Sheikh Hamdan presents Dubai International Award to ten winners

The award ceremony, culminating the fifth cycle of the biennial award, was marked by the presence of senior United Nations officials, which sponsors the award along with Dubai Municipality, senior government officials, international partners of the award, dignitaries and representatives of the winning initiatives.

Addressing the gathering, Qassim Sultan, Director General of Dubai Municipality who chairs the DIABP Board of Trustees, said the award attracted participants from all over the world as usual, during its fifth cycle. But what distinguishes the cycle is that the winning entries were from various continents: North America, South America, Central Asia, East Asia, Africa, Europe and the Middle East.

"Our aim is to make the award a window which is open to the world, benefiting every state and allowing the exchange of expertise," he said.

He noted that the award was established during the Dubai International Conference in 1995. It was adopted by Dubai Municipality under the supervision of the United Nations, through its human settlements programme. The prize is aimed at encouraging and honouring outstanding human achievements and experiments, enhancing people's awareness of them and spreading them so as to benefit every community. Participation is open to all government and private establishments, local authorities and NGO's. In its four previous cycles, starting in 1996, it attracted 2340 entries from more than 140 states. There were 36 winners from various parts of the world, in addition to the ten winners who were presented with the award last night.

He said during this cycle, there were 650 best practices. The Technical Advisory Committee chose 108 of them and the International Jury chose the best 10, during its meeting in Dubai in July 2004.

UN support
Anna Tibaijuka, Executive Director of UN-Habitat, said the award winning initiatives have made a tangible and significant difference in the lives of thousands of urban and rural dwellers.

"It is an interesting co-incidence that this award ceremony is happening so soon after the release of the report of the UN Millennium Project on progress made towards achieving the Millennium Development Goals. The report outlines some notable achievements, as well as volumes of work that remains to be done. However, the conclusion is that the Millennium Development Goals, or MDGs as they are commonly known, are still attainable but much progress still has to be made. It is also clear that attaining the MDG requires the concerted effort of a wide and diverse range of stakeholders," she said.

She noted that the winners of the fifth cycle of the award prove that the MDG, and the principles of the Habitat Agenda are being implemented daily by committed governments, local authorities and communities.

"Every one of the winning practices represented here today has successfully addressed one or more MDG, and has done so in a sustainable manner. You have created jobs and thus helped to reduce poverty. You have provided access to water, the cornerstone of better health and nutrition. You have empowered women and enhanced social inclusion. You have been mindful of the natural and built environment and you have mobilized affected and interested partners. You have addressed the needs of concerned populations in a holistic manner," she said.

She noted that as a direct result of the Dubai International Award, several countries, notably Brazil, China and Spain, has their own national competitive best practices processes. They identify and document best practices and share the lessons learned. The City of Medellin in Colombia will very soon launch an award for the transfer of best practices. Several global award systems are now collaborating with the Dubai Award and the Best Practice Network. The collaboration aims at funding effective ways of maximizing the learning from the wide body of knowledge on proven solutions for sustainable development.

Award winners & representatives
The awards were received by Mr. Pedro Guilermo Pavicich and Mr. Antonio Luis Lattuca (Urban Agriculture Programme, Rosario, Argentina), Mr.Manoel Carlos Antunes and Mr. Gervasio Da Cunha Morgado (Human development in Communities at Aura, Belem-Para, Brazil), Mr. Frank Palermo and Ms. Ann Francis-Muise (First Nations Community Planning Project, Atlantic Region, Canada), Mr. Zhang Tiemin and Mr. Li Shusong (Ecological Reforestation Project of the Southern Coal Mining Depleted Area in Tangshan, China), Mr. Ahang Kowsar, and Mrs. Azartaj Davaii (A Green Path to Sustainable Development of Marginal Dry lands, Fasa, Iran), Ms. Beatrice Mutethya Mutisya and Ms. Samuel M. Mutiso (Providing Potable & Production Water in Semi-Arid Lands of Kitui District in Kenya), Ms. Sana Abu Bakr and Mr. Rafiq Haidar Husseini (IT4Youth in 14 villages in Nablus, Jenin, Palestine), Mr. Vincente Gabriel Cara Fernandez and Mr. Frances Camps Sague (The Alba-Ter Consortium: a commitment to territorial cohesion, economic development and sustainability basin of the River Ter from the local initiative, Spain), and Mr. Kokougan Samuel A. Apaloo and Mr.Djoskê Kouaovi Zohou (Business & Competence Development: Creating Lucrative Activities in order to have Poverty, Unemployment, Misery & Hardship Reduced, Togo) and Mrs. Dildor Alimbekova and Ms. Mekhrinisa Khudayberdieva (Poverty Reduction Among Women Through Vocational Training & Micro Financing Programme, Tashkent, Uzbekistan).