The Rockefeller Foundation Announces Judges for 100 Resilient Cities Centennial Challenge

Former Presidents Clinton and Obasanjo among Esteemed Panel of Experts

NEW YORK, Oct. 29, 2013 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- The Rockefeller Foundation today announced the names of seven distinguished judges from around the world who will select the first round of cities to join the 100 Resilient Cities network. Nearly 400 cities across six continents applied to the 100 Resilient Cities Centennial Challenge, which was announced on The Rockefeller Foundation's 100th anniversary in May 2013.

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The judges are:

• President Bill Clinton, 42nd President of the United States
• President Olusegun Obasanjo, former President of Nigeria
• Ricky Burdett, Director of LSE Cities, London School of Economics, UK
• Dr. Peter Head, Chair, Ecological Sequestration Trust
• Dr. Helene Gayle, President, CARE USA
• Anshu Jain, Co-CEO, Deutsche Bank
• Dr. Judith Rodin, President of The Rockefeller Foundation

"We are honored to have such an esteemed group of leaders, who share our belief that building urban resilience is a 21st century imperative, to select the first cities to benefit from the 100 Resilient Cities network," said Dr. Judith Rodin, president of The Rockefeller Foundation. "Each judge brings particular expertise with the issues cities face, and knows the global landscape first hand. Judges will provide valuable input not only in selecting which cities will be the first to join the 100 Resilient Cities network, but in the kinds of tools and strategies that make a city more prepared to face the shocks and stresses that are increasing in scope, frequency and impact each year."

Through the 100 Resilient Cities Centennial Challenge, The Rockefeller Foundation invited cities from around the world to apply for the new 100 Resilient Cities network. Selected cities will receive support to hire a Chief Resilience Officer, create a resilience strategy, and receive access to tools, technical support, and resources to implement comprehensive resilience plans. Through this platform of services partners including Swiss Re, Palantir, the World Bank, the American Institute of Architects, and Architecture for Humanity, came together at the Clinton Global Initiative to commit to providing additional support in the way of design thinking, planning, and other services.

"Announced at this year's Clinton Global Initiative meeting, The Rockefeller Foundation's visionary 100 Resilient Cities commitment will give cities more tools to build their own and their citizens' resilience, and I'm excited to serve as a judge for this effort," said President Bill Clinton, founder of the Clinton Foundation and 42nd President of the United States.

For nearly a decade, The Rockefeller Foundation has been a leader in the growing field of resilience in both urban and rural contexts, building urban climate change resilience in Asia through its Asian Cities Climate Change Resilience Network, through investments in building rural climate change resilience in Africa, by funding comprehensive planning work in post-Katrina New Orleans, and most recently, by leading New York Governor Cuomo's post-Sandy Commission, which set forth a bold plan for building long-term resilience in New York. To enable cities around the world to prepare for the challenges of the 21st century it launched the 100 Resilient Cities Centennial Challenge in May 2013. Cities selected for the 100 Resilient Cities network will be announced at The Rockefeller Foundation's Innovation Forum on December 3 in New York City.

About The Rockefeller Foundation
The Rockefeller Foundation aims to achieve equitable growth by expanding opportunity for more people in more places worldwide, and to build resilience by helping them prepare for, withstand, and emerge stronger from acute shocks and chronic stresses. Throughout its 100 year history, The Rockefeller Foundation has enhanced the impact of innovative thinkers and actors working to change the world by providing the resources, networks, convening power, and technologies to move them from idea to impact. In today's dynamic and interconnected world, The Rockefeller Foundation has a unique ability to address the emerging challenges facing humankind through innovation, intervention and influence in order to shape agendas and inform decision making. For more information, please visit www.rockefellerfoundation.org

SOURCE The Rockefeller Foundation