CITTASLOW BEST PRACTICES PRIZE "CHIOCCIOLA ORANGE 2018"

On 4 June 2018 the Panel for the Cittaslow Project Prize CHIOCCIOLA ORANGE, chaired by Giuseppe Roma, Coordinator of the International Scientific Committee and composed of President Stefano Pisani, Pier Giorgio Oliveti, General Secretary, and Luca Filippetti, Web manager of C.I., met to appraise the projects and videos submitted by Cittaslow towns.

The Committee firstly noted the success of the initiative, in which 23 Cittaslow towns from 9 countries took part, submitting 32 projects for the Panel’s perusal, around 10% more than the last Edition. 

Prize evaluation criteria were based on the general rules of the contest, assigning a score from 1 (minimum) to 5 (maximum) on the following four core items.

• Improvement of Cittaslow philosophy;
• Impact on social innovation;
• Relevance in terms of dissemination in order to share good practices in the network;
• Scale of the project, people involvement and investment.

The Panel then chose prize categories, reaching the conclusion that each year a prize should be awarded for the best project presented, to be called “Chiocciola Orange”, and others prizes should be given for the following categories:

• Environmental and Energy policies
• Agricultural, touristic and artisan policies
• Infrastructures policies 
• Quality of urban life policies
• Policies for hospitality, awareness and training
• Social cohesion 
• After having carefully examined project documentation, the Panel unanimously agreed to award prizes to the following projects: 

SEFERIHISAR  TR   score: 5  CHIOCCIOLA ORANGE 2018 
Quality of urban life policies

"CHILDREN MUNICIPALITY"

The project approach is to consider the children as individuals today as well as adults tomorrow.  This aim is perfectly fitting on Cittaslow philosophy. Aligning with this vision, Seferihisar Municipality  created an environment in which resident children have the right to decide and intervene in not only children related projects like playgrounds, workshops and sports lessons, but also projects carried out by municipal departments like technical services and auditing.  The Children Municipality is an institution preparing the children to actively participate in governance, develop solutions and express their opinions clearly in terms of developing the participatory governance, tolerance and reconciliation.  

The children have a campus reserved for them in which they can attend to train after school in the facility including workshops, meeting rooms, mini amphitheatre, park and sports areas. The number of attendants to the Children Municipality is around 1000. The courses on 17 specialities include theatre, modern dance, folk dances, mind games, drawing, violin, cello, piano and chorus.

This ambitious project concretely shows the potential of the Cittaslow vision applied on the feed of the intergenerational knowledge transmission and the practical way to improve the awareness of the “Cittaslow citizenship”. 

ABBIATEGRASSO  (IT) score: 4
Environmental and Energy policies 

“Energia Plus Service”  

The project is about a complex intervention oriented to create an efficient and sustainable energy system for the public main users. 

The new energy management project provides firstly to the municipal real estate, saving energy consumption and CO2 emission in a significant way. The second line of the project is for realizing n.20 photovoltaic systems with a public private partnership investment. This system with a production of 1.450.000 KWh/year, covers the 25% of all annual electric consumption of the whole town of Abbiategrasso Cittaslow. Third line of this project is about the efficiency of public lighting following the EU goals of 20% reduction of CO2 emission by 2020. 

ALTAVALLE / GRUMES  (IT)  score 4
Policies for hospitality, awareness and training

“Festival Contavalle”

In effect of the union of four small mountain towns in a single municipality called Altavalle, Grumes Cittaslow has launched numerous initiatives to maintain the cultural identity of the territory. In this context the project of a Festival has matured to reactivate local social processes using theater, art and culture in general. The Contavalle Festival was conceived with the story telling of the local population that tells its story in its past, present and future through theatrical expression, dialogue and open public discussion. The Festival has qualified the Cittaslow of Altavalle as a laboratory and an active research place for the fight against the depopulation of small centers.

