Everyone Wins: Cities, People, Planet
As the world’s champion for the power of plants, AIPH leads global thinking on the successful integration of plants and nature- the living green- into the built environment.
AIPH and their extensive and growing network of partners proudly present the AIPH World Green City Awards: the only global awards for cities where plants and nature are the core focus. As an ongoing competition with entries open every 2 years, cities from around the world are invited to enter, and the winners are announced at a special gala event awards ceremony at a global event.
The inaugural 2022 edition of the AIPH World Green City Awards attracted close to 60 entries from 40 cities, representing 28 countries across all 7 continents of the globe, setting the stage for an even more ambitious demonstration of the power of plants in the 2024 edition.
Building on this impressive global reach, success, and legacy, the 2024 edition seeks to showcase even more inspiring initiatives from an even larger number of cities.
All cities, large and small, are invited to showcase their ambitious actions fur urban nature by entering the 2024 edition. The deadline for submission of entries is 15th September 2023. The 2024 edition of the AIPH World Green City Awards is offered in 7 categories, with 3 finalists in each category from which one category winner is selected, and with 1 Grand Winner selected from the 7 category winners.
Designed to champion ambitious nature-orientated approaches to city design and operation, the Awards celebrate bold and innovative action that harnesses the power of plants and nature to create greener, healthier, and more resilient cities.
Specifically, the Awards recognise public initiatives relying on a greater use of plants and nature to create better city environments – helping to fulfil local aspirations for improved economic, social and environmental resilience.
Entries are compiled and submitted through a dedicated online submission portal. Creating an account on this portal is the first step in preparing your city’s entry and allows you to access more information, (including an offline copy of the application form), compile your city’s entry over time, come back and edit/add information pertaining to your entry, and to submit your city’s entry online.
Entries consist of a series of short responses to a set of questions asked in the online entry and may be complemented by supporting evidence such as images, videos, and publications. You can create your account and start compiling your city’s entry here.
A step-by-step guide with detailed instructions is available and will assist with undertaking the process of creating an account, compiling an entry, and making a final submission. Entrants are also invited to familiarise themselves with the Rules and Procedures and a set of Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs), which are also available for convenience.
Award entries are assessed through a two-stage judging process. First, a multidisciplinary, international Technical Panel with an advanced knowledge of Green City scores each eligible entry against a set of six evaluation criteria and selects up to three finalists in each award category. The Technical Panel may also nominate impressive and innovative entries that are not included as finalists for receipt of Certificates of Merit.
The list of finalists is then delivered to a prestigious and world-renowned Jury, who selects a winner in each category and the Grand Winner from the list of category winners. The Jury selects these winners on the basis of each finalist entry’s capacity for impact, influence, replicability, and potential to inspire transformative change. A full timeline for the 2024 edition of the AIPH World Green City Awards is shown below:
New to the 2024 edition is the AIPH Youth Award. This new Youth Award will be decided by a new Youth Jury, whose compilation will be led by GYBN, and who will select from the 18 finalists the top entry most likely to inspire the youth and fulfil their needs for a secure, healthy future. The Youth Award will be presented at the 2024 Awards ceremony alongside the Category Winners and is envisaged to be an integral part of each future edition going forward.
The Awards celebrate innovation, achievement, and commitment to the globally recognised imperative to embrace nature-based solutions that harvest the power of plants and associated ecosystems services to help address the major challenges facing cities today – or tomorrow. AIPH initiated these awards in recognition of the value of plants and nature in providing solutions for common city problems and to shape and nurture a strategic shift in city governance and planning.
The AIPH World Green City Awards is an international competition that cities enter to gain recognition for the greening they have done and the benefits to their city, promote their city at an international level, and inspire a global movement for greener cities. By entering, cities stand a chance to have their initiatives featured on the AIPH website and integrated to the case study library associated with the AIPH 2020 Green City Guidelines, win an award certificate and a trophy, and gain global recognition and profiling opportunities through AIPH and the World Green City Awards partners’ and sponsors’ media channels.
Cities worldwide are keen to learn from best practice in city greening and to share and promote their own greening achievements. The AIPH World Green City Awards provide a unique and exciting opportunity for cities to demonstrate their commitments to nature on a global scale and bring recognition to the impressive initiatives being implemented in this regard.
AIPH is available to provide support and assistance wherever needed. Please direct any queries or requests for support to timothy.blatch@aiph.org.
Receive the latest news and more about the activities of the AIPH Green City programme by following @AIPHGlobal and @AIPHGreenCity on Twitter, by subscribing to our monthly AIPH Global Green City Update and by joining our online community on the AIPH Global Green City Forum.
