The Rwandan capital Kigali has been named Public Health Laureate for 2019 Wellbeing City Award, thanks to the cities’ bimonthly car-free day, a senior municipality authority confirmed Thursday.
The prestigious Wellbeing City Award is the first international initiative to recognise and honour city governments that place wellbeing at the centre of urban planning and policymaking.
It said the award was announced Thursday by NewCities, a global non-profit committed to shaping a better urban future, along with Novartis Foundation, Novartis US Foundation, and City of Montréal.
Introduced in 2016 by the Municipality authorities in Kigali, car-free days have increasingly become popular among Kigalians and the practice has since been introduced many districts across the country, it said.
“The City of Kigali has been selected for their Kigali Car Free Day. Every first and third Sunday of the month, the citizens of Kigali are encouraged to leave their cars at home and attend a free community event with sports activities and medical check-ups,” reads part of a statement by NewCity issued Thursday.
Commenting on the award, Marie-Chantal Rwakazina, the Kigali City Mayor, said: “We are so excited the City of Kigali has been selected as a laureate of the 2019 Wellbeing City Award in the Public Health category.”
“This is a vote of confidence in Kigali Car Free Day as an activity that promotes healthy living and wellbeing in the city,” she said.
It is expected that a formal ceremony acknowledging the Wellbeing City Laureates will be held at The Wellbeing Cities Forum in Montreal next month on June 19-20
CU/as/APA