By admin The beauty of Rourkela, an Indian idea transforming the city, lies in its simplicity. Providing farmers with affordable access to cold storage for their crops reduces waste and increases sales.
What made this idea a winner in the annual Bloomberg Philanthropies Global Mayors Challenge was the ambition to implement it. Rourkela made cold storage affordable by powering it with solar panels. She recruited women from the commune to manage the units, providing them with new skills and a new source of income. It also encouraged farmers to store surplus produce there instead of selling it at discounted prices to avoid spoilage in the Indian heat.
“It’s not new technology. This is not rocket science,” Rourkela commissioner Ashutosh Kulkarni said. “It’s a matter of ideas. I believe that ideas can move mountains.”
To support more innovative ideas from cities around the world, Michael R. Bloomberg, former mayor of New York and founder of Bloomberg LP and Bloomberg Philanthropies, announced on Wednesday the largest-ever Mayors Challenge. The expanded initiative will provide 50 cities with $50,000 and an invitation to an Idea Camp, thanks to which city authorities will be able to improve and test their ideas. The 25 cities with the best ideas will then receive $1 million and the technical support needed to implement them.
“This new challenge will enable cities to rethink how they deliver essential services in a way that better meets the everyday needs of residents,” Bloomberg said in a statement issued at Bloomberg CityLab 2024 in Mexico City. “Bloomberg Philanthropies believes in the power of cities to influence change, and we look forward to seeing mayors come forward with bold proposals and help their cities implement them.”
The most successful of these ideas can be included in the new Bloomberg Cities Idea Sharing program, where municipal leaders share what worked and what didn’t so that other cities can replicate these ideas.
Phoenix Mayor Kate Gallego says she has already learned informally about the city’s tree-planting programs in Freetown, Sierra Leone, through Bloomberg Cities, and how Rochester, New York, was able to hire more women in construction – two issues that are important important in her city. Gallego was happy to share with many cities how she launched a “mobile career unit” program in Phoenix, which involves going to areas where people have transportation issues to inform them about job opportunities and offer job interviews. This program was also the winner of the Mayors Challenge award.
“Cities are the beginning of innovation for the world,” Gallego said. “We come up with many solutions to different challenges and get real results. So many countries are falling short of the Paris climate agreement targets, but many cities are ahead of schedule.”
James Anderson, who leads Bloomberg Philanthropies’ government innovation program, said he’s excited about the expansion of the Mayors Challenge, especially its focus on rethinking core municipal services. New initiatives aim to encourage mayors to dream bigger, he added, because they help get things done.
“Cities care about the well-being of the world,” Anderson said. “We live in an urban era. The policies and programs implemented by mayors shape the everyday well-being of citizens.”
Rourkela’s Kulkarni said the success of his city’s cold storage program was even more gratifying as many cities in India have already replicated it and other countries are also considering starting similar programs.
He said the program has already eliminated 75% of production waste in Rourkela and increased the income of smallholder farmers in the area by 25%.
“I joined the civil service to make sure that there would be some change and that some people would go home happy,” Kulkarni said. “They will get something tangible, and it is rewarding to see that change.”
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