Did you know that Port Fairy, in Victoria’s Moyne Shire, was recently awarded the title of the ‘most liveable small town in the world under 20,000 people’ at the 2012 International Awards for Liveable Communities (the LivCom Awards)?
And, for that matter, did you know that Coff’s Harbour, Melville, Joondalup, Ipswich, Port Phillip, Port Stephens, are among past award winners for best in their population category at the LivCom Awards?
How do you think that your own community would stack up against the world’s best? Why not find out by entering this year’s competition, with the finals to be staged in Xiamen in China in November 2013.
The LivCom Awards have been presented each year since the inaugural competition in 1997. During those 16 years, communities from over 50 countries have entered.
The competition starts with a registration process, which is currently open. You’ll need to have made a preliminary entry by April and, from that point, the panel of judges meets and decides on the entries that will go forward to the finals in November.
At the finals, around 10 contestants in each of the five population categories present their submissions to a panel of judges in front of the other contestants.
This is a fabulous learning opportunity and there is a good deal of information exchange and discussion about the merits of the different programs that provide a truly liveable community.
Many of the entrants have returned home to implement ideas from across the globe and, in some cases, have set up benchmarking exercises between themselves.
The conclusion of the three days of judging is a gala presentation evening where the awards are made. The competition is streamed live on the Internet and LivCom maintains a sophisticated PR operation that sees press releases and news grabs sent out all over the world.
Many competitors have been surprised at the level of pride that involvement in the Awards has produced in their communities and, in many cases, smaller communities have experienced a rise in domestic tourism.
The competition pits communities of similar size against each other in five different population categories, from under 20,000 to over 400,000. In comparison, the awards promoted by The Economist magazine, in which Melbourne currently holds top spot, assess only a limited number of cities each year — those in the super-population class.
LivCom’s competition is for any community, however small or large, and from anywhere in the world.
Each contestant community promotes itself to the judges on the basis of its performance within six criteria. These criteria are:
1. placemaking or enhancement of the landscape
2. environmentally sensitive practices
3. community empowerment and involvement
4. arts, culture and heritage
5. healthy lifestyles
6. planning for the future.
The criteria is continually evolving in line with world’s best practice and the panel of judges is selected from a variety of cultures and from disciplines within the realm of liveability; all are highly experienced practitioners in their fields. The LivCom Organisation is the only non-government agency that is endorsed by the United Nations Environmental Programme (UNEP).
Each participating organisation is supplied with the contact details of all other communities participating in the finals of the Awards, and communities often stay in touch with each other long after the event.
This is an opportunity to share information about issues affecting local government and develop long-term relationships with a range of communities from around the world.
You can find out more by emailing the CEO of Colac Otway Shire, Rob Small, on rob.small@colacotway.vic.gov.au or by going to www.livcomawards.com
CEO of LivCom, Alan Smith, is contactable at info@livcomawards.com
*Copy supplied by LIVCom
