Decree No. (13) of 2000

Establishing the Dubai International Award for

Best Practices to Improve the Living Environment[1]

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We, Maktoum bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Ruler of Dubai,

Do hereby issue this Decree.

Article (1)

Pursuant to this Decree, an award named the "Dubai International Award for Best Practices to Improve the Living Environment (the “DIABP”) is established. The DIABP is hereby affiliated to the Dubai Municipality, and will have legal personality and the full capacity to act in accordance with its objectives, its Charter, and the provisions of this Decree.

Article (2)

The objectives, organisational structure, and management framework of the DIABP; the rules and procedures for nomination for and granting of the DIABP award; and the criteria for evaluating practices are set forth in the DIABP Charter attached hereto.

Article (3)

The DIABP is hereby exempt from all taxes and all government, municipal, and customs fees and duties.

Article (4)

This Decree comes into force on the day on which it is issued, and will be published in the Official Gazette.

Maktoum bin Rashid Al Maktoum

Ruler of Dubai

Issued in Dubai on 24 May 2000

Corresponding to 20 Safar 1421 A.H.


 

Charter of the

Dubai International Award for

Best Practices to Improve the Living Environment

Article (1)

This Charter will be cited as the “Charter of the Dubai International Award for Best Practices to Improve the Living Environment”.

Article (2)

For the purposes of implementing this Charter, the following words and expressions will have the meaning indicated opposite each of them unless the context implies otherwise:

 

DIABP:

The Dubai International Award for Best Practices to Improve the Living Environment.

DIABP Patron:

His Highness the Ruler of the Emirate of Dubai.

Board of Trustees:

The board of trustees of the DIABP.

Chapter One

Head Office and Objectives of the DIABP

Article (3)

The DIABP will have a permanent head office located in the city of Dubai. The DIABP award will be granted once every two (2) years.

Article (4)

The objective of the DIABP is to recognise outstanding achievements and practices in improving the living environment, in accordance with the criteria attached to this Charter.

Article (5)

Nominations for the DIABP award will be accepted in respect of practices in one or more of the following areas:

-          shelter and urban infrastructures;

-          sustainable development of human settlements;

-          gender equality and combating social exclusion;

-          improved production and consumption cycles;

-          urban poverty reduction and job creation;

-          safe water supply and public health;

-          improving the urban living environment;

-          natural and man-made disasters;

-          responsiveness to the ideas and needs of the youth;

-          waste collection, recycling, and reuse;

-          access to public transport and telecommunications;

-          prevention of crime and achieving social equity;

-          enhancing the role of government and the promoting accountability and transparency in the government;

-          use of information in decision making;

-          architecture and urban design;

-          meeting the needs of the elderly; and

-          innovative applied practices.

Article (6)

Nomination for the DIABP award is open to:

1.    government organisations or agencies, including aid agencies;

2.    national habitat committees or habitat committee centres;

3.    multilateral agencies (United Nations agencies, the World Bank, etc.);

4.    cities, local authorities, or their associations;

5.    non-governmental organisations (NGOs);

6.    community-based organisations (CBOs);

7.    the private sector;

8.    research and academic institutions;

9.    media outlets;

10.  public or private foundations; and

11.  individual initiatives submitted through any of the above-mentioned entities or groups.

Article (7)

a.    The amount of the DIABP award will be three hundred thousand US dollars (USD 300,000.00), to be divided equally among the best ten (10) practices nominated for the award. 

b.    Each winner of the DIABP award will be delivered a trophy and an appreciation certificate specifically designed for the award.

Chapter Two

Organisational Structure of the DIABP

Article (8)

The organisational structure of the DIABP will be comprised of:

a.    the Board of Trustees;

b.    the Technical Advisory Committee; and

c.     the Jury.

Article (9)

a.    The Board of Trustees will be formed, and its internal affairs will be regulated, pursuant to a resolution issued by the Chairman of the Dubai Municipality.

b.     The Director General of the Dubai Municipality will assign the administrative employees in charge of managing the DIABP events, and will determine their duties and the scope of their functions.

Article (10)

The Board of Trustees is the authority in charge of supervising the management of the DIABP affairs, developing its policy, and regulating its work, in accordance with the provisions of this Charter and the resolution forming the Board of Trustees. For these purposes, the Board of Trustees may:

1.    propose the implementing bylaws regulating the work of the Board of Trustees and submit the same to the Chairman of the Dubai Municipality for approval;

2.    prepare the draft annual budget of the DIABP;

3.    determine the general and specific criteria and rules of eligibility for nomination for the DIABP award; and, where required, consult on the same with the United Nations Centre for Human Settlements (the “UN-Habitat”);

4.    form the Technical Advisory Committee and the Jury, in consultation with the UN-Habitat;

5.    issue the bylaws regulating the work of the DIABP committees;

6.    appoint a rapporteur to the Board of Trustees and determine his duties; and

7.    perform any other duties assigned to it by the DIABP Patron or the Chairman of the Dubai Municipality.

