News

The Kingston and St. Andrew Corporation (KSAC) has signalled its intention to enter the Bloomberg Philanthropies’ 2016 Mayors Challenge, where the municipality could earn a top prize of US$5 million.

Mayor of Kingston, Councillor Dr. Angela Brown Burke, made the announcement during yesterday’s (March 8) monthly meeting held at the KSAC’s downtown Kingston chambers.

The competition, which was conceptualised by former Mayor of New York, Michael R. Bloomberg, aims to inspire Latin American and Caribbean cities to develop bold, new ideas that solve major problems and improve city life, and can ultimately be shared with other cities.

Mayor Brown Burke urged the Councillors to contribute to developing a project for the competition.

“Although we have limited time to complete our entry, because there is a deadline for April 15, I am calling on all of you to join us at arriving at a bold initiative that will be new, innovative and is able to address a wide range of municipal issues while enhancing citizen participation,” she said.

She noted that meetings have already been held with representatives from JAMPRO, Social Development Commission (SDC), Caribbean Maritime Institute (CMI), and the Ministry of Tourism, among others, “to begin to look at how Kingston as a city and certainly KSAC as a municipality could respond to the Bloomberg’s Challenge.”

“Whatever we agree on is not simply a response to Bloomberg’s Challenge but a commitment to the development of the municipality. I am confident that we have the skills and ability to submit a winning project,” she pointed out.

All cities competing in the 2016 Mayors Challenge must submit ideas that do one or more of the following: address a major social or economic issue in the local area; improve customer service for citizens or businesses; create Government efficiencies; and improve citizen engagement in Local Government.

Winners will be selected based on the project vision, implementation plan and potential for impact and to spread to other cities.

By design, the Mayors Challenge prompts participating cities to leverage resources, talent, and creativity from residents and other sectors.

In addition to the grand prize, there are four US$1 million awards for four other cities that generate powerful ideas.Credit: Chris Patterson JIS March 9, 2016

http://jis.gov.jm/ksac-enter-bloomberg-philanthropies-2016-mayors-challenge/#

Source: JIS

Published Date: March 9th, 2016