News and Events

A commemorative publication featuring the 2012 World Habitat Awards at the closing ceremony of the Sixth World Urban Forum in Naples, Italy, including detailed descriptions of the World Habitat Award winning projects in Uruguay and Mexico is now available and can be downloaded here.

This year’s winners are Green Mortgage, Mexico and South-South Cooperation: international transfer of the FUCVAM cooperative housing approach, Uruguay. Both initiatives present innovative and sustainable solutions that have a great impact on the lives of hundreds of thousands of people.

The Green Mortgage is a housing finance scheme that works to encourage the use of energy-efficient systems and technologies for low-income households, reaching over 900,000 families and benefiting over three million people.

The South-South Cooperation project was initiated to support the international transfer of the FUCVAM model of mutual aid housing cooperatives. To date, the approach has been transferred to 15 countries across Latin America, adapting the model to local conditions in different contexts.

Dr. Joan Clos, Executive Director of UN-HABITAT, and Diane Diacon, Director of the Building and Social Housing Foundation (BSHF) presented the Awards to the two winners. In addition to receiving a trophy, cash prize and international recognition, peer exchange activities will be organised to the winning projects, to encourage the transfer of knowledge and experience. With the sponsorship of BSHF, bursaries are made available, enabling participants from a wide range of countries to attend.

Submissions for the 2013 World Habitat Awards are now being accepted. Focussing on the key principles of innovation, sustainability and transfer, practices are sought that view housing from a broad perspective, recognizing the multiple factors that impact the way that people live. For further information on the World Habitat Awards, please click here. Please note that the closing date for submissions to the 2013 World Habitat Awards is 1st November 2012.