Philips Launches Award Program to Improve Health and Well-being of People Living in Cities

AMSTERDAM, May 25 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- Royal Philips Electronics (NYSE: PHG, AEX: PHI) today announced the launch of the Philips Livable Cities Award, an initiative designed to generate practical, achievable ideas for improving the health and well-being of people living in cities. Individuals, community or non-governmental groups and businesses are eligible to participate in the Award program that comprises a total prize fund amounting to 125,000 Euros.

With the aim of developing simple solutions to the complex challenges faced by the residents of cities today, the program consists of three distinct award categories:

• Well-being Outdoors: initiatives that will help citizens feel safe in public spaces or help create city identity and foster a sense of belonging;
• Independent Living: initiatives that will help the growing number of elderly people living alone to feel secure and comfortable in a city, with appropriate access to healthcare;
• Healthy Lifestyle at Work and Home: initiatives that will support a healthy body and mind, whether through a person's surroundings or via other essentials such as exercise, sleep and diet.

An overall award of 75,000 Euros will be granted for the best idea submitted in any of the three categories. There will also be two additional awards of 25,000 Euros each for the best submissions in the two categories not covered in the overall award. The award criteria will be developed by an international panel of experts chaired by Richard Florida, author of The Great Reset , Director of the Martin Prosperity Institute and Professor of Business and Creativity at Rotman School of Management at the University of Toronto.

"Philips understands challenges that cities are facing today, such as caring for an aging population, the need for security and managing health in an urban environment. As a company, we already work to help address these issues all over the world," said Gottfried Dutine, Chief Officer Innovation & Markets and Member of Philips' Board of Management. "Now, with the support of internationally recognized experts in urban environment, we hope that the Philips Livable Cities Award will inspire simple, achievable ideas from all communities, to improve the health and well-being of people living in cities."

"Our cities are our greatest invention. They are places where human diversity and talent cluster to foster unrivaled creativity, innovation and prosperity," says Richard Florida. "Home to half of the  world's population, housing more than 3 billion people globally, too many of our cities are disconnected from the global economy and even many of the most advanced cities have pockets of disadvantage and poverty.  We need simple solutions that can be replicated in any community to make our cities more prosperous and livable.  I'm honored to be part of this incredible opportunity which can serve as a model to improve the economic prosperity and livability of our cities across the globe."

Modern cities are thriving as increasing numbers of people recognize them as stimulating and rewarding environments in which to live, work and play. The latest statistics from the UN-Habitat Global Report on Human Settlements show that more than half of the world's population currently lives in a city, and this proportion is projected to increase to more than two thirds of the world's population by 2050. Also, with increasing urbanization, a greater proportion of people living in cities are older – today, the proportion of the older adult population residing in cities in developed countries matches that of younger age groups(1). Rapid urbanization has also led to health-related issues such as a dramatic increase in obesity, particularly in developing countries, caused by decreased physical activity due to the increasingly sedentary nature of many forms of work and changing modes of transportation(2).

Detailed criteria for entries and online submissions for the Philips Livable Cities Award can be found at www.philips.com/because. The deadline for submission is 5pm CET on October 28, 2010. The winners will be announced at an Award Ceremony that will take place in April, 2011.

About Royal Philips Electronics

Royal Philips Electronics of the Netherlands (NYSE: PHG, AEX: PHI) is a diversified health and well-being company, focused on improving people's lives through timely innovations. As a world leader in healthcare, lifestyle and lighting, Philips integrates technologies and design into people-centric solutions, based on fundamental customer insights and the brand promise of "sense and simplicity." Headquartered in the Netherlands, Philips employs approximately 116,000 employees in more than 60 countries worldwide. With sales of EUR 23 billion in 2009, the company is a market leader in cardiac care, acute care and home healthcare, energy efficient lighting solutions and new lighting applications, as well as lifestyle products for personal well-being and pleasure with strong leadership positions in flat TV, male shaving and grooming, portable entertainment and oral healthcare. News from Philips is located at www.philips.com/newscenter.

Philips also operates the city.people.light award which is run in conjunction with Lighting Urban Community International (LUCI), which recognizes the towns or cities that best demonstrate the added value that lighting can bring to the urban environment.

About Richard Florida

Richard Florida is author of the global best-seller The Rise of the Creative Class and Who's Your City?, a national and international best seller and amazon.com book of the month. His new book, The Great Reset, explains how new ways of living and working will drive post-crash prosperity.

Florida is a regular correspondent for the Atlantic Monthly and has written numerous columns for The Globe and Mail, The New York Times, The Wall Street Journal, The Washington Post, The Boston Globe, The Economist, and The Harvard Business Review. He has been featured as an expert on MSNBC, CNN, BBC, NPR and CBS, to name just a few.

Richard was also named as one of Esquire Magazine's Best and Brightest, alongside luminaries such as Bill Clinton and Jeffrey Sachs.

He is founder of the Creative Class Group, an advisory services firm, charting new trends in business and community.

Florida is Director of the Martin Prosperity Institute and Professor of Business and Creativity at the Rotman School of Management, University of Toronto. Previously, Florida held professorships at Carnegie Mellon University, a visiting professor at Harvard and MIT, and a visiting fellow of the Brookings Institution.

(1) WHO report 'Global Age-Friendly cities: a Guide' (part I)

(2) WHO Factsheet No. 311, September 2006, 'Obesity and Overweight'

SOURCE Royal Philips Electronics