Twenty-one cities shortlisted to win up to €9 million

Final contenders for the 2013-2014 Mayors Challenge have been revealed by Bloomberg Philanthropies. Modelled on a successful inaugural edition in the United States, the challenge will award €5 million to the city with the best idea, and a further four prizes of €1 million each.

“European cities in this year’s Mayors Challenge stepped up with bold and creative ideas that have the potential to improve lives across the continent and globe,” said Michael Bloomberg, philanthropist and 108th Mayor of New York City. “Cities face many urgent challenges–from climate change to social isolation to youth unemployment. We need city leaders to continually reach for innovative new ways to address urban challenges–and then share what’s working with the world. That’s what the Mayors Challenge is all about.”

The finalists’ proposed solutions address some of Europe’s most critical issues: youth unemployment, ageing populations, civic engagement, economic development, environment and energy concerns, public health and safety, and making government more efficient.

The 21 finalist cities will attend an ‘ideas camp’ in Berlin in June to refine their proposals before the winners are announced this Autumn. Of the 21 cities, 16 are EUROCITIES members: Amsterdam; Athens; Barcelona; Bologna; Bristol, Brno; Cardiff; Florence; Gdansk; Lisbon; London; Madrid; Sofia; Stockholm; The Hague; and Warsaw.

“While the ideas are very diverse, we identified key themes,” said James Anderson, Head of Government Innovation for Bloomberg Philanthropies. “The ideas tended toward networked, distributed solutions as opposed to costly centralised ones. There was a lot of interest in citizen engagement as both a means and end. Technology that concretely and positively affects the lives of individual citizens–from the blind person in Warsaw to the unemployed youth in Amsterdam to the homeowner in Schaerbeek–also played a significant role.”

The 2013-2014 Mayors Challenge is Bloomberg Philanthropies’ first in Europe after the inaugural competition in the United States. Cities with populations of at least 100,000 residents were invited to participate. The finalist cities have populations ranging from fewer than 250,000 residents to more than 1 million, and represent 11 countries across Europe. They were selected from 155 applicants which their solutions illustrate both complex challenges and common urban issues across cities and regions.

A full list of finalist cities can be viewed at: http://mayorschallenge.bloomberg.org/index.cfm?objectid=88E27CD0-BF20-11E3-B2360050569A3ED0