Ulaanbaatar Got A Special Mention From UCLG Culture Award

The 4th edition of the International Award UCLG - Mexico City - Culture 21 was launched in November 2019.

Between 15 November 2019 and 18 March 2020, Cities and local and regional governments, as well as individuals, have been invited to share their cultural projects, programmes and policies for sustainable development of local communities.

The Jury analyzed the 81 applications from cities and local governments from across the world between 29 March and 14 May 2020 and held its final meeting on 19-20 May 2020. The following cities from UCLG-Eurasia took part in the activity: Baku (Azerbaijan), Bishkek (Kyrgyzstan), Volgograd (Russia), Kazan (Russia), Magas (Russia), Nizhny Novgorod (Russia), Novosibirsk (Russia), Stavropol (Russia), Ulaanbaatar (Mongolia) and Yakutsk (Russia).

Medellin (Colombia), the project “The Network of Arts and Culture Practices”. It uses creative labs in dance, performing arts, fine art, visual arts, music, and audio-visual skills to generate and strengthen processes of coexistence and citizen culture for about 7800 children and youth. Between the Laboratories and Music Schools, there are about 160 training spaces where training is done to foster enjoyment and education in the arts throughout every district and township in Medellin. In its 24 years of existence, the project has helped about 120,000 children and youth find new options for life through art.

Segou (Mali), the project “Segou: A Creative City”. Its goal is to make the town’s cultural heritage and artistic creativity into the pillars of its sustainable human development, the local economy, and the well-being of residents by 2030. The project focuses on the following four components: the town’s system for information and regional brand image, the professionalization of the cultural sector, identifying and highlighting the city’s cultural identities, access for everyone to culture.

The winners were announced in the context of the Executive Bureau of UCLG on 29 May 2020.

The International Jury awarded 2 cities, 2 individuals and decided to give a special mention to 7 other cities from across the world.

The Jury decided that the winners of the Award (in alphabetical order) were the candidatures “Network of Arts and Cultural Practices in Medellín”, submitted by the city of Medellín (Colombia) and “Ségou: A Creative City”, submitted by Ségou (Mali). Each candidature will receive EUR 25,000.

The Jury also decided to make special mention of the following projects (in alphabetical order):

Chiang Mai (Thailand), for the programme “Chiang Mai Centre Museums Network”, established in 2002. This initiative fosters local culture and citizen participation with a collaborative approach, using its organizational capacity and central location as “working tools” that promote access to municipal resources and thus mobilize the city’s cultural capital, including indigenous heritage, as a movement for change to build a better sustainable future.

Concepción (Chile), for the project “Concepción Creation Centre (C3): a space for creative collaboration”, based on sustainable development”. This collaborative workspace is a boost to local creative sectors such as design, architecture, technology, music and performing arts, and an illustrative example of infrastructure conceived as a priority for the city to promote culture as a pillar of sustainable development.

Manchester (United Kingdom), for the programme “Cultural Collaboration on Climate”. This initiative, which brings together 35 cultural organisations and festivals and is completely aligned with the ambitions of the city’s first climate change strategy, is helping to build strong leadership on environmental awareness, and has made Manchester a powerful example and benchmark for cultural collaboration and engagement on climate action.

Ramallah (Palestine), for the programme “City of Music”, an initiative that has contributed to the city’s natural turn to music as a factor of social transformation and development. “City of Music” shows how systematic work can create good conditions for the implementation of sustainable creative projects for the local communities, despite difficult and unstable political situations.

Ulaanbaatar (Mongolia), for the project “Ulaanbaatar Public Art Week”, an initiative devoted to art and its relationship with the major themes of contemporary life, such as migration, the rural world and nomadism, ethnic minorities, democracy and climate change. The project is organised by Land Art Mongolia, an organisation which brings the specific context of the city and the region of Mongolia to the international debate on sustainable development.

Yopougon (Ivory Coast), for the project “Yopougon: Becoming an educational and creative city through social cohesion”. This is a sound and complete initiative that demonstrates the willingness of the local government to place culture as a pillar of local sustainability policies. The initiative has a clear inclusive and participatory component, with specific lines on the integration of youth into the cultural and creative sector, which has resulted in the improvement of the well-being of citizens.

San José (Costa Rica), for the project “Computer Clubhouse, San José South: Girls Only: Comprehensive Development for Girls and Prevention Against Teen Pregnancy”. The Computer Clubhouse is a safe learning space focused on digital technologies that fosters cultural rights for adolescents in a context of inequality and exclusion. With the creation of the “Girls Only” programme in 2010, this small yet powerful initiative has proved that culture is key in developing the potential of youth to build democratic and peaceful societies.

You can check the presentation of the International Jury, the abstracts of the 81 bids received from cities from across the world, as well as the communiqué of the Jury.

08.06.2020

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