The PES Group is proud to announce that two of its members, Ahmed Aboutaleb, mayor of Rotterdam, the Netherlands, and Peter Kurz, Lord mayor of Mannheim, Germany, have been shortlisted by the City Mayors Foundation for the 2021 World Mayor Prize.
Ranging from some of the world’s largest metropolises to medium-sized and smaller towns, the shortlist includes 32 mayors from 21 countries. Many of them belong to the progressive family in Europe and beyond, and include Giuseppe Sala, mayor of Milan in Italy, Mansur Yavas, mayor of Ankara in Turkey, and Muriel Bowser, mayor of Washington DC, to mention just a few.
Under the motto “Stronger, fairer and greener cities”, the mayors have been selected because of their exceptional leadership during the COVID-19 pandemic but also, and more importantly, because they have taken remarkable action towards those most affected in their communities. In addition, in order to be shortlisted, mayors had to show awareness of the long-term implications of the pandemic and demonstrate forward-looking strategies in rethinking their communities and making their cities more resilient economically, structurally, socially and environmentally.
Progressive cities, leading by example
Many progressive mayors have put solidarity at the very centre of their action. Since the beginning of the pandemic, they have reinforced social and care services, created rent assistance schemes, found shelters for homeless people, provided for children who were home schooling, and more. We collected many of their #ProgressiveLocalStories and we hope they can inspire you.
Our members Ahmed Aboutaleb, mayor of Rotterdam , and @obkurz, Lord mayor of Mannheim , have been shortlisted by the @World_Mayor foundation for the #WorldMayor2021 prize!
— PES Group Committee of the Regions (@PES_CoR) March 23, 2021
Find out how you can vote for them and for other #ProgressiveMayors
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Take part in the vote!
You can vote for mayor Aboutaleb, Lord mayor Kurz and the other progressive mayors from around the world by emailing the World City Mayors Foundation your reasons why they should win the 2021 World Mayor Prize: What did you value about their leadership during the COVID-19 pandemic, their achievements as mayors and their vision for their cities?
To vote for a mayor, please write to nameofthecity @ worldmayor.com and insert Name of the City and the word Mayor in the subject line. For example, for mayor Aboutaleb, write to rotterdam@worldmayor.com and insert “Rotterdam Mayor” in the subject line. Please provide your name at the end of your testimonial and indicate which city and country you live in.
Testimonials, comments and votes are accepted until 30 April 2021.
We wish all progressive mayors good luck!
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About the World Mayor Award
World Mayor is a biennial award that has been organised by the City Mayors Foundation, an international think tank dedicated to urban affairs, since 2004. It intends to raise the profile of mayors worldwide, as well as honour those who have served their communities well and who have contributed to the well-being of cities, nationally and internationally. The last World Mayor Project was carried out in 2018 and dedicated to women mayors. Progressive mayor Valeria Mancinelli, Mayor of Ancona, Italy, won the prize.
