The Mayor of Amsterdam, Femke Halsema, has made it onto the longlist to compete for the title of World Mayor 20 / 21.
The World Mayor prize has been awarded by the City Mayors Foundation every two years since 2004, with the 20 / 21 prize being devoted to mayors who have shown outstanding leadership during the coronavirus crisis.
Previous years have focused on the ongoing refugee crisis (2016) and the underrepresentation of women in local government (2018). 2016’s winner was Bart Somers, Mayor of Mechelen (Belgium), while Valeria Mancinelli, Mayor of Ancona (Italy) took the prize in 2018.
Halsema is competing against 59 mayors from around the world, including the mayors of Frankfurt (René Wilke) and Rome (Virginia Raggi). The foundation said, this year, they are looking for “mayors who showed outstanding management and social skills but also, and more importantly, acted at all times with compassion towards those most affected by Covid-19.”
Members of the public can nominate their mayor until December, and the shortlist will be announced in January 2021. The foundation expects to reveal the winner in late spring 2021.