Article (11)

a.    The Technical Advisory Committee will be comprised of no less than seven (7) and no more than eleven (11) members, including its chairman.

b.     Members of the Technical Advisory Committee must have international experience in any of the areas of the DIABP award and must hold academic qualifications and work experience in the same areas.

Article (12)

a.    The Jury will be comprised of five (5) members, including the chairman of the Jury. The Jury must have at least one (1) member nominated by the Dubai Municipality.

b.     A Jury member must be a prominent world figure with a background that is relevant to the areas of the DIABP award.

Article (13)

The Technical Advisory Committee and the Jury will perform their duties under this Charter in accordance with the procedures and principles approved by the Board of Trustees. In selecting the members of the Technical Advisory Committee and the Jury, the following must be taken into consideration:

a.    independence and transparency;

b.    balanced regional and gender representation on both the Technical Advisory Committee and the Jury; and

c.     members may not belong to or represent any of the entities nominated for the DIABP award.

Chapter Three

Submission and Evaluation of Nomination Applications

Article (14)

Applications for nomination of practices for the DIABP award will be submitted by the entities stated in Article (6) of this Charter in accordance with the procedures prescribed in the approved applicant guidebook. For purposes of review and initial evaluation, the applications will be submitted to the Dubai Municipality, the UN-Habitat, or any other partner determined by the Dubai Municipality.

Article (15)

A submitted nomination for the DIABP award will be accompanied by a report on the nominated practice and a brief biography of the nominee.

Article (16)

a.    Nomination applications for the DIABP award will be submitted upon announcement by the Dubai Municipality and the UN-Habitat that nomination is open, which will take place during the first quarter of the two-year cycle of the DIABP award.

b.     An entity wishing to submit a nomination application for the DIABP award must submit the same within the deadlines prescribed by the approved applicant guidebook.

Article (17)

a.    For the purpose of evaluating the practices nominated for the DIABP award, the criteria attached to this Charter are hereby approved. These criteria are contained in the Dubai Declaration on Best Practices, which was issued by the Dubai International Conference on Human Settlements, held in Dubai in November 1995, and was adopted and endorsed during the meetings of the World Associations of Cities and Local Authorities, and the Second United Nations Conference on Human Settlements (Habitat II), held in Istanbul, Turkey, in June 1996.

b.    The Board of Trustees may, as it deems appropriate and conducive to achieving the objectives of the DIABP, grant any exemption from, or addition to, the criteria.

Article (18)

The UN-Habitat and the partner institutions designated by the Dubai Municipality in accordance with Article (14) of this Charter will review all nomination applications submitted to the DIAPB to verify that they are compliant in principle with the criteria and provisions stipulated in this Charter.

For this purpose, the UN-Habitat and the partner institutions may request more information and clarifications from the applicants in respect of their applications.

Article (19)

a.    Upon verifying their compliance with the basic criteria, as provided for in Article (18) of this Charter, nomination applications for the DIABP award will be referred to the Technical Advisory Committee, which will convene in Dubai as the permanent headquarters of the DIABP or in any other city that wishes to host its meetings. The Technical Advisory Committee will convene on the first day of the month of June following the application closing date, and its meetings will be valid if attended by the absolute majority of its members.

b.    The committee will conduct a detailed review of the applications and then prepare a comprehensive report on the same, which includes the following:

1.    the procedures adopted by the committee for selecting the best practices, and description of the phases of the selection process;

2.    a list of no more than one hundred (100) best practices selected by the committee from amongst the practices included in submission applications referred to it; and

3.     a shortlist of no more than fifty (50) best practices selected by the committee, at its discretion, to be referred to the Jury for final selection of the DIABP award-winning practices.

Article (20)

a.    The Jury will convene in the presence of all its members in the city of Dubai immediately after completion of the work of the Technical Advisory Committee. The Jury will review the practices referred to it by the Technical Advisory Committee and select no more than ten (10) best practices that are entitled to win the DIABP award.

b.    Where the Jury deems that none of the applications referred to it is entitled to win the DIABP award, it may withhold the award in whole or in part. In any event, the decisions of the Jury will be final.

Article (21)

a.    A DIABP award winner may submit applications for the upcoming cycles of the DIABP, provided that they relate to nominated practices whose topics are different from the practice that has already won the DIABP award.

b.    Practices that have already been submitted to the DIABP in previous cycles but have not won may be resubmitted, provided that all enhancements and improvements that are made to these practices, and that justify their resubmission, are clearly stated.

Article (22)

The DIABP award will be delivered to its winners at a special ceremony held for this purpose on the World Habitat Day, being the first Monday of October of the year in which the award is won.

Chapter Four

Financial Provisions

Article (23)

The Dubai Municipality will finance the DIABP with up to one million US dollars (USD 1,000,000.00) for the two (2) years in respect of which the DIABP award is granted. For this purpose, the Dubai Municipality must allocate necessary budget items within its budget.

