The General Assembly of the Association of Towns Awarded for Europe Prize was held on June 15-16. This year the event was hosted by the French city of Nancy, which decided to combine the organization of the meeting with the celebration of the 40th anniversary of the inscription of historical sites, including Stanislas Square – the central square of the city named after the Polish king Stanislas Leszczyński – on the UNESCO World Heritage List.
The General Assembly session was attended by representatives of local governments from Poland, France, Germany, Spain and Ukraine. For the first time, this year’s laureate of the Europe Prize, Bolesławiec of Poland, also took part in the General Assembly meeting.
The theme of this year’s Mayors’ Conference and the following Youth Forum was: “How do we, Europe Prize cities, translate our values of solidarity into action?” The various delegations mainly presented the good practices used by the cities honored with the Europe Prize in providing assistance and showing empathy. The host municipality of Nancy presented an extraordinary initiative. The signing of the “Little Weimar Triangle” by Nancy, Karlsruhe and Lublin was an example of international cooperation in support of war-ravaged Ukraine.
This session was also special because of the election of new authorities of the Association, as the second term of the presidency of Czestochowa came to an end. In accordance with the statutes of the Association of Towns Awarded the Europe Prize after the end of two 2-year cadences, the current President – Czestochowa will take his place in the Presidium.
In a popular vote, the General Assembly decided that the presidency for the 2023-2025 term will be assumed by another Polish city – Lublin. Czestochowa, along with Kharkiv, took over as vice presidents.
