The winner of the 2018 Transformative Action Award will receive a prize of €10,000. The funding, which will be announced later today at the "Great awards for great cities: does your city have what it takes?" session at EU Green Week, will help to initiate further transformative actions in the winner’s city or region.

The award, co-organised by ICLEI – Local Governments for Sustainability, the Basque Country, and the City of Aalborg (Denmark), rewards ongoing or concluded Transformative Actions that use the 15 pathways outlined in the Basque Declaration to bring about the socio-cultural, socio-economic, and technological transformation of societies.

"The Transformative Action Award celebrates the ambition of cities and municipalities to create sustainable communities,” said Karl Heinz-Lambertz, President of the European Committee of the Regions. “It sends a clear message that local democracy and citizen engagement are the driving force behind a sustainable future."

His words were echoed by Cor Lamers, Chair of the ENVE Commission of the European Committee of the Regions and Transformative Action Award jury member, who said: “The Transformative Action Award gives Europe-wide recognition to cities that are leading the way in terms of sustainability. Actions that reduce our environmental impact are urgently needed and this initiative is an invaluable tool to make those actions happen.”

The competition is open to any local or regional authority or civil society organisation located in an EU Member State, EEA country, or EU candidate or accession country. Applicants must be endorsers of the Basque Declaration. The application deadline for this year's Award has been extended to 31 July 2018.

The winner of the 2018 Transformative Action Award will join last year’s winner, Nilüfer (Turkey), as a recognised leader of sustainable urban transformation in Europe.

To endorse the Basque Declaration, and apply for the 2018 Transformative Action Award, visit the Sustainable Cities Platform.