The city of Amman was awarded the World Leadership Award in Town Planning, in recognition of the Greater Amman Municipality’s innovative Amman Master Plan; an urban development initiative designed to improve the quality of life in Amman.
Also during the same ceremony Amman was awarded the prestigious new “City of the Year” award for Asia-Pacific region, in which Amman competed with the following cities: Phnom Penh; Tainan; Ahmedabad; Kolkata; and Chennai. This award recognizes the most progressive city in that region and for excellence in leadership.
The announcement was made at a presentation ceremony held on December 6th, 2007 in London and the awards were received on behalf of Ammanese by Mayor Omar Maani, who was accompanied by representatives of the master plan team. The ceremony followed two days of presentations by the shortlisted cities where Mayor Omar Maani and the master plan team presented Amman’s success story on the master plan to a panel of judges.
As the Forum introduced the new “City of the Year” award that is given to a city in each continent; Amman also won the 2nd award for being the most progressive in achieving its goals and for the excellence in leadership and commitment shown towards the city.
Presented annually in London, the World Leadership Awards celebrate the very best in modern city leadership whereby over 400 cities across the world are asked to submit projects in a wide range of fields including: architecture, civil engineering, communication, culture, the arts, economy, education, science and technology, town planning, sports, transport, urban development and many others.
“This prestigious distinction means a great deal to Amman, the Municipality, and the Citizens who shared their vision and aspirations with us ” explained Mayor of Amman H.E. Mr. Omar Maani. “We at the Greater Amman Municipality feel that this recognition is an outstanding example of the success that can be created when community engagement, true leadership, and innovation work together. GAM is honored to see the Amman Master Plan evolve to become a source inspiration for global audiences. Although we are very proud of our achievements thus far, this recognition only encourages us to move forward.”
It is important to note that The World Leadership Awards are given to cities whose leaders have shown exceptional imagination, foresight or resilience in a number of key fields. Winning cities are usually those that have reversed trends, shaken off traditional images, and acted as an example and inspiration to others. The panel of judges presiding over the Town Planning category included some of the world’s leading experts in the fields of engineering, academia, government, commerce, media and other professions.
