UN-Habitat has announced the winners of this year’s Habitat Scroll of Honour Awards.Considered the most significant prize in the field of human settlements, the awards will be presented during the World Habitat Day celebrations in Washington, D.C.
The 2009 award recipients come from diverse backgrounds and contents. They are:
- Peter Oberlander (Canada), for a lifetime promoting the urban agenda around the world. Dr. Oberlander was also a founding father of UN-Habitat.
- Un Techo Para Mi Pais (Chile), for providing 42,000 homes for the poor in 15 Latin American countries
- Rizhao Municipal Government (China), for transforming their city into a green home with new housing and infrastructure
- Cementos Mexicanos - CEMEX (Mexico), for helping more than 1 million poor people build their own homes
- The city of Grozny (Russia), for resurrecting their war scarred city and providing new homes for thousands
- Al- Medina Al-Munawarah Local Urban Observatory (Saudi Arabia), for pioneering a Local Observatory System now used elsewhere in the country and in the Middle East for smart urban planning
- The Alexandra Renewal Project (South Africa), for helping thousands of poor people move into better homes and boosting health, water and electricity services
- The City of Malmö (Sweden), for its innovative, holistic approach to becoming a 21st century eco-city
- UWESO (Uganda), for providing water, health and sanitation to orphans and vulnerable children
- Jan Peterson (United States of America), for championing the rights of grassroots women and their movements for better human settlements
- Neal Peirce (United States of America), for a lifetime of journalism dedicated to reporting on cities for a better urban future
For more information about the award and this year’s winners, please visit the UN-Habitat website.
About World Habitat Day
The United Nations has designated the first Monday of October every year as World Habitat Day. The idea is to reflect on the state of our towns and cities and the basic right of all to adequate shelter. It is also intended to remind the world of its collective responsibility for the future of the human habitat.
