The International Awards for Liveable Communities/LivCom Awards were launched in 1997 and is the World’s major Awards Competition focusing on International Best Practice regarding the management of the local environment and development. The objective of LivCom Awards is to develop and share International Best Practices, with further objective of improving living quality of individual citizens through the creation of “liveable communities”. As a UN-backed Awards Competition, LivCom partners an MOU with the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) since 2007, followed by establishing partnership with multiple UN Agencies and international organizations afterwards.
The LivCom Awards was initiated by the International Federation of Park and Recreation Administration and is currently managed by the LivCom Committee which is a UK registered nonprofit distributing Association that is limited by guarantee. LivCom is non-political, embracing all nations and cultures, over 80 countries have been represented within the Awards in the past decades. The high level of entries from major cities around the world are testament to the value of cities and communities being recognized for the standard of their city and the value of sharing best practice at the competition. These partnerships have inevitably led to mutual advancement, more effective use of resources and the improvement of quality of life within communities.
The Awards are open to both the Public and Private Sectors and joint Partnerships. Any person with a responsibility for the local environment, political or technical, has a responsibility to be aware of the Best Practices beyond that of their own country. It is a duty to be aware of International Best Practices and this can be achieved by participation in the Awards.
Since 2018, LivCom Awards have been upgraded with major adjustments made with regards to the judging criteria and categories to draw on the global agenda for sustainable development. To contribute to the implementation of SDGs at the local level and their scaling up, the LivCom Committee has decided to hold the International LivCom Awards for SDG (LivCom SDG Awards) from 2022. Inter alia organizing competition event, the LivCom will organize forum and technical conferences at the Finals with different hot-spot themes annually to provide a networking platform for exchanging ideas and best practices; release the Report on Liveable Cities and Communities; establish a city network partnership at global level, etc.
As you can see, the actions we take aim to increase the visibility and credibility of LivCom, in order to provide more rewarding benefits and satisfying experiences for participants and the host city. Participation in the Awards is an investment to the future of a community.