Ljubljana received as many as four international awards Liveable Communities 2023 (LivCom 2023), which reward cities that, through implemented measures and projects, significantly contribute to a higher quality of life. In competition with over 230 participating cities and projects from 42 countries, we received three bronze and one gold award.

At the University of Malta in Valletta, from 30 May to 2 June 2023, presentations and justifications of submitted projects were made before members of an expert jury, after which the award winners were announced.

The first prize in the »Projects« category was awarded to the project of the City of Ljubljana titled Sustainable revitalisation of Ljubljana tailored to people: expansion and up-scaling of the central pedestrian zone to the East. The bronze award in the »Whole City« category was presented to the Ljubljana Home Care Institute (ZOD) for the intergenerational project Urban Gardening with Grandma and Grandpa, while in the »Projects« category, the bronze awards went to the City of Ljubljana with the Centre of the Golovec District Community and to the International Graphic Arts Centre (MGLC) with the Old Continent community project. The city cinema Kinodvor Randez-vous with Coffee and Talk project also made it into the finals.

In the City of Ljubljana we are proud that international experts recognised Ljubljana as a city in which it is pleasant to live and where we provide quality services for citizens of all generations. We understand this as praise, encouragement and motivation for continuing these good practices and implementing new projects and services tailored to people in the future.

Ljubljana is the best among as many as 230 submitted projects

The 21st LivCom 2023 awards, with the central theme of age-friendly cities, took place under the auspices of the United Nations. A total of over 230 cities and projects from 42 countries competed for the awards. The event was held simultaneously with the first international forum on age-friendly cities organised by the LivCom Committee and the International Institute on Aging, United Nations-Malta (INIA) and in cooperation with the United Nations Centre for Regional Development (UNCRD) and the International Society of City and Regional Planners (ISOCARP), and it was hosted by the University of Malta and the city of Birgu.
International experts who made up the jury pointed out that they are pleased with Ljubljana's projects because, in Ljubljana, we pay a lot of attention to the sustainable revitalisation of the city for all generations. They praised efforts that connect younger and older generations through social, artistic, educational and other activities for a higher quality of life. They are convinced that the world depends not only on young people, as is often emphasised, but that every representative of a particular generation can contribute to the transfer of knowledge, experience and the search for better solutions for everyone.

Gold award for the revitalisation of the city centre to the East

In the first-placed project titled Sustainable revitalisation of Ljubljana tailored to people: expansion and up-scaling of the central pedestrian zone to the East, we connected the renovations of public space and buildings in the area along the Ljubljanica River from the Dragon Bridge towards East, including comprehensive renovations of the Petkovšek Embankment, Rog Centre and the Cukrarna Gallery and the expanded Kavalir service of the public passenger transport company Ljubljanski potniški promet d.o.o.. In their presentation, colleagues from the Commercial Activities and Traffic Department, Vita Kontić Bezjak and Matic Sopotnik, highlighted above all the advantages of the project in terms of the accessibility of a high-quality built environment, culture, art and creativity for all generations, with an emphasis on the sustainable development of the city.
According to the jury's assessment, with this project, we satisfied all six selection criteria: improvement of the natural environment and public space; art, culture and heritage management; environmental protection and sustainable economy; local community involvement; healthy lifestyle; planning and strategies for sustainable development. We also announced planned renovations in the area, such as comprehensive renovations of the central market and the Cukrarna Palace, the energy use of the Ljubljanica River project with the introduction of a circular waterway and public river transport, and the renovation of the Along the Ljubljanica River Street tailored to the people.

Bronze award for Urban Gardening with Grandma and Grandpa

The Director of Ljubljana Home Care Institute (ZOD), Liljana Batič Dernovšek, and project head Amir Crnojević convinced the jury with the intergenerational project Urban Gardening with Grandma and Grandpa, in which they cooperate with the Daily Activity Centres for the Elderly in Ljubljana, and with other activities that the institute carries out for the comprehensive and high-quality care of the elderly in Ljubljana. The project connects the youngest and the oldest through cultivating vegetables in the community garden, socialising and mutual cooperation. It addresses the concepts of self-sufficiency in neighbourhoods according to the principles of sustainable gardening, active integration into the community, coexistence with nature and coexistence in the local community.

Bronze award for the Centre of the District Community Golovec

The Centre of the District Community Golovec project, which was described to the evaluators by the head of the Office for Local Self-Government, Jera Grobelnik, and the head of the Department for Health and Social Care, Tanja Hodnik, combines a daily activity centre for the elderly, a youth centre, sports activities, service infrastructure for nearby sports fields, and headquarters and premises for the operation of the Golovec District Community. With various programs, it will connect different users and thus encourage activities between generations. The opening of the centre is planned for the end of summer.

Bronze award for the Old Continent

The International Centre of Graphic Arts (MGLC) was represented in Malta by the head of the submitted project, Lili Šturm, who presented the Old Continent community project to the jury. The project was carried out in cooperation with the Daily Activity Centres for the Elderly in Ljubljana and was related to the substantive starting points of the International Centre of Graphic Arts Švicarija, cultural heritage and contemporary art, which the residential and creative centre has. The project activities were also aimed at encouraging the artistic creation of the elderly.

The final selection also included the Randez-vous with Coffee and Talk

The city cinema Kinodvor successfully passed the first round of the evaluation of written applications with a description of the project Randez-vous with Coffee and Talk – a program of film meetings for later years. With discussions after watching films in the cinema, they encourage thinking about different contents and the exchange of opinions between experts and cinema-goers.