Deadline: May 31, 2024
Applications are open for the UNESCO Learning City Award 2024. The UNESCO Learning City Award has been established to recognize and showcase good practices in promoting quality education and lifelong learning opportunities for all at the local level.
This triennial award is presented to cities in each of the five UNESCO regions that have demonstrated significant progress in learning city development by implementing the UNESCO Global Network of Learning Cities guiding documents. Only member cities of the UNESCO GNLC are eligible to apply for the UNESCO Learning City Award, which is valid for one award cycle.
The UNESCO Learning City Award is conferred at an official ceremony held during the International Conference on Learning Cities (ICLC). No more than one city per country can receive the UNESCO Learning City Award in any given award round. These cities will receive a certificate. However, this award is not a UNESCO prize.
Eligibility
- Open to all UNESCO GNLC member cities with more than 12 months of membership in the network.
- Past awardees will not be eligible for the award for a period of six years following the receipt of a UNESCO Learning City Award. Consequently, the cities that received the award in 2019 and 2021, as well as those which joined the network in 2024, are ineligible this cycle.
Selection Criteria
Only those advancements made in lifelong learning development once a city has joined the GNLC are considered. Applications for the award will be evaluated according to the following criteria:
- Advancement of learning city plan;
- Advances in stakeholder coordination and partnerships;
- Progress in mobilizing and utilizing resources;
- Progress in monitoring and evaluation of learning city development;
- Advances to ensure learning is accessible to all citizens;
- Advances to foster a culture of lifelong learning;
- Advancement of innovative practices;
- Contributions to GNLC activities.
Application
To apply for the award, cities must:
- complete the award application form (PDF, Word) and provide any additional materials (articles, videos, etc.) in support of their application;
- ensure the award application form is signed by the city’s mayor;
- sign the consent form;
- send the application to their country’s National Commission for UNESCO.
Each National Commission for UNESCO can nominate up to two cities for the award. Guidelines and nomination form can be downloaded here.
For more information, visit UNESCO.
