Eligibility

Municipal staff from any city in the world may participate in the competition. A city is defined by the administrative term "municipality" as it is understood variously at the local, regional and national level. Administrative groupings of municipalities and conurbations have been expressly excluded from the definition. The Prize shall be 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.

Criteria

Nominations must satisfy criterion (a) and at least two of the criteria (b) to (e) as follows:

(a) Exemplary action against exclusion and in support of the dialogue between communities:

• Implementation of a general policy of involvement designed to create the conditions for a new citizenship, addressed in particular to young people.
• Application of every possible measure to promote good neighbourliness especially towards individuals made vulnerable by the effects of unemployment or belonging to migrant, minority or refugee groups.
• Application of innovative measures to improve security or combat urban violence.
• Mobilisation of new partners from the public or private sectors to expand existing networks of social actors (NGOs, foundations, mediators, etc.).

(b) Exemplary urban action:

• Creation of a modern good-quality living environment which facilitates social relations.
• Restoration of a cultural heritage that revives the memories of different cultural communities.
• Creation of new infrastructure for the entire city which respects its character and aesthetic features and simultaneous encouragement of bridge-building between the various urban communities.

(c) Exemplary environmental action

• Creation of vast no-building areas to be used as public forums for exchange and dialogue.
• Preservation and enhancement of already existing open spaces, parks and gardens managed in part by local residents.
• Developments that take into account the need to preserve the characteristics of an ecosystem.
• Regulation of industrial activities and public or private transportation with a view to significantly reducing urban pollution and establishment of an extensive communication network.

(d) Exemplary action to promote culture

• Creation of cultural infrastructure or facilities, such as theatres, concert halls, museums, libraries and video libraries, to serve as cultural crossroads. These sites may be flexible or multi-purpose.
• Restoration and revitalisation of old facilities.
• Establishment of schedules and programmes of diversified cultural activities for the entire city; broadcasting of pluralistic radio or television programmes promoting the image and culture of the Other.

(e) Exemplary action in the field of education and especially civic education

• Promotion of school construction and school enrolment in vulnerable neighbourhoods.
• Setting up of distance education networks for the most disadvantaged populations.
• Regular campaigns to make people become sensitive to different cultures, including temporary exhibits, mobile libraries, remedial evening classes, etc.
• Regular campaigns to inform individuals of their civic rights and responsibilities.
• Selected information campaigns, for example, as part of the combat against drugs, AIDS or other scourges.
• Actions for especially vulnerable target groups.

Submission of candidatures

Nominations shall be submitted to the Director-General of UNESCO by the National Commissions for UNESCO and by competent international or regional NGOs having official relations with UNESCO; each National Commission or NGO may submit one or two nominations.
Submission guide

Selection

The Director-General of UNESCO shall choose the laureate cities on the recommendation of regional juries composed of at most five eminent persons designated in a personal capacity by him.

Award

The Prize shall be 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 Prize shall consist 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.