Comments on: Helen Zille Mayor of Cape Town “Helen Zille is a person for the people! She has shown what can be accomplished when the right groups come together and stand for what is right, whether they are minority or majority. Her dedication and enthusiasm is an inspirational example on how to govern and lead. There's a reason Cape Town is the pinnacle point of Southern Africa, possibly even Africa. Her commitment encourages innovation and progress." More

Elmar Ledergerber Mayor of Zürich “Elmar Ledergerber is smart and articulate, he listens to the people, in fact he is very approachable and friendly, has an excellent way to communicate and explain his visions yet with the right amount of tenacity to get them into reality. Zurich is a wonderful town with an outstanding quality of life - and this also thanks to our Mayor Ledergerber who has significantly contributed to this success over the years.” More

Helen Zille, Mayor of Cape Town
wins the 2008 World Mayor Award
Helen Zille, Mayor of Cape Town, has been chosen as World Mayor 2008. Commentators supporting her nomination said that in a country devoid of present-day role models, this amazing lady was making a difference and giving people there hope: “Her only equals are Desmond Tutu and Nelson Mandela in Southern Africa.” Runner-up is Elmar Ledergerber, Mayor of Zurich, who will receive the World Mayor Commendation. The mayor deserves this honour because of his ability to build bridges between the wealthy sections of society in the city and the less well-off. More

Some 205,000 people took part
in the 2008 World Mayor Project
The aim of the international World Mayor project, which was launched by the urban affairs think tank City Mayors in January 2004, is to raise the profile of mayors worldwide by honouring those who have served their communities well and have made significant contributions to cities nationally and internationally. Participants in the competition are invited to nominate and vote for city leaders who excel in qualities like: leadership and vision, management abilities, social and economic awareness, ability to provide security and to protect the environment as well as the will and ability to foster good relations between communities from different cultural, racial and social backgrounds. More

Mayor Helen Zille
says thank you
I am honored and humbled to have been selected for the World Mayor Award 2008 by the panelists and voters who participated in the City Mayors poll. The news has brought a lot of positive momentum to Cape Town, and to all colleagues in the city’s local government. I owe this honour to you, just as I owe my position as Mayor of Cape Town to the people of Cape Town who put me here. Winning this award has once again impressed upon me the great responsibility I carry as a representative of my city and its citizens. It has encouraged me to renew my efforts to serve this great city to the best of my ability. More

World Mayor Award 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' senior editor, Tann vom Hove, said: “We asked Manuel Ferrari to produce a design that shows what an inspirational mayor can achieve if he builds on strong foundations.” More

World Mayor 2008
The final shortlist
Public voting for World Mayor 2008 has now ended. Between January of this year and the end of June more than 200,000 people from around the world cast their votes for and commented on mayors who they thought worthy of the 2008 Award. While all of this year’s 50 long-listed mayors have made significant contributions to the well-being of their communities, eleven of them stand out in terms of number of votes and persuasiveness of supporting statements received. More

Mayors from 50 cities compete
for the 2008 World Mayor Award
Citizens from all over the world took part in record numbers in the first round of the 2008 World Mayor contest, which was carried out in 2007. More than 100,000 voters nominated a total of 820 mayors for this year’s World Mayor Award. Some mayors received thousands of nominations while others collected only a handful. Citizens were also asked to provide a supporting statement when nominating a mayor for the World Mayor title. More



Questions put to Helen Zille
Question: At the moment the biggest problem in Cape Town is the condition of the poor people living in shacks, in and around Cape Town. The living conditions of those people, especially for children in the wet conditions of Cape Town is, to say the least, dreadful. It has been like that for the past 20 years. What are your plans to resolve this situation?
Helen Zille replies: The lack of basic services in the shack settlements around Cape Town is certainly one of the biggest problems we face. I have decided to address your question in some detail because the answer would otherwise be meaninglessly superficial. More

Questions put to Elmar Ledergerber
Question: How will the global financial crisis affect Zürich? Do we need to prepare for more difficult times?
Elmar Ledergerber replies: The banks and the financial industry are for the City of Zürich a cluster benefit in good times and a cluster risk in difficult times. In 2008, the City of Zürich will collect 310 million Swiss Franks less in tax money than expected. Thanks to our financial reserves, we can cope with this decline without having to cut down on our services to the local community and economy, at least in the short term. But in the long term we need to develop other fields of economy such as tourism and the creative industries or life sciences in order to diversify and minimise the risk. More