MedCities, in collaboration with UNEP-MAP and INFO-RAC, organised an online Regional Workshop on Wednesday 19 March to introduce the 5th Edition of the Istanbul Award.

The Istanbul Environment-Friendly City Award was created in the framework of the Mediterranean Strategy for Sustainable Development (MSSD 2016-2025) to recognize the efforts of local authorities in promoting sustainable development in Mediterranean coastal cities. This 5th edition was officially launched in November 2024, the call for applications will be open until 15 April. MedCities is supporting UNEP-MAP in this activity, including through the organisation of the Regional Workshop and other promotion activities.

This 3-hour workshop introduced the award, its institutional framework, the process to apply, and the specificities of its application form. Two representatives from previous winning cities, namely Izmir and Genoa, also highlighted the best practices of their cities and their experience with the award. Ms. Stefania Manca, Sustainability Manager of the municipality of Genoa, presented the elaboration and implementation of Genoa Action Plan 2050, emphasizing the need to involve citizens in each phase. She also reminded the importance of the exercise that consists of filling in the Istanbul Award application form, not only for the award itself but also to enable the municipality to have a comprehensive overview of its sustainability thanks to the indicators the form is requesting. Mr. Çağlar Tükel, Climate specialist and project lead at the Climate Change and Clean Energy Department of the municipality of Izmir, introduced the different initiatives implemented by Izmir, with a special focus on sustainable transport and nature-based solutions.

In addition to that, the application form, which was simplified compared to the previous editions, was detailed by an expert who assessed the applications in the past.

In total, 33 persons participated representing different Mediterranean cities and metropolitan areas, including Antalya and Istanbul (Türkiye), Kotor (Montenegro), Palam, Mataró and Torroella de Montgrí (Spain), Larnaka and Limassol (Cyprus), Beirut and Higher Chouf (Lebanon) and Jerash (Jordan).

The video of the workshop is available here:

The experts in charge of assessing the applications will evaluate the proposals between May and August. The contest results will be communicated to the winning city in October. An award ceremony is to be held within the framework of COP 24 in December, giving visibility to the winning city and the best practices it implemented to make it an environment-friendly city.

If you are a city interested in participating, you can have a look at the website, and you can present your candidacy until 15th April.