Bloomberg Philanthropies Announces Selection Committee for 2013-2014 Mayors Challenge in Europe

NEW YORK, Nov. 7, 2013 /PRNewswire/ -- Michael R. Bloomberg today announced the members of the selection committee for the Bloomberg Philanthropies' 2013-2014 Mayors Challenge (bloomberg.org/mayorschallenge), a competition to inspire European cities to come up with bold ideas that solve major problems and improve city life – and that ultimately can be shared with other cities. Modeled on a successful inaugural competition in the United States, the Mayors Challenge will award €5 million for the grand prize winner and €1 million for four additional cities that come up with the boldest and most transferable ideas.

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"To help us choose the winning ideas, we've assembled an impressive group of policy and innovation experts from across the continent," said Michael R. Bloomberg, philanthropist and Mayor of New York City. "These public, private, and social sector individuals are among Europe's most creative and dynamic leaders. We're confident that they'll help us select the best ideas, but we don't expect their task will be easy."

The selection committee will help select the 20 finalists and five eventual prize winners. The 12-person committee is comprised of experts in innovation and urban policy, and members come from a range of European countries and backgrounds. Cities will be judged on four criteria: their idea's vision and novelty, potential for impact, potential for replication in other cities, and the quality of the implementation plans.

Selection committee members include:

• Christian Bason, Director of MindLab (Denmark)
• Till Behnke, Founder of betterplace.org (Germany)
• Ricky Burdett, Professor of Urban Studies at the London School of Economics and Political Science and Director of LSE Cities (United Kingdom)
• Bruno Giussani, European Director of TED (Switzerland)
• Lamia Kamal-Chaoui, Advisor to the Secretary-General and Former Head of the Urban Programme at the OECD (Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development) (France)
• Christine Leitner, Senior Policy Advisor at the Austrian Federal Ministry of Economy, Family and Youth (Austria)
• Maria Manuel Leitao Marques, Full Professor at the Faculty of Economics of the University of Coimbra and Former Secretary of State for Administrative Modernization (Portugal)
• Geoff Mulgan, Chief Executive of Nesta (United Kingdom)
• Bertin Nahum, President and CEO of Medtech SA (France)
• Carlo Ratti, Director of MIT Senseable City Lab and Founder of Carlo Ratti Associati (Italy)
• Silvija Seres, Independent Investor and Board Member and Managing Director of TechnoRocks (Norway)
• Ivan Tosics, Managing Director of Metropolitan Research Institute (Hungary)

The competition invites leaders of European cities with 100,000 residents or more to submit their city's boldest idea. The ideas must address a serious problem, improve customer service for residents, create significant government efficiencies, and/or increase engagement with the public. Approximately 600 cities across Europe are eligible to apply. Cities will submit their ideas and applications by 31 January 2014.

Cities must be located in one of the European Union Member States or in any of the nations in Europe that are FP7 Associated Countries, namely: Albania, Austria, Belgium, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Bulgaria, Croatia, Cyprus, Czech Republic, Denmark, Estonia, Faroe Islands, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Iceland, Ireland, Italy, Latvia, Liechtenstein, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Macedonia, Malta, Moldova, Montenegro, Netherlands, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Serbia, Slovakia, Slovenia, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, Turkey, and the United Kingdom.

To learn more about the Mayors Challenge and the selection committee, visit bloomberg.org/mayorschallenge and follow @BloombergCities on Twitter.

About Bloomberg Philanthropies

Bloomberg Philanthropies' mission is to ensure better, longer lives for the greatest number of people. The organization focuses on five key areas for creating lasting change: Public Health, Environment, Education, Government Innovation, which includes the Mayors Challenge, and the Arts. Bloomberg Philanthropies encompasses all of Michael R. Bloomberg's charitable activities, including his foundation and his personal giving. In 2012, $370 million was distributed. For more information, please visit www.bloomberg.org.

For more information on Bloomberg Philanthropies, media should contact Meghan Womack, [email protected].

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SOURCE Bloomberg Philanthropies