, Mayor of Calgary, Canada
Cory Booker, Mayor of Newark, USA
Mick Cornett, Mayor of Oklahoma City, USA
Diane Watts, Mayor of Surrey, Canada

From Latin America
Antonio Ledezma, Mayor of Caracas, Venezuela
Beto Richa, Mayor of Curitiba, Brazil
Amazonino Mendes, Mayor of Manaus, Brazil
Marcelo Ebrard, Mayor of Mexico City, Mexico

From Europe
Maria Emília Neto de Sousa, Mayor of Almada, Portugal
Kyriakos Virvidakis, Mayor of Chania, Greece
Ole von Beust, Mayor of Hamburg, Germany
Stuart Drummond, Mayor of Hartlepool, UK
Gérard Collomb, Mayor of Lyon, France
Ilmar Reepalu, Mayor of Malmo, Sweden
Adeline Hazan, Mayor of Reims, France
Domenico Lucano, Mayor of Riace, Italy
Ivo Gönner, Mayor of Ulm, Germany

Controversy in UK and US
over local council prayers
London, 10 May 2010: Church and state separation campaigners in Britain have started a national campaign to end the practice of holding Christian prayers at local council meetings. The National Secular Society is piloting a test case against Bideford Town Council in response to a complaint by a councillor about the council’s practice of holding Christian prayer at the start of meetings of full council. The matter is reserved for each council to decide but the campaigners argue that the tradition, which goes back to the creation of municipal councils in 1835, is outdated and out of keeping with multicultural British society. There are also several disputes in the US over the practice.

The practice of holding prayers at the start of the full council meeting is not contentious in many rural areas where most councillors accept the practice but many urban councils have already abandoned it in favour of a period of quiet reflection before the meeting or multi-faith prayers. The campaigners cite cases where potential council candidates of other faiths have been deterred from standing for election for fear of being forced to participate in the Christian ceremony. The practice of holding prayers is largely a hangover from Britain’s Victorian era municipal system, where the ceremonial mayor is seen as the monarch’s representative in each town or city and is responsible for upholding the Queen’s role as head of the Church of England. Most mayors appoint an official chaplain during their term of office.

In response to the Bideford case, the National Secular Society’s Director Keith Porteous Wood said: “The councillor and some colleagues object to being subjected to prayers, or having to leave the chamber while they are said. Elected Councillors of public bodies should not be put in such an uncomfortable and embarrassing position. The council’s purpose is to provide local services, not church services.” Several right-wing newspapers have latched on to the case as evidence of “militant atheists” seeking to deny Britain’s Christian heritage. Bemused officials at the councils have also complained: “I don’t know why they have singled out Bideford. This is a national not a local matter.”

The case mirrors that of several in America, where residents have sought to protect the constitutional separation of church and state against city councils, which open with prayers. A lawsuit has been filed in Lancaster, California following a vote by the city council to introduce prayer proceedings to each meeting. The Lancaster suit is backed by the American Civil Liberties Union and a secularist who successfully challenged a similar practice in Burbank. City councillors in Jacksonville, Florida responded to the appointment of a Muslim to the mayor’s human rights commission by loudly staging Christian prayers and reciting the Pledge of Allegiance at each session.

2014 World Cup already
behind schedule, says Fifa
Belo Horizonte, 5 May 2010: Officials from the football world body Fifa have criticised Brazilian cities for not doing enough to prepare for the 2014 World Cup. Fifa secretary general Jerome Valcke told journalists that he had received a very worrying status report from the various host cities. “There are a number of cities with red lights already flashing. It is amazing how late Brazil is. Most of the deadlines are already gone and we have to work on new deadlines," he warned.

According to reports in a number of Brazilian newspapers, reasonable progress has been made in just six cities: Belo Horizonte, Cuiabá, Curitiba, Manaus, Porto Alegre and Sao Paulo. Work in Fortaleza, Natal, Recife, Salvador, Brasilia and Rio de Janeiro has yet to begin.

Valcke warned the 12 host cities that they must deliver on commitments given on the financing and construction of stadia. He also criticised plans to reduce the size of the planned stadium in Brasilia, the country’s capital. “Anything below a 70,000-seater stadium may jeopardise the staging of the opening match.”

Fifa inspectors are currently visiting all host cities to evaluate construction progress.

