Recognition of policies and practices in the defense of global sustainability, in the category of Welfare and Sustainable Cities.
“Guimarães 2030: Governance Ecosystem” was the theme of the candidacy submitted by the Guimarães City Council and recognized in the category of Well-Being and Sustainable Cities, through the analysis of a renowned jury made up of Miguel de Castro Neto (deputy director of Nova), José Manuel Pedreirinho (Former President of the Order of Architects), Luísa Schmidt (Sociologist and ICS Researcher), Miguel Eiras Antunes (Partner of Smart City Deloitte) and Paula Teles (CEO of Mobilidade PT).
In a total of 88 applications, the Municipality of Guimarães ranked first in the category of Well-Being and Sustainable Cities, where other companies and municipalities also participated, with honorable mentions being attributed to the Santa Casa da Misericórdia de Lisboa (Radar Project) and the Braga City Council (More Areas).
The Mayor, Domingos Bragança, considers that “this award belongs to the entire community of Guimarães”, attributing the importance of sustainable development to the “involvement and participation of all people from Guimarães”. Domingos Bragança stressed that “everyone counts in order to change
behaviors in an integrated way and with this change, continue on this path that we started in 2013 and increasingly with a strong environmental awareness”.
The initiative developed by Jornal de Negócios (Cofina communication group), with the High Sponsorship of the President of the Republic, aims to recognize, disseminate and reward the best policies and practices, in defense of global sustainability, in order to stimulate and sensitize the society for the growing importance and impact of the application of the principles of Sustainability in the day-to-day activities of the different types of Public, Private, Collective and Individual Entities and their relationship with different areas of society and knowledge.
The award ceremony took place this Thursday, in an online session, which was attended by the Secretary of State for the Environment, Inês dos Santos Costa, highlighted the need for reflection on the term of sustainability and the importance of passing the linear economic model for a more circular approach.
The examples of inclusive and participatory governance, under the leadership of Domingos Bragança, were evidenced by the competition jury. Guimarães bet on a public commitment that involves all parish councils in the municipality, schools, institutions, political parties and citizens. Guimarães’ candidacy highlights the governance model that has been able to promote the involvement of the population, establish a closer relationship between the public sector, the private sector and the academy, following projects that offer an answer to the main environmental challenges of the municipality.