Stories of environmental degradation and social injustice seem to dominate the news. But all around the world, people are developing local solutions to global problems. Through a different lens, we see that another world is not only possible, it is already being built.
We launched an award for people-led initiatives to highlight and strengthen stories of cities and collectives that are experimenting with new ways to practice democracy and secure access to basic rights. We compiled 33 inspiring stories from 24 countries for our Atlas of Utopias.
Three transformative initiatives for each category (water, energy, housing and food systems) were selected as the top 12 finalists nominated for the Transformative Cities 2019 Award. These 12 initiatives come from Barcelona, Budapest, Ixtepec, Jackson, Jakarta, Kitale, Lagos, Medellin, Morwell, New York, Paris and the West Bank and Gaza. Two of these nominations are for members of HIC: Dajopen Waste Management and the Integral Housing Reconstruction after the istmos of Tehuantepe, Cooperación Comunitaria.
Between mid-September and mid-October, more than 5000 people participated in the Transformative Cities vote. The finalists organised online and physical actions to bring attention to their transformative work. It is time to celebrate them!
On the occasion of the International Conference ‘The Future is Public’, the Transformative Cities Initiative will bring 8 of the finalists together to debate and discuss the opportunities and challenges for transforming our local contexts so we address the global challenges we are facing. During this unique event we will announce which initiatives received more popular support and who will receive the Transformative Cities 2019 People’s Choice Award.
This exceptional event will be livestreamed worldwide, giving the opportunity for those outside Amsterdam to engage and be part of this celebration of collectives.
The link to the livestream will be announced soon.
Click here to register and to check the programme.