Bloomberg Philanthropies announced that 290 cities across Latin America and the Caribbean have submitted ideas to solve major challenges and improve city life for the 2016 Mayors Challenge.

7 in 10 ideas aim to address a social or economic challenge, while the remaining 30% focus on improving government effectiveness and efficiency.

71% of cities generated ideas to address major social or economic challenges such as:

- Social inclusion for vulnerable populations (23%)

- Sustainability (20%)

- Economic growth (13%)

- Education (9%)

- Public health (8%)

29% of city ideas focus on improving the overall effectiveness and efficiency of government

The 290 Mayors Challenge applicants represent over 172 million citizens in 19 countries across the region. Participating cities span the entire region with 71% from South America, 20% from Mexico and 9% from Central America and the Caribbean. Seventeen capital cities in the region submitted ideas to the competition - from Santiago to Brasilia to Mexico City to Kingston. With applications from 80 Brazilian cities and 59 Mexican cities, Brazil and Mexico had the largest number of cities that submitted applications.

5 cities from Haiti submitted applications and are now competing : Cap-Haïtien; Jean Rabel; Jérémie; Les Cayes; and Petite Rivière de l'Artibonite.

"Cities in Latin America and the Caribbean are some of the most innovative in the world, and they are proving it with their entries in our latest Mayors Challenge. The hundreds of proposals present exciting new ways to tackle problems across the region, and they have the potential to have a big impact on the lives of millions of people," declared Michael R. Bloomberg, founder of Bloomberg Philanthropies and three-term Mayor of New York City.

The 2016 Mayors Challenge will award $5 million USD grand prize and four $1 million awards to four other cities that generate the most powerful and transferable ideas.

HL/ HaitiLibre