Dubai, May 2018 – The 11th cycle of the Dubai International Award for Best Practices in improving the living environment was hosted by Dubai Municipality and UN-Habitat at the Dubai World Trade Centre. 10 winning practices were chosen from 524 submissions received from 89 countries. A Technical Advisory Committee comprising 10 technical experts familiar with the New Urban Agenda conducted the first evaluation and selected 110 good practices, with an international jury selecting the final 10 winners.

UN-Habitat Executive Director Ms. Maimunah Mohd Sharif expressed the agency’s appreciation of the long-standing partnership with Dubai Municipality and the values it represents. “As the designated focal point for human settlements and sustainable urbanization in the UN system UN-Habitat has the mandate to collect best practices in implementation of the New Urban Agenda and Sustainable Development Goal 11, and to share these best practices with governments and partners in line with our practice of Think. Do. Partner. Share. The innovation and creativity can then be scaled up to help solve urban challenges with the help of local champions to ensure durability and sustainability,” she stated.  She added that the 10 winning best practices provide a very significant set of knowledge in ensuring our cities are socially, economically and environmentally sustainable for all.

Acknowledging the in-depth process undertaken to arrive at the final winners, the Director General of Dubai Municipality H.E. Dawoud Al Hajeri noted that joint efforts of Dubai Municipality and UN-Habitat in making information available on their website and the media campaigns that followed made the awards very competitive.  “We believe that governments and the international community organizations and individuals all over the world are making efforts to improve the living conditions of people. It is the pride of the United Arab Emirates to promote sustainable development and ensure protection of the global environment,” said Mr. Mohammed Mubarak Al Mutaiwe, assistant general manager for the Communication and Community sector.

The Deputy Ruler of Dubai H. H. Sheikh Hamdan bin Rashid Al Maktoum, the UAE Minister of Finance, and Chairman of Dubai Municipality were among distinguished guests who honored the winners. The Dubai International Award for Best Practices began in 1995 following the Habitat II Conference. Over the past 22 years it has gathered over 5,000 initiatives and convened 11 Award ceremonies, giving different individuals and organizations the opportunity to showcase best practices in improving the living environment. To view all winning practices, please click here.

https://unhabitat.org/wp-content/uploads/2018/05/Dubai-Award-Highlights…