Anderlecht & Marsassoum receive the first prize for their partnership
Anderlecht (Belgium) and Marsassoum (Senegal) received the first prize of the PLATFORMAwards 2022 for their cooperation partnership on Tuesday 6 December in Grenoble (France). German MEP Pierrette Herzberger-Fofana awarded the trophee to Julien Milquet, Anderlecht deputy mayor for international solidarity, and Sény Mandiang, mayor of Marsassoum.
For this 3rd edition of the PLATFORMAwards, a jury of international experts chose the Belgian Federal Programme for Communal International Cooperation (PCIC) between Anderlecht and Marsassoum as the most exemplary of the 18 projects submitted.
Every two years, the PLATFORMAwards highlight best practices in city-to-city and region-to-region development cooperation.
This decentralised cooperation programme between the municipalities of Marsassoum and Anderlecht aims to significantly improve the provision of services for sustainable local economic development in a participatory and inclusive manner.
A special prize for EU-Ukraine partnerships
This year, the jury decided to reward all European and Ukrainian local authorities that cooperate with a special prize. More than 700 cooperations already existed between European and Ukrainian local and regional governments, but they have multiplied since the illegal invasion of Ukraine by Russia.
A second Senegalese municipality, Ouonck, won the 2nd prize this year thanks to its partnership with Zaragoza in Spain, on the rehabilitation of infrastructure and the strengthening of the economic activity of spirulina production. Spirulina is an algae which, when processed, can be used to combat child malnutrition.
Finally, Haskovo in Bulgaria and Douala 1st in Cameroon took third place on the podium for their partnership around the Unesco Heritage for Sustainable Cities.
A jury of international experts
This year, the PLATFORMAwards jury was composed of :
- Mr Fabrizio ROSSI, Secretary General of CEMR, president of the jury
- Dr Pierrette HERZBERGER-FOFANA, MEP, First Vice-Chair of the European Parliament’s Committee on Development (DEVE)
- Mr Emmanuel CARROZ, Deputy Mayor in charge of International Cooperation and Europe, City of Grenoble (France)
- Ms Pilar DIAZ ROMERO, Mayor of Esplugues de Llobregat, and Deputy to the Presidency, responsible for international relations, Diputació de Barcelona (Spain)
- Ms Gertrude Nadia Sèna DOSSA, Mayor of the 2nd district of Porto Novo (Benin), United Cities and Local Governments Africa
- Dr Lorenzo KIHLGREN GRANDI, Director, City Diplomacy Lab at Columbia Global Centers | Paris
- Mr Alessandro DA ROLD, Director General, EU40 (Network of Young European Parliamentarians)
The PLATFORMAwards ceremony was organised for the first time in Grenoble, Green Capital of Europe 2022, as part of the “48 hours of inclusive transition” conference co-organised by the city and the Council of European Municipalities and Regions (CEMR).
- Find all pictures of the ceremony
- Check the live coverage of the ceremony on Twitter
- Check the video animations: First Prize, Second Prize, Third Prize, Special Prize
