Announcing the Winners of the SDG Awards Ceremony at the 9th CityNet Congress
∴ First Place: Kuala Lumpur – SDG Centre ∴
∴ Second Place: Seberang Perai – Welcome to Kota Aur Village ∴
∴ Third Place: Seoul Digital Foundation – AI-Based Sewage Pipeline Defect Detection System ∴
This year, as part of the 9th CityNet Congress in Kuala Lumpur, CityNet Secretariat ran the SDG Awards program, calling on CityNet members to submit the best examples of sustainable urban policies that have been uploaded to the Urban SDG Knowledge Platform’s case study database. The SDG Awards program celebrated the remarkable achievements of CityNet member cities and organizations and the network’s commitment to invest in the knowledge sharing platform to share sustainable urban development strategies for Asia.
Thanks to the enthusiasm of CityNet members for the SDG Awards, 50 new cases were nominated and now the Urban SDG Knowledge Platform has over 410 cases in its database. CityNet members nominated cases covering 5 main categories. A 6th category was added to showcase the two CityNet members who received a grant from the Urban SDG Knowledge Platform to develop the platform’s first online courses, which will soon be launched freely to all CityNet members.
The Secretariat wishes to sincerely acknowledge and thank all CityNet members for participating in the SDG Awards program. After thoughtful review, the Secretariat chose 12 finalists and invited them to the offline-only SDG Awards Ceremony at the Congress in Kuala Lumpur to present their cases and receive awards. The finalists participated in a panel discussion moderated by Khairiah Talha, former president of the Malaysian Institute of Planners and Secretary General of EAROPH. The finalists’ cases were also displayed on a wall exhibition outside of the main summit meeting room and finalists’ videos were played in the exhibition area for Congress attendees to learn about the cases.
The finalists’ cases came from cities and organizations that are representative of Citynet’s wide geographical network. The cases target diverse SDGs and feature tremendous involvement of local stakeholders to localize the goals. Each case had clear objectives and responded to a specific problem common to cities in the Asia Pacific. The finalist cases had well-defined implementation steps for other cities to follow. Finalist cases were also selected based on how well the best practices could be replicated from one city to another.
Finalists List · Watch the Finalists’ Video Here!
Category 1: Sustainable Cities & Communities
Kuala Lumpur – SDG Centre · Link to case study
Presenter: Datuk Zulkurnain bin Hassan, Director of City Planning
Suwon – Haenggung Village Urban Regeneration Project · Link to case study
Presenter: Mr. Gyu-tae Choi, Urban Regeneration Division Chief
Category 2: Environmental Protection & Climate Action
Matsuyama City – Community Development through Disaster Prevention Education for all Generations · Link to case study
Presenter: Mr. Daisuke Shiba, Disaster & Crisis Management Division Chief
Colombo Municipal Council – “Let’s Grow. Be Prepared” – Urban Harvest · Link to case study
Presenter: Hon. Mayor Bernadine Rosy Senanayake
Category 3: Urban Mobility & Infrastructure
Sidoarjo Regency – SiCantik: Sidoarjo Regency Prevents Maternal and Child Mortality · Link to case study
Presenter: Ibu Ely Widia, Head of Cooperation Sub-Division
Seoul Digital Foundation – AI-based Sewage Pipeline Defect Detection System · Link to case study
Presenter: Mr. Yosik Kang, President
Category 4: Economy, Industry, & Jobs
Lalitpur – Heritage Tourism in Bungamati · Link to case study
Presenter: Hon. Mayor Chiri Babu Maharjan
Seberang Perai – Welcome to Kota Aur Village · Link to case study
Presenter: Mohd Ridzal bin Abdul, Director of Tourism, Arts, and Heritage Department
Category 5: Energy & Resource Management
Quezon City – Trash to Cashback Program · Link to case study
Presenter: Mr. Michael Victor Alimurung, City Administrator
Hoan Kiem District, Ha Noi (In collaboration with the Academy of Managers for Construction and Cities) – Phuc Tan Public Art Project · Link to case study
Presenter: Dr. Pham Van Bo, Vice President of the Academy of Managers for Construction and Cities
Category 6: Knowledge Exchange & SDGs Localization
CityNet’s mission is to provide a platform for knowledge exchange between cities and the Urban SDG Knowledge Platform is the ideal setting to share best practices and localize SDGs. Below are the premier courses being developed in 2022 which will be free for all CityNet members.
Seoul Tourism Organization – Seoul: Smart, Sustainable Tourism City · Link to case study
Presenter: Mr. Ki Yon Kil, President
Think City – Urban Safety & Inclusive Spaces Safety Audit · Link to case study
Presenter: Mr. Duncan Cave, Programme Manager
Following the introduction of the finalists and a rousing panel discussion, the General Assembly and three esteemed judges voted for the winners. Cases were judged along 6 criteria: replicability, clarity of implementation, positive outcome, innovation, governance, and long-term sustainability. Each judge’s vote carried 20% weight and the General Assembly’s combined votes carried 40% weight. The top three winners will be sponsored to participate in a customized SDG capacity building workshop in Seoul, Republic of Korea in 2023.
The Judges:
Jei-Hyun Han, Vice Mayor of Seoul Metropolitan City
Dato’ Lakhbir Singh Chahl, CityNet Special Advisor and former Secretary General
Mary Jane Ortega, CityNet Special Advisor and former Secretary General
The Winners:
First Place: Kuala Lumpur – SDG Centre
Second Place: Seberang Perai – Welcome to Kota Aur Village
Third Place: Seoul Digital Foundation – AI-Based Sewage Pipeline Defect Detection System
If your city or organization nominated a case for the SDG Awards, you will be able to sign a digital autograph on your case study title card, which will be featured in the Urban SDG Knowledge Platform’s upcoming edition of the RECIPRO:CITY magazine. Please contact Chris at sdgplatform@citynet-ap.org by October 24 to facilitate the autograph submission. Regardless of submitting the autograph, all SDG Awards nominees will be recognized in the upcoming RECIPRO:CITY publication.
Thank you once again for CityNet’s robust participation in the SDG Awards. Given enough demand, the SDG Awards will return for future CityNet events.
Chris Di Gennaro is a Program Officer at CityNet, where he manages the Urban SDG Knowledge Platform, a joint project with UNESCAP and the Seoul Metropolitan Government. Previously, he worked at ESCAP to organize an urban innovation themed startup competition. Chris holds a Master of Korean Studies from Yonsei University and a Bachelor of Psychology from Vassar College. He is keenly interested in the workings of cities and facilitating sustainable urban development.
