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WORLD MAYOR 2018
Profiles |
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FRONT PAGE About World Mayor City Mayors Foundation    WORLD MAYOR 2018 • Results 2018 • Project 2018 • Shortlist 2018 • Longlist 2018 • Raison d'être • World Mayor history • World Mayor Prize • Code of Ethics • Criteria • Meet the Press INTERVIEWS WITH • Mayor of Ancona • Mayor of Doncaster • Mayor of Rennes • Mayor of Zamboanga ESSAYS BY • Mayor of Ancona • Mayor of Cologne • Mayor of Doncaster • Mayor of Fort Worth • Mayor of Lille • Mayor of Paris • Mayor of Rennes • Mayor of Saarbrücken • Mayor of Trbovlje • Mayor of Tunis • Mayor of Zamboanga TESTIMONIALS • Mayor of Alphen / Rijn • Mayor of Ancona • Mayor of Baden-Baden • Mayor of Calais • Mayor of Chemnitz • Mayor of Cologne • Mayor of Cozumel • Mayor of Doncaster • Mayor of Fort Worth • Mayor of Grand Rapids • Mayor of Lille • Mayor of Lodz • Mayor of Molenbeek • Mayor of Narayanganj • Mayor of Oakland • Mayor of Omaha • Mayor of Paris • Mayor of Rennes • Mayor of Reutlingen • Mayor of Saarbrücken • Mayor of San Juan • Mayor of Trbovlje • Mayor of Tunis • Mayor of Zamboanga • Mayor of Zurich PROFILES OF • Mayor of Ancona • Mayor of Cologne • Mayor of Doncaster • Mayor of Fort Worth • Mayor of Lille • Mayor of Paris • Mayor of Rennes • Mayor of Saarbrücken • Mayor of Trbovlje • Mayor of Tunis • Mayor of Zamboanga WORLD MAYOR 2016 WORLD MAYOR 2014 WORLD MAYOR 2012 WORLD MAYOR 2010 WORLD MAYOR 2008 WORLD MAYOR 2006 WORLD MAYOR 2005 WORLD MAYOR 2004 |
 Valeria MancinelliMayor of Ancona, Italy Winner of the 2018 World Mayor Prize 12 February 2019: In July 2018, Valeria Mancinelli was re-elected as mayor of Ancona (population 101,000), a port city on the Adriatic Sea. Her approach to politics and achievements in office during her first five-year term built up trust with local people and enabled her to win convincingly against a countrywide tide of nationalistic populism. The Mayor has focussed unremittingly on practical solutions and on an honest relationship with residents. Most notably, she was instrumental in reviving the virtually moribund shipbuilding sector and other manufacturing enterprises. In her essay, she describes the approach she has taken since becoming mayor in 2013. “I have established a pact of sincerity with my community. I report in a transparent and direct way what is done, the steps necessary for the realisation of any project, the difficulties that are encountered and the goal that we want to achieve. With this frankness, l have carried out my mandate.” The impact she has had on local people has been in evidence in the large number of nominations she received for the World Mayor Prize. From a family, which was in the resistance against the Nazi-Fascism, Valeria Mancinelli stepped away from political positions for decades to focus on her work as a lawyer. She became a successful specialist in administrative law. She says she does not regret that choice because it is important to be economically independent from politics and its offices in order to give to the public world rather than receive from it When Valeria Mancinelli became mayor, local opinion was pessimistic about the prospects for an upturn in the port industries. Mayor Mancinelli was determined to revive them and to boost other manufacturing sectors. She created strong partnerships between public and private sectors as well as the working population. Success has been achieved. The port is busy again and companies have strong order books. “The presence of work is a welfare condition for a community and a richer community is also safer and less fragile. Work must also be a priority of a mayor who does not have many direct levers to create it but can favour the conditions for this to happen.” As the mayor explains in her World Mayor interview, the revival of the contemporary port area is accompanied by re-generating the older port areas, which are no longer needed for new uses and to provide attractive areas for residents and visitors. Mayor Mancinelli is also focusing on the challenges of integrating newcomers to Ancona. Around 13 per cent of Ancona residents are from outside Italy. “Many foreign communities are concentrated in two of the city’s neighbourhoods. There is no denying that some tension exists and that integration is a long and far from easy process. But a new model of community will be built over time.” Together with many Italian mayors, the Mayor of Ancona condemned the so-called ‘Salvini decree’ – named after its author, the Italian Interior Minister Matteo Salvini. The decree abolishes humanitarian protection for migrants who are not eligible for refugee status but cannot be sent home. In a statement Mayor Mancinelli said: “Until yesterday, vulnerable migrants enjoyed special humanitarian protection. This protection disappears under the ‘Salvini decree’. Consequently, some 40,000 people throughout Italy will end up on the streets, putting their lives in danger.” Extract from Mayor Mancinelli’s essay: When I was candidate for mayor of Ancona in 2013 one thing I wanted to change more than any other was that shadow of falsity and swamp that politics wore on it, a sort of show among political actors that had little to do with the interest of citizens and attention to the resolution of their problems. In these years I have established a pact of sincerity with my community: I report in a transparent and direct way what is done, the steps necessary for the realization of any project, the difficulties that are encountered, but also the goal that we want to achieve. With the frankness that distinguishes me and that sometimes, really, is misunderstood for roughness. But it is a rigor that I demand from myself and that my fellow citizens have in the end appreciated. With this frankness I have carried out my mandate, together with a team of compact and competent administrators, working on some fundamental issues. MORE Typical tribute: Under the administration of Miss Mancinelli, Ancona has become a more lively and dynamic city, while keeping a peaceful social climate. Several locations have been re-qualified and made available to its citizens, creating new occasions for social gathering. Thus, many shops which were earlier located in far away shopping malls have now returned to the city center, while the peripheries are being well taken care of as melting-pots of different cultures. In addition to its traditional commercial and industrial vocation, the port has been turned into a location for parties and cultural events of all sorts, also thanks to the opening and restoration of its older historical areas. I really appreciate that the city locations are being well preserved and taken care of after each requalification. The mayor is very dedicated to the well being of citizens of any age, religion, class and cultural background, as well as to the environment. Both public transport and the collection of sorted waste work very efficiently. A nice project to build a bicycle path running from the city center to one of our most beautiful beaches is currently being developed. I wish her a great continuation of her fantastic work and a very well deserved success. 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