Australia's National Local Government Newspaper Online

Darebin’s a liveable community

Darebin recently won a silver medal in the United Nations International Awards for Liveable Communities and we were particularly proud to showcase our work to enhance the natural landscape, heritage management, our environmentally sensitive practices and our community engagement. Liveable Communities encourages ‘best practice, innovation and leadership in providing a vibrant, environmentally sustainable community that improves the quality of life’.

Judging is based on five criteria: enhancement of landscape; heritage management; environmentally sensitive practices; community involvement; and planning for the future.

The annual Awards program received about 250 submissions and, from 70 in our category, shortlisted ten finalists. The other finalists were cities from the United Kingdom, Czech Republic, Germany, Lithuania and Canada, and four other Australian cities.

Darebin strives to understand the important relationship between the elected Council, the organisation and the community we serve. The lively community we are building – now internationally recognised – is the measure of our efforts.

Participating in these awards was a valuable experience. We’ve learned much from people who are doing creative, successful work around the world. Our submission focused on key aspects of Council’s operations, many of which are outlined in this supplement.

We now look forward to building networks with Local Governments across Australia, sharing ideas and learning about innovative practice.

Our website is a good starting point for finding out more about any of the projects and policies in this supplement. We have included staff phone numbers where possible to help you make direct contact with us. We look forward to hearing from you.

Michael Ulbrick
CEO

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