BORGER-ODOORN  (NL) score: 3
Quality of urban life policies

“Multi-purpose area Nieuw-Buinen”

The project concerns the creation of a multifunctional area on a stalled space in the small community of Nieuw-Buinen. A rink has been created on this site for skating sports. There is also a flower garden and recreational zone. Due to climate change, opportunities for skating on natural ice do not occur very often in the

Netherlands. The surrounding area will be designed as an experience park with the historical glass industry

as a theme, a reference to the two glasswork factories that were once (about 100 years ago) located here. The added value of the project is mainly stimulating residents to be active sport, exercise and healthy activities during all the seasons of the year. 

RYN (PL) score: 3
Infrastructure

“Program of building houses for residents – for resourceful”

This program allows young people to connect their future with the town of Ryn Cittaslow, thanks to having a place to live. It also influences the development of the commune, through the creation by young residents of economic activities, business development, creation of new jobs as well as increasing the natural increase of the commune.

Program participants: families with children; single parents raising children (< 25 years of age) and families without children. The aim of the project was to promote the commune's economy, through to prevent the emigration of young, professionally active people. 

24 apartments with a total building area of 524.77 m², where build for social housing dedicated to the young people. 

LABASTIDE D'ARMAGNAC  (FR) score: 3
Social cohesion

“A tree for life”

The Municipality has decided to plant a fruit tree dedicated to each newborn in the municipal territory.  It is a symbolic signal for the reception of new families which is a constant challenge for the small municipality due to the polluting of the pollutants and the demographic trends in progress. At the same time it is a practical tool to increase the environmental awareness of the inhabitants and the fight against climate change.

JEONJU  (KR)  score: 4
Agricultural, touristic and artisan policies

“World Slowness Forum“

Cittaslow Jeonju has made efforts to promote the philosophy and vision of the Cittaslow Movement based on its own natural, cultural, and historic characteristics. Jeonju aims to declare its mission to promote the quality of life for the community and to make the city a place for its residents to live more happily. The annually Jeonju World Slowness Forum is the way to put in value the local healthy food and handicraft production. Meanwhile the Forum is also hold to concentrate on educating its residents, so that they can contribute to making Cittaslow Jeonju a happy place to live.  Than the education programs of Slow Tourism experts and Slow Life designers encouraged people to complete their training to serve as instructors in the area. 

Special Mention to Vigarano Mainarda (IT) for “Help to SAL island”

The twinning project with Santa Maria on the island of Sal in the Republic of Cape Verde is aimed at promoting economic and social development in direct connection with the community of Vigarano Mainarda. Particular attention is paid to water and waste management. Further main themes are environment, cooperation and work with a view to creating a new Cittaslow in Cape Verde

CITTASLOW INTERNATIONAL VIDEO CONTEST AWARD 2018

On 4 June 2018 the Panel for the Cittaslow International Video Contest Award 2018, chaired by Giuseppe Roma, Coordinator of the International Scientific Committee and composed of President Stefano Pisani, Pier Giorgio Oliveti, General Secretary, and Luca Filippetti, Web manager of C.I., met to appraise the videos submitted by Cittaslow towns.

THE WINNER IS:

MEHMETÇIK (North Cyprus) for the video “LIFE IS MUCH MORE… ” 

for the following reasons: “For being able to represent through the images of the territory the most profound principles of life inspired by the philosophy of Cittaslow. The author, also as a volunteer to make Mehmetcik a Cittaslow, has chosen an original way of telling the "slow" lifestyle in cultural, social and environmental aspects”.

Special Mention to: YAXI (China)  for the video “Armonious Community”

for the following reasons: “For the high quality and relevant communication skills of a film that in a few minutes shows all the aspects of "slow" living by harmoniously reconciling man with nature in a small farming village on the Chinese mainland”.

Special Mention to: WANDO (South Korea) for the video “Cheongsando Island is Relaxation”

the film offers an in-depth view of the characteristics of the city, with particular reference to being Cittaslow, and aims to maintain these qualities in the future with the full involvement of citizens.