The mayors of Athens and Lesvos were announced on Tuesday among the 10 most outstanding in the world in the biennial World Mayor competition organised by the City Mayors Foundation.
Athens Mayor Giorgos Kaminis and Lesvos Mayor Spiros Galinos were listed third and seventh among the 10 most outstanding mayors in the world, with Bart Somers, the Mayor of Mechelen, Belgium, awarded the 2016 World Mayor Prize.
First runner-up was the mayor of Lahr in Germany, Wolfgang G Müller, who was awarded the World Mayor Commendation for services to integration.
Mayors Kaminis and Galinos stood out for welcoming refugees and offering them safety, shelter and support in their cities.
Kaminis received a commendation for his services to refugees. “…An NGO testified that the reception refugees and asylum seekers received in Athens was among the best in Europe”, noted the World Mayor website.
Lesvos Mayor Spiros Galinos was awarded seventh place for, among other things, facing the refugee situation on his island with compassion, courage and competence.
Athens, Lesvos and Lampedusa (Italy) are the three Mediterranean communities in the World Mayor Honours List that must receive special recognition for the welcome they offered to tens of thousands of men, women and children who were fleeing the fighting in the Middle East or poverty in Africa.
“The international community must offer municipalities on the Mediterranean front line generous financial and practical assistance. The inadequacy of support became woefully apparent when many refugee camps in Greece found themselves totally unprepared for the wintry conditions in early 2017.”
The World Mayor Project aims to raise the profile of mayors worldwide and honour those who have served their communities well and who have made contributions to the well-being of cities nationally and internationally.
The World’s Top 10 Mayors →
1 Bart Somers Mayor of Mechelen Belgium
2 Wolfgang G Müller Mayor of Lahr Germany
3 Georgios Kaminis Mayor of Athens Greece
4 Giusi Nicolini Mayor of Lampedusa Italy
5 Richard Arnold Mayor of Schwäbisch Gmünd Germany
6 Mirjam van ‘t Veld Mayor of Amstelveen Netherlands
7 Spiros Galinos Mayor of Lesbos Greece
8 Pavel Adamowicz Mayor of Gdansk Poland
9 Damien Carême Mayor of Grande-Synthe France
10 Henriette Reker Mayor of Cologne Germany
