48 best practices submissions shorlisted

The shortlisted nominations will be reviewed by an International Best Practices Jury between November and December to select the winners.

A total of 48 submissions have been shortlisted for the 10th cycle of the Dubai International Award for Best Practices (DIABP) to Improve the Living Environment, the Dubai Municipality said on Tuesday. All the submissions will be added to the Dubai Municipality Best Practices database to help in the sharing of knowledge and the transfer of best practices to other communities around the world.

Sami Al Qamzi, Director-General of DED, and Dr James E.Melton, professional speaker and author during the Share Best Practice Conference and Exhibition at Dubai on Wednesday. -KT Photo by Shihab

The Technical Advisory Committee of DIABP recently concluded its 3-day sitting and shortlisted 48 submissions out of the 460 it received from 60 countries, Hussain Nasser Lootah, Director-General of the municipality, said in a Press release. The technical committee comprises eight experts from five continents, in addition to the representatives of the UN-Habitat, which is one of the award partners.

Nominations accepted for the award were based on best practices implemented by local and federal governments, NGOs and the private sector that address the various issues related to safe housing, poverty eradication, economic development, environmental management, land use management, issues of children and youth, architecture and urban planning as well as several other issues.

“The shortlisted nominations will be reviewed by an International Best Practices Jury between November and December to select the winners. The members of the international jury will be selected by the UN-Habitat,” Lootah said.

Prizes and categories

“The Best Practices Award worth $30,000 will be given to six winners. The Best Practices Transfer Award of $30,000 will be given to two winners, while the University Research Award of $15,000 will be given to two winners,” he said.

“In addition, a trophy and a commemorative certificate will be given to an entity from the private sector in the category of Private Sector Award, and a person in the category of Personal Award,” he added.

Mohammed Al Noori, director of Partnership Department at the municipality, said the Advisory Committee has taken up the responsibility to choose the Best Practices to support the agenda of the UN-Habitat on urban sustainability and contribute to achieving the Millennium Development Goals.

“The committee took into account the best practices at the local level that could be emulated in other regions; partnerships that would bring the decision-making procedures and applied best practices closer, in addition to the follow-up and strengthening of cooperation and coordination between establishments,” he said.

On the evaluation procedures, he said, the committee has assessed each nomination using the basic criteria adopted in the statute of the award which is sustainability — impact and partnership — in addition to other considerations such as social inclusion and integrated approach to human settlements issues.

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• UAE