Ansan Named Among 50 Finalists in Bloomberg Philanthropies' 'Global Mayors Challenge'

Ansan Selected as Only Korean Local Government Among 633 Cities Worldwide
Final Round to Be Held in January Next Year

On June 27, the city of Ansan in Gyeonggi Province was named one of the 50 finalist cities in the '2025 Global Mayors Challenge,' an initiative by the Bloomberg Philanthropies that evaluates local government innovation in cities around the world.

Ansan City announced on the 27th that it, along with Seoul, was selected as a finalist in the Global Mayors Challenge, which attracted applications from 633 cities worldwide this year.

First launched in 2013 and now in its sixth edition, this competition aims to promote local government innovation that improves urban life globally. It selects ideas from local governments with populations of over 100,000 that can strengthen city services.

The city explained that it received high marks in this year’s competition for presenting an innovative idea to address urban challenges by establishing a 'multi-cultural platform and content' for both domestic and international youth and workers through the creation of a Youth Culture Center.

This year, 50 cities from 33 countries were selected as finalists, including 14 from Asia, 8 from Europe, 18 from the Americas, 9 from Africa, and 1 from Oceania, with both Seoul and Ansan representing South Korea. As a benefit of advancing to the finals, Ansan City will receive a prize of $50,000 (approximately 67.77 million KRW).

In the final round, Ansan will compete with major cities around the world, including Fukuoka in Japan, Taipei in Taiwan, Barcelona in Spain, Budapest in Hungary, Helsinki in Finland, Marseille in France, San Francisco in the United States, Toronto in Canada, Cape Town in South Africa, Rio de Janeiro in Brazil, and Mexico City in Mexico, among others.

The city plans to further develop its ideas and prepare for the final round by participating in various programs such as webinars, idea camps, and online meetings in collaboration with experts from Bloomberg Philanthropies.

If Ansan is selected as one of the 25 winning cities in the final round in January next year, it will receive a prize of $1 million and operational support to implement its policy ideas. In particular, the city expects that being named a winning city will enhance its global brand value by gaining international recognition for its policy ideas.

Lee Minguen, Mayor of Ansan, stated, "Being selected as a finalist is proof that the diversity and innovation of Ansan’s policies are being recognized globally. Moving forward, we will continue to refine our innovative ideas, compete with major cities worldwide, and widely promote the excellence of Ansan’s unique policies."

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.