Article (24)

The DIABP funds will be disbursed as required for the achievement of its objectives, as set forth in this Charter; and for the management and administration of its affairs, in accordance with the relevant rules and principles established by the Board of Trustees and with the financial regulations applicable to the Dubai Municipality.

Article (25)

Grants, gifts, and bequests provided to the DIABP by any entity will be accepted in accordance with the directives of the DIABP Patron.

Chapter Five

Final Provisions

Article (26)

This Charter may only be amended, altered, or suspended pursuant to a resolution issued by the DIABP Patron.

Article (27)

The DIABP award will remain the property of the Dubai Municipality where a decision is made to withhold it, or where the winner declines to receive it.

Article (28)

The DIABP award will be delivered to the heirs of a deceased natural person who is declared winner of the DIABP award.

Article (29)

Where a DIABP award winner is unable to receive his award for reasons beyond his control, the Dubai Municipality will decide the action to be taken in this regard.

Article (30)

The bylaws and procedures governing the affairs of the DIABP that are in force on the effective date of this Charter will remain enforceable to the extent that they do not contradict the provisions hereof, until new superseding bylaws and procedures are issued.

Maktoum bin Rashid Al Maktoum

Ruler of Dubai

Issued in Dubai on 24 May 2000

Corresponding to 20 Safar 1421 A.H.


 

Addendum

Criteria for Evaluation of Submitted Practices

The following basic criteria for evaluating nominated practices are hereby approved, and will serve as the basis for determining the DIABP award-winning best practices.

1.    Impact

A practice must demonstrate a positive and tangible impact on improving the living environment of people in one of the following primary or secondary significance areas:

a.    Sustainable Habitat and Community Development:

1.    affordable housing, services, and community amenities;

2.    easy access to land and finance;

3.    community-based planning and participation in decision making and resource allocation;

4.    safe water supply and public health requirements;

5.    inner-city core, neighbourhood, and settlement revival and restoration; and

6.    safe and healthy building materials and technologies.

b.    Sustainable Urban and Regional Development:

1.    job creation and eradication of poverty;

2.    reduction of pollution and improvement of environmental health;

3.    improved access to public transport and telecommunications;

4.    improved waste collection, recycling, and treatment;

5.    greening of the city and effective use of public spaces;

6.    improved production and consumption cycles, including replacement or reduction of non-renewable resources;

7.    conservation of natural resources and preservation of the environment;

8.    more efficient energy use and production;

9.    preservation of important archaeological sites; and

10.  formulation and implementation of integrated and comprehensive urban development strategies.

c.     Sustainable, Efficient, Accountable, and Transparent Settlements Management:

1.    establishing more effective and efficient management and information systems;

2.     gender equality and equity in decision making, resource allocation, and programme design and implementation;

3.    crime control and prevention;

4.    improved disaster preparedness and mitigation, and reconstruction;

5.    social integration and reduction of social exclusion;

6.    leadership in inspiring action and change, including change in public policy;

7.    promotion of accountability and transparency;

8.    empowerment of people, neighbourhoods, and communities and integration of their contributions;

9.    acceptance of and responsiveness to social and cultural diversity;

10.  potential for transferability, adaptability, and replicability;

11.  appropriateness to local conditions and levels of development;

12.  promotion of social equality and equity; and

13.  improvement of inter-agency coordination.

2.    Partnership

Best practices must be based on a partnership between at least two (2) of the entities mentioned in Article (6) of this Charter.

3.    Sustainability

Best practices must result in lasting changes in at least one (1) of the areas listed below:

1.    legislation, regulatory frameworks, bylaws, or standards formally recognising the issues and problems that have been addressed;

2.    social policies and/or sectoral strategies at the national and sub-national level that have a potential for replication elsewhere;

3.    institutional frameworks and decision-making processes that assign clear roles and responsibilities to various levels of groups and sectors, such as central and local government organisations and community-based organisations;

4.    efficient, transparent, and accountable management systems; and

5.    management systems that make more efficient and effective use of human, technical, financial, and natural resources.

4.    Leadership and Community Empowerment

1.    Leadership in inspiring action and change, including change in public policy;

2.    promotion of accountability and transparency;

3.    empowerment of the people, neighbourhoods, and communities and integration of their contributions;

4.    acceptance of and responsiveness to social and cultural diversity;

5.    potential for transferability, adaptability, and replicability; and

6.    potential for adaptation to local conditions and advanced levels of development.

5.    Gender Equality and Social Inclusion

Initiatives which accept and respond to social and cultural diversity; promote social equality and equity in all respects, such as income, gender, age, and physical/mental condition; and recognise and value different abilities.



©2024 The Supreme Legislation Committee in the Emirate of Dubai

[1]Every effort has been made to produce an accurate and complete English version of this legislation. However, for the purpose of its interpretation and application, reference must be made to the original Arabic text. In case of conflict, the Arabic text will prevail.