A guest speaks at the 2018 Urban Innovation Conference during the fourth Guangzhou International Award for Urban Innovation in 2018. [Photo by Luo Changwei/Guangzhou Daily]

The fifth Guangzhou International Award for Urban Innovation, which is known as the Guangzhou Award, has started accepting submissions on Nov 14, according to an announcement made during the 6th Congress of United Cities and Local Governments (UCLG) and the World Summit of Local and Regional Leaders in Durban, South Africa.

The Guangzhou Award is co-hosted by the Chinese People's Association for Friendship with Foreign Countries (CPAFFC), UCLG, the World Association of Major Metropolises (Metropolis), and the Guangzhou municipal government.

The award aims to recognize innovation in improving social, economic, and environmental sustainability in cities and regions to advance the prosperity and quality of life of their residents.

The biennial event, which has been held four times previously, has gathered innovation practices from over 1,000 cities in the world. The Global Mayors' Forum was held for the first time in 2018 during the fourth Guangzhou Award celebration.

The fifth Guangzhou Award will be celebrated in the second half of 2020.

Song Jingwu, vice chairman of CPAFFC, said that CPAFFC will continue to work with Guangzhou to turn the Global Mayors' Forum into a multilateral cooperation platform to promote the implementation of Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).