EUKN - European Urban Knowledge Network - EUROCITIES rewards best city practices contributing to the knowledge economy

EUROCITIES rewards best city practices contributing to the knowledge economy

27-11-2006

On 22 November in Manchester, the cities of Bristol, Dortmund and Vienna received the three EUROCITIES Awards 2006 for outstanding achievements in the field of the knowledge economy. The Awards were presented during the opening of the EUROCITIES Conference & AGM 2006, which is centered around the theme of "Knowledge Cities: Villes du Futur".

The EUROCITIES Awards 2006 honour projects implemented by members of the EUROCITIES network which have contributed to maximising the social, economic and environmental benefits of the knowledge economy at the local level. The jury, chaired by Dr Cathy Garner, Chief Executive of the “Manchester: Knowledge Capital” initiative, had to choose among 32 projects submitted by EUROCITIES members. And the winners were...:

The city of Bristol, which won the EUROCITIES Award for Participation for its “Campaign Creator” project. Under the motto “Don’t complain... campaign”, this initiative has managed to substantially increase the level of citizen participation in civic and community life in Bristol, notably through the development of an online platform from which citizens can easily generate campaigning tools such as community websites and blogs, online petitions, email contact lists, etc. Since the launch of the initiative seven months ago, more than 280 community campaigns have been started, using the tools made available by “Campaign Creator”.
The city of Dortmund, winner of the Award for Innovation for its “MST.factory dortmund” initiative, which consists of a competence centre and incubator for SMEs and start-ups operating in the field of micro- and nanotechnologies. By providing local entrepreneurs with the infrastructure they need during the start-up and growth phase of their companies, this project has shown how a city can consolidate its technology base and create valuable opportunities for its citizens.
The city of Vienna, which received the EUROCITIES Award for Cooperation for “EcoBusinessPlan Vienna”, an ambitious programme aimed at helping companies implement environmentally-friendly, cost-saving practices. The success of this wide-ranging initiative relies on a successful cooperation between the city’s authorities and various partner organisations (in particular bodies representing Vienna’s businesses), as it is crucial to convince companies that eco-friendliness can be combined with economic efficiency. Today, 40% of Viennese companies with more than 100 employees have adopted “EcoBusinessPlan Vienna”, showing that caring for the environment can be good for business.

Source: EUROCITIES

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Further information about the EUROCITIES Annual Conference 2006 in Manchester

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