New York and London mayors
fear tighter financial regulations
New York City, 23 April 2010: After bluntly warning US President Barack Obama that his proposed financial reforms would drive financial operators and jobs from Wall Street, New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg adopted a more conciliatory tone after the President outlined his proposals in a speech in the city yesterday. The mayor agreed with Obama that some financial regulations were needed. He told reporters that he supported the President’s call for reining in Wall Street’s worst impulses, those that led to the 2008 meltdown and threw millions of Americans out of jobs and homes.

Yesterday’s speech was Obama’s fourth address in New York since 2007. Even in the early days of his candidacy for the White House, he called for greater accountability, and intensified financial oversight. In contrast Bloomberg stressed that Wall Street should be largely left to regulate itself. “Bashing Wall Street should worry everybody,” the mayor added.

The New York mayor’s views are very much in tune with those of his opposite number in London. Like Bloomberg, London Mayor Boris Johnson fears a tightening of financial regulations would lead to banks and hedge funds moving to countries like Switzerland, Singapore and China. At this year’s World Economic Forum in Davos, Johnson pleaded with bankers not leave the City of London. According to press reports he even warned a group of Japanese bankers that in the Canton of Berne men were not allowed not urinate standing up after 22:00 hours, for fear of disturbing the neighbours.

Number of slum dwellers
rises to 830m worldwide
Nairobi, 19 March 2010: While more than 200 million slum dwellers worldwide have escaped their conditions in the past decade, the overall population of slums has swelled by nearly 60 million in the same period, a new United Nations report finds. Some 227 million people have moved out of slum conditions, largely due to slum upgrading, since 2000. However, this achievement was not uniformly distributed across regions, Anna Tibaijuka, Executive Director of the UN Human Settlements Programme (UN-HABITAT), said.

“Success is highly skewed towards the more advanced emerging economies, while poorer countries have not done as well,” she added, stressing that “there is no room for complacency.”

Overall, the number of people residing in slums has climbed from 777 million in 2000 to almost 830 million in 2010.

The UN report, which focuses on the theme ‘Bridging the Urban Divide’, characterises efforts to reduce the number of slum dwellers as neither satisfactory nor adequate, especially given that just over half of the world’s population – or nearly 3.5 billion – now lives in urban areas. Short of drastic action, it warns, the world’s slum population will likely increase by 6 million annually to reach nearly 900 million by 2020.

Sub-Saharan Africa is home to nearly two-thirds of the world’s slum population, with 200 million people, with South Asia, East Asia, Latin America and the Caribbean, and South-East Asia rounding out the top five regions with the largest number of slum dwellers.

Mayors to promote
better urban design
Seoul, 26 February 2010: City mayors from across the world have decided to hold a design summit every two years in order to share their visions for design. The Seoul mayor’s office will serve as secretariat to manage the summit, decided mayors and other participants of this month’s Seoul World Design Cities Summit.

Seoul Mayor Oh Se-hoon said the summit was the world's recognition of Seoul as a powerhouse of design. "Tokyo used to hold the title for quite a long time in East Asia. However, since Seoul City adopted 'design management' in 2007, we have stepped up to the same or higher status than Tokyo and other cities," Oh said.

The mayor also singled out Gateshead in the UK and Kumamoto in Japan. "We have seen the successful transformation of Gateshead, a former coalmine town in England, and Kumamoto, a Japanese rural province, by bringing public design into their administration. Design can upgrade the simple concept of needlework to fashion design, and electronics assembly to digital design." he said.

Chris Wainwright, the head of the University of Arts London, agreed and added. "Construction, painting and craftsmanship aren't the only considerations for design. It could be very small things ㅡ making up your minds on what to wear, how to write a note and many others. I was able to notice some noticeable progress in Seoul already. I hope citizens of Seoul will mix their own historical, cultural and other backgrounds to make their own design philosophy and be proud to be Seoulites," he explained. (Report by Korea Times)

Mayors meet in Seoul
to discuss good design
Seoul, 23 February 2010: The World Design Cities Summit is taking place in Seoul, the World Design Capital 2010. Mayors from 32 cities around the world have gathered at the international conference to discuss design as the key to city competitiveness in the 21st century. Under the theme of "A City Makes a Leap Forward with Design," the Seoul summit, hosted by the Seoul Metropolitan Government, will serve as a venue to discuss measures to develop and improve cities through design. Participating cities with mayors attending include Turin, Italy, which served as the pilot city for the World Design Capital in 2008, and Helsinki, Finland, which serves as the next World Design Capital for 2012.

The two-day summit kicked off with a keynote speech by Matthias Horx, a European futurist, who explained how design changes a city and its future. Under the theme of "The Vision of World Design Cities" the first plenary session examines how to share the precedent case, the current plan and the future vision of the selected cities.

