The objective of the RegioStars Awards is to identify good practices in regional development and to highlight original and innovative projects which could be attractive and inspiring to other regions. It includes the following five categories: Smart Growth, Sustainable Growth, Inclusive Growth, CityStar, and Effective Management.
The EU Cohesion Policy Funds support this yearly competition honoring Europe’s most inspiring and innovating regional projects. For the 2016 edition of RegioStars Awards, the independent jury, led by MEP Lambert Van Nistelrooij, selected 23 finalist projects. These 23 selected finalists come from regions and cities in 14 Member States and were selected on the basis of four key criteria: innovation, impact, sustainability and partnership.
The complete names of the four categories are: Smart Growth: Emerging opportunities in the global economy; Sustainable Growth: Circular Economy; Inclusive Growth: Integrated living – building inclusive communities; CityStar: Innovative solutions for sustainable urban development; Effective management: Making a difference by managing differently.
The winners in each category will receive a RegioStars trophy and a certificate. The awards will be presented by the European Commissioner for Regional Policy, Corina Creţu, and the President of the RegioStars jury. Each winner will also be rewarded with a short video which will be published online followed by a promotional campaign. This year’s RegioStars award ceremony will take place on Tuesday, October 11, during the 2016 European Week of Regions and Cities.
In our upcoming articles, we will focus on the finalists of the category CityStar: Innovative solutions for sustainable urban development. These five projects are, in no particular order, the following: Abattoir: Foodmet with Urban Farm; Alley of Change; Intelligent Transport System Wrocław; Revitalization of Lower Town District in Gdansk; The Urban Distribution Center of the City of Charleroi.
Source: RegioStar Awards, European Commision News
