World Mayor 2025
The nominees for the 2025 World Mayor Prize and Awards. We invite your comments.
The 15 World Mayor Prize and Awards nominees represent towns and cities in 14 countries. Some of the places are small, others are home to hundreds of thousands of people.
The 2025 World Mayor Project is dedicated to fighting poverty and alleviating its effects. The mayors nominated for this year’s Prize and Awards all recognise that poverty destroys human potential, livelihoods, and even lives. They have initiated programmes to reduce and possibly eliminate all forms of poverty.
Many mayors and their communities also contribute to poverty relief in parts of the world struck by strife and the lack of basic necessities for families to survive.
In recognition of the immense hardship inflicted on the People of Gaza, the 2025 World Mayor Project has reserved a special nomination for all those in Gaza who daily save lives, feed the old and the young and console those who have lost friends and family members in the war.
We invite you to share your thoughts on the achievements and challenges of the nominees listed below. You may, of course, also express a critical opinion. In particular, we like to learn how mayors address poverty, including child poverty, in their communities. Please email us with your comments, and insert the names of the Mayor and Community in the subject line.
Nominees for the 2025 World Mayor Prize and Awards
Listed in alphabetical order by cities
GAZA
The People of Gaza
“In the face of relentless uncertainty, local aid workers form the backbone of the humanitarian response in Gaza. Despite dealing with enormous challenges personally and professionally, they continue to make incredible sacrifices to help others.”
BASEL, SWITZERLAND
The City and Council of Basel
“The Canton of the City of Basel has been working to combat global poverty through international development cooperation for decades.”
BOGOTA, COLOMBIA
Mayor Carlos Fernando Galán
“The city of Bogota will resume payments for households in extreme poverty. Transfers will be prioritised for the poorest and most vulnerable households, with households in extreme poverty receiving priority attention.”
BREGENZ, AUSTRIA
CARRBORO, NC, USA
ESMERALDAS, ECUADOR
Mayor Michael Ritsch
“The fact that there is such a thing as child poverty in one of the richest countries in the world is simply a disgrace and should shame us all, especially political decision-makers. And no, I'm not excluding myself here.”
Mayor Barbara Foushee
“Carrboro positions itself as a community actively addressing period poverty and illustrating that with collective effort, progress can be made toward health and economic opportunities for all women.”
Mayor Vicko Villacis
“Poverty and lack of opportunities translate into crime in Esmeraldas, one of the poorest cities in Ecuador.”
IZMIT, TURKEY
LEGAZPI, GIPUZKOA, SPAIN
NAPLES, ITALY
Mayor Fatma Kaplan Hürriyet
“Municipal projects such as an Alzheimer’s Life House, Home Care services, Soup Kitchens, Short Breaks, Autism Sports facilities and Neighbourhood Kitchens touch the lives of the least well off.”
Mayor Eric Gálvez Álvarez
“Legazpi has become one of the municipalities with the highest per capita investment in social services in Spain. Example: Emergency housing for women and children who are victims of gender-based violence.”
Mayor Gaetano Manfredi
“We cannot deny that poverty is growing, pretending that nothing is happening and that we can forget the poor is not an action worthy of a great democratic country, especially in a difficult time like this.”
NORTH EAST ENGLAND, UK
Mayor Kim McGuiness
“From day one of my term as mayor, I’ve made it my mission to make our region the home of real opportunity, and that means tackling child poverty head-on.
OLIVERIE, SICILY, ITALY
Mayor Francesco Iarrera
“As a small-town mayor, Francesco touches the lives of everyone. He is always there for people in need.”
PÉAGE-ROUSILLON, FRANCE
Mayor André Mondage
“In the face of relentless attacks by racists and hatemongers: support us! Because racism is not an opinion, but a crime.”
REGENSBURG, GERMANY
Mayor Gertrud Maltz-Schwarzfischer
“Poverty remains an important issue even in an economically strong city like Regensburg."
TIJUANA, MEXICO
Mayor Ismael Burgueño
“Tijuana works closely with the UN Refugee Agency UNHCR to ensure the welfare of people abandoned at the border between Mexixo and the US. The mayor signed an agreement with the Agency to promote joint actions in support of refugees, asylum seekers, and internally displaced persons.”
ZAGREB, CROATIA
Mayor Tomislav Tomaševic
“As part of its fight against child poverty, public transport in Zagreb will be free for all residents under the age of 18. It will also be free for those over 65 and people with disabilities.”
The World Mayor Project, organised by the philanthropic City Mayors Foundation since 2004, has no connection with any city or organisation and is run on strictly non-commercial lines. Sponsorships, donations or any other kind of revenue are not sought and will be rejected if offered. DETAILS
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World Mayor since 2004
The City Mayors Foundation has given the World Mayor Prize and Awards since 2004. Every two years, the World Mayor Project features some of the world’s most outstanding mayors, mayors who have served their fellow citizens with integrity, courage and imagination. Since 2016, the World Mayor Project has addressed some of the big issues of our time: The refugee crisis (2016); The underrepresentation of women in local government (2018); Cities during Covid (2021); Local Democracy (2023) and, in 2025, Poverty. DETAILS
World Mayor Prize sculpture
shows courage and conviction
City Mayors commissioned French artist Manuel Ferrari to design a sculpture that was as unique as the city of the winning mayor. City Mayors' founding fellow, Tann vom Hove, said: “We asked Manuel Ferrari to produce a design that shows what an inspirational mayor can achieve if they build on strong foundations.” The World Mayor Prize has been sculpted by Berlin-based sculptor Kaspar Swankey since 2004. DETAILS
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