There is also a special session where renowned scholars and experts speak on design and the future of a city, followed by a tour to the Seoul Design Assets Exhibition at the Seoul Museum of History, as well as to Dongdaemun Design Plaza, Gwanghwamun Square and Cheonggyecheon, a stream running through the heart of downtown.

"The ultimate value of design is to improve the quality of human life while building a harmonious world based on open communication," said Oh Se- hoon, Mayor of Seoul. "Under its vision of 'Design for All,' the Seoul Metropolitan Government will endeavour to transform Seoul into a place where all citizens can pursue happiness," Mayor Oh added. (The design summit takes place on 23 and 24 February)

World Mayor publishes first list
of candidates for the 2010 Prize
London, 13 January 2010: World Mayor has published an initial list of mayors to be considered for the 2010 Prize. Among the candidates are some well-known personalities such as the mayors of Mexico City, London, Boston and Karachi. But the list also includes several city leaders from smaller communities, among them Newark (USA), Chania (Greece), Doncaster (UK), Ulm (Germany), Puente Alto (Chile) and New Plymouth (New Zealand).

The organisers of World Mayor 2010 say the nomination stage of this year’s Project will be open until April and that further names will be added to list of candidates. A spokesman for World Mayor also revealed that the shortlist of finalists would be published in May. “As in previous years, members of the public will then be invited to comment on the merits of the finalists for the 2010 World Mayor Prize,” he explained.

The World Mayor Prize, first awarded in in 2004, honours mayors who have delivered exceptional benefits to their communities and developed an understanding for the problems faced by cities worldwide. Previous winners are the mayors of Tirana (2004), Athens (2005), Melbourne (2006) and Cape Town (2008).

Mexico City Mayor to head
watchdog on climate change
Copenhagen, 18 December 2009: Mexico City Mayor Marcelo Ebrard has been appointed Chair of the World Mayors Council on Climate Change. Ebrard succeeds Bärbel Dieckmann, former Mayor of Bonn, Germany. The World Mayors Council on Climate Change is an alliance of municipal leaders committed to climate protection, biodiversity and sustainable development. There are currently more than 30 members of the Council, representing a vast network of local governments working to reduce global greenhouse gas emissions.

"While world leaders continue to debate climate solutions, with an uncertain outcome for agreement, the mayors of the world are taking bold action," said Mayor Ebrard. "This week, numerous cities have demonstrated that we are already implementing innovative solutions, and committing significant resources of both intellectual and financial capital to address the critical problem of climate change."

Mayor Ebrard continued, "The Council's mission for the year ahead is to build on this foundation and provide enhanced support to municipal governments in their efforts to address climate change and related issues of global sustainability."

As a leader in climate action, Mexico City is investing more than $1 billion a year on environmental-related infrastructure and implementing sustainable environmental programs and practices. Mexico City's Climate Action Plan, launched by Mayor Ebrard, aims to reduce the city's greenhouse gas emissions by 7 million tons between 2008 and 2012. The 15-year plan is designed to reduce transportation-related emissions; conserve public lands through major reforestation projects; encourage businesses to adopt sustainable environmental practices; invest in critical environmental infrastructure such as water management systems and recycling centers; and implement reforms regarding the disposal of solid waste.

Mayors from 80 cities
push for climate pact
Copenhagen, 16 December 2009: Mayors from more than 80 cities attended the Copenhagen Climate Summit. Their message was that while national leaders were arguing about reducing gas CO2 emissions, cities were already doing it. New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg said cities recognised the importance of national and international leadership on climate change. “But we can’t wait for national governments to act first and they can’t solve the problem on their own. As city governments, we too have an obligation to confront climate change,” Bloomberg added.

Cities represented in Copenhagen by their mayors include: Addis Ababa, Amsterdam, Athens, Bangkok, Barcelona, Basel, Bordeaux, Bristol, Buenos Aires, Cairo, Calgary, Copenhagen, Delhi, Dhaka, Entebbe, Florence, Freiburg, Gothenburg, Hamburg, Helsinki, Ho Chi Minh City, Istanbul, Jakarta, Johannesburg, Kampala, Kyoto, London, Los Angeles, Lyon, Manchester, Manila, Marseille, Mexico City, Milan, Moscow, Munich, Nairobi, New York City, Oslo, Paris, Riga, Rio de Janeiro, Rome, Seattle, Sydney, Tehran, Toronto and Zurich.