Gulf Network

The World Innovation Awards honors innovation leaders who have made an outstanding personal contribution toward the achievement of the UN's vision for a better quality of human life and global prosperity, as defined by the UN Sustainable Development Goals.

This year, prizes were awarded in 9 nominations: "Good Health and Wellbeing", "Quality Education", "Clean Water and Sanitation", "Affordable and Clean Energy", "Decent Work and Economic Growth", "Industry, Innovation and Infrastructure", "Reduced Inequalities", "Sustainable Cities and Communities", and "Partnerships for the Goals".

The award ceremony took place in Moscow on September 18 as part of the Cloud Cities Forum on the future of BRICS cities.

The award jury was chaired by Maimunah Mohd Sharif, Mayor of Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, former Executive Director of UN-Habitat, the UN's top institution for urban development. Also on the jury were Nicholas You, Executive Director, Guangzhou Institute for Urban Innovation; Sameep Shastri, Vice Chairman, BRICS Chamber of Commerce and Industry; Ismail Tekin, Vice Chairman, World Organization for Development; Dr. Nicolas Buchoud, President, Grand Paris Alliance for Metropolitan Development (under G20 auspices); Prof. Renato Troncon, Head of Design Research Lab, University of Trento.

The Director General (Mayor) of Doha Municipality, Mansour Ajran Al Buainain received the award in the Good Health and Wellbeing category for for his effort in promoting healthcare and infrastructure projects that make a difference for the quality of life of citizens. Claudio Orrego, Governor of the Metropolitan Region of Santiago de Chile, and Abdulla Mohammed Al Basti, Secretary General of the Executive Council of Dubai, were also nominated.

The Akim of Almaty Region, Marat Sultangaziev won the award in the Quality Education category. The other nominees were Sun Zhiyang, Mayor of Guangzhou, and Firhad Hakim, Mayor of Kolkata.

Ankara Mayor Mansur Yavaş bested his rivals in the Affordable and Clean Energy category, thanks to his achievements in the energy sector. The other nominees were Sultan bin Ahmed Al Jaber, Minister of Industry and Advanced Technology of the UAE, and Eduardo da Costa Paes, Mayor of Rio de Janeiro.

Moscow Mayor Sergei Sobyanin was awarded a prize in the Sustainable Cities and Communities category for his role in deploying Pixel, the autonomous cleaning robot, the city works fleet, and eco-monitoring laboratories.

D.K. Shivakumar, Deputy Chief Minister of Karnataka State, received the award in the Decent Work and Economic Growth category in recognition of his role in the region's economic development, which involved making more jobs available to local people.

Shaikh Rashid bin Abdulrahman bin Rashid Al Khalifa , Governor of the Capital Governorate of Bahrain , won the award in the Clean Water and Sanitation category for his role in advanced technology development for the delivery of safe drinking water to the people of Bahrain.

Alireza Zakani, Mayor of Tehran, received the award in Industry, Innovation and Infrastructure for propagating an innovation-minded technological approach in the manufacturing and infrastructure sectors.

Eldar Aziz oglu Azizov, Mayor of Baku, was honored in the Reduced Inequalities category. The other nominees were Aleksandar Šapić, Acting Mayor of Belgrade, and Saif Badr Al Qubaisi, Director General of Abu Dhabi Municipality.

Havana City Governor Yanet Hernández Pérez received the award in the Partnerships for the Goals category. Also nominated were Aibek Junushaliev, Mayor of Bishkek, and Fuad Noman, Mayor of Belo Horizonte.