14 September, 2021 – Three members of the Global Parliament of Mayors (GPM) were honored for their leadership by the City Mayors Foundation. GPM Mayor Ahmed Aboutaleb (Rotterdam, The Netherlands) was announced the joint winner of the World Mayor Prize 2021, along with Mayor Philippe Rio of Grigny, France. The GPM’s Chair, Mayor Peter Kurz (Mannheim, Germany) was honored with the World Mayor International Award and the GPM’s treasurer, GPM Treasurer Mayor Ricardo Rio (Braga, Portugal) was given the World Mayor Sustainability Award.

According to the City Mayors Foundation, which awards the prizes, Mayor Aboutaleb was selected “for his commitment to treat all citizens as ‘Rotterdammers,’ irrespective of their origins and backgrounds.” Mayor Aboutaleb has served as the mayor of Rotterdam since 2009, and joined the GPM in 2016.

Mayor Peter Kurz, who was honored with the World Mayor International Award, was commended for his commitment to collaboration with cities around the world. The City Mayor’s Foundation noted that Mayor Kurz “understands that by working together with mayors from other communities, local government can influence developments nationally and across the world.” The Foundation highlighted Mayor Kurz’s leadership in the GPM in their announcement.

The City Mayors Foundation awarded Mayor Ricardo Rio the World Mayor Sustainability Award. The organization noted in a statement that Mayor Rio “is determined to show that sustainability is not only compatible with economic growth but also a necessity to allow future generations to benefit from it.” The Foundation also praised Mayor Rio’s commitment to improving quality of life in Braga as part of his sustainable development efforts.

The World Mayor Prize is awarded every two years by the City Mayors Foundation, a non-profit think tank based in London. This year, 81 mayors were nominated from 38 countries. Mayors were evaluated based on their efforts to make their communities stronger, fairer, and greener. According to the City Mayors Foundation, this year, the award honors “mayors who have shown outstanding leadership during the Covid-19 pandemic and who now believe cities need to become more resilient economically, socially and environmentally.”

For more information, please refer to http://www.worldmayor.com/