Local and regional governments as service providers

The Council of European Municipalities and Regions (CEMR) invites its members and all other interested parties to put forward potential candidates before 11 March 2011 for the first Patxi Gutiérrez International Prize, to be awarded to an outstanding public sector employee.

The prize will be awarded according to five different criteria. Indeed, the candidate's work must represent a turning point in its organisation's activities as well as present specific human and humanitarian values. The candidate must have left a humanitarian or social mark and have made an innovative and personal contribution to his work. Finally, an environmental and sustainable predisposition must be present in the potential winner's work.

The first Patxi Gutiérrez International Prize award ceremony is to take place between 11 and 15 April 2011 in the municipality of Arrigorriaga, Spain. Candidatures must be submitted by a public authority or workplace located within the European Union. The winner will be awarded a sculpture by the artist Vicente Larrea and a cash prize of €3 000. The prize is to be awarded every two years.

For more information on the award and on how to submit a candidature, click here.