The Municipality of Halandri in the North Athens Regional Unit of Attica took the first prize in the 6th International Urban Innovation Competition in Guangzhou, China in the category of “Sustainable Management of Cultural Heritage,” supported by the European program Cultural Hidrant for the enhancement of the Hadrian Aqueduct.
Deputy Mayor Kostas Gerolymatos received the award at the ceremony which took place last week during the World Mayors Forum in China.
The project “Cultural Hidrant” supported by the EU reached the top of urban innovation based on the judgment of an 11-member international committee and the votes of citizens who supported its candidacy.
Receiving the award, Gerolymatos, and program manager, stated: “For all of us in the Cultural Hidrant program, it is a great honor to be awarded in the competition of the city of Guangzhou. We believe in our attempt to connect the present of our city with its history, not through a museum or a memorial, but by creating a relationship with the greatest work of antiquity in it, the underground Hadrian Aqueduct. Our goal, with water as its ambassador, is for the Hadrian Aqueduct to become productive, covering the needs of its residents for irrigation purposes. This will be the basis for the first serious attempt at water management as a common resource by the community, with the hope of becoming an example of sustainable development in an urban environment.”
The award is accompanied by a cash prize of $20,000 and a scholarship for postgraduate studies in the International Design Program, organized jointly by the United Nations, the World Eco-Design Conference, and Zhejiang University.
