UN-Habitat announces award winners

UN-Habitat Executive Director, Joan Clos, today announced the 2012 Scroll of Honour Award winners at the World Urban Forum in Naples, Italy. Among those honoured are the cities of São Paulo, Brazil and Anji City in China.

“These awards look to honour individuals and institutions for improving the living conditions in urban centres around the world,” said Clos.

The three projects awarded the Scroll of Honour are: the Sao Paulo Slum Upgrading Programme of the Municipal Housing Secretariat (SEHAB) for implementing one of the largest slum upgrading drives in Brazil; the Special Council Support Fund for Mutual Assistance (FEICOM) for playing a key role at the local level in helping municipalities throughout Cameroon achieve the Millennium Development Goals; and the County of Anji, China, for turning Anji City into one of the world’s greenest places.

“The three projects that are awarded today have all had massive impacts on communities in their respective countries of Brazil, Cameroon and China,” said Clos.

The two individual award winners are: Dr Olusegun Mimiko, Governor of Ondo State, Nigeria, for his drive to reduce urban poverty and make Ondo the best-run state in the country; and Muchadeyi Masunda, Mayor of Harare, Zimbabwe, for his many years of charismatic leadership and courageous promotion of ethical governance in a city stressed by socio-economic, political and service delivery problems.