The World Habitat Awards were established in 1985 by the Building and Social Housing Foundation as part of its contribution to the United Nations International Year of Shelter for the Homeless. The World Habitat Awards 2011/2012 Competition is still open for entries.
Two awards are given annually to projects that provide practical and innovative solutions to current housing needs and problems, from the global South as well as the North.
Every year an award of £10,000 is presented to each of the two winners at the annual United Nations global celebration of World Habitat Day.
WHA: Awarding Practical and Innovative Solutions to Current Housing Needs
The World Habitat Awards are open for projects that:
- Demonstrate practical, innovative and sustainable solutions to current housing issues faced by countries of the global South as well as the North.
- Can be transferred or adapted for use as appropriate.
- View the term habitat from a broad perspective and bring other benefits as well, such as energy or water saving, income generation, social inclusion, community and individual empowerment, capacity building or education.
The World Habitat Awards (WHA) competition has a two-stage entry process:
- Stage I submissions need only comprise a summary of the key aspects of the project. From these preliminary submissions, ten projects are selected by an Assessment Committee to go forward to Stage II of the competition.
- Stage II submissions are evaluated by an independent advisory group before being put to a panel of international judges, which include the Executive Director of the United Nations Human Settlements Programme (UN-HABITAT) and the Rector of the United Nations University, Tokyo. Evaluation visits are carried out to some of the projects prior to the final judging.
Two Winning Projects Will Each Win £10,000
As well as international recognition, awards of £10,000 will be made to each of the two winning projects. Trophies will also be presented to the winning projects, and travel and accommodation costs will be met for one representative of each winning project to attend the awards ceremony.
The WHA Competition is Open for Worldwide Entries
- Any individual, organisation or government who has an innovative and practical solution to housing needs and problems from any country of the world.
- More than one entry can be made by the same individual or organisation.
- Entries should relate to housing projects and processes that are either completed or in progress. Those that are at design stage only or in the very early stages of development cannot be considered.
- Previous entrants can re-submit in subsequent years providing that the project has been further developed in the intervening time period.
Enter the WHA Competition Online
Submit your application(s) online on the official website, following the onscreen guidelines and instructions.