The Caribbean has a deficit of creative development ideas, and one mogul is looking to change that — by starting at the local level.
Former New York City mayor and billionaire philanthropist Mike Bloomberg has launched a major new project in the wider Latin America and Caribbean region.
The Bloomberg Philanthropies’ 2016 Mayors Challenge is a competition to inspire Latin American and Caribbean cities to “develop bold new ideas that solve major problems and improve city life – and that ultimately can be shared with other cities.”
Bloomberg’s competition includes a $5 million USD grand prize and four $1 million awards to four other cities that “generate powerful ideas.”
It’s the first regional launch of the program, which has already been in full swing in hundreds of cities in the US and Europe.
“Cities around the world are pursuing bold policy innovations, and those in Latin America and the Caribbean are helping to lead the way,” Bloomberg said in a statement. “Expanding the Mayors Challenge to Latin America and the Caribbean provides new opportunities for progress on a wide range of issues that impact the lives of citizens.”
Cities with 100,000 or more residents are eligible within Caribbean countries including the Dominican Republic, Guyana, Haiti, Jamaica and Suriname.
All of the cities competing must submit ideas that do one or more of the following: addressing a major social or economic issue in the local area; improving customer service for citizens or businesses; creating government efficiencies or improving citizen engagement in local government.
According to the organization, the winners will be selected “based on their idea’s vision, potential for impact, implementation plan, and potential to spread to other cities.”
For more information, visit here: mayorschallenge.bloomberg.org