That’s nice, eh? Canadian mayor named ‘best in the world’

The World Mayor Project has awarded a Canadian politician the 2014 World Mayor Prize. The award was conceived in 2004 and is bestowed every two years on a mayor who has developed and realised a vision for urban living that is relevant to towns and cities across the world. Naheed Nenshi of Calgary beat 24 other candidates and said receiving the 2015 honour was “an unexpected birthday gift”. The mayor of Ghent, Belgium, Daniel Termont, took the first runner-up spot, followed by Tri Rismaharini of Surabaya, Indonesia.

All I try to do is be very authentic, be real with people and just focus on working hard on making this community a better place, just like everyone else in the community. So I’m super happy about it, but I’m a little bit overwhelmed by the whole thing as well.

Calgary mayor Naheed Nenshi

Nenshi, who was first elected in 2010, became the first Muslim mayor of a major North American city. According to the World Mayor website, Nenshi is an “urban visionary who doesn’t neglect the nitty-gritty of local government”. They also described him as a role model for decisive management, inclusivity and forward planning.

Politics Naheed Nenshi