On 16 and 17 November 2023, the AIVP world conference was held in Venice on the following theme: linking ports and citizens, a shared vision of the future. On this occasion, Edouard Philippe – President of the AIVP, Mayor of Le Havre (France), and former French Prime Minister officially announced the launch of the AIVP Prize Antoine Rufenacht. The prize will honour, from 2024 onwards, a world port city that has completed an outstanding development project.

The AIVP Prize Antoine Rufenacht is addressed to all the world’s port cities. It is a unique initiative with no equivalent on an international level.

A new international Prize dedicated to the port city relationships

The world’s port cities, whether coastal or inland, have always been witnesses of major macroeconomic changes and local development strategies. The development of port and urban activities is a major challenge in an increasingly uncertain environment, political and social contexts. Port cities of all sizes and types have to reinvent themselves systemically, as they are at the forefront of major global and societal changes. In this context, the spatial relationship between the port and city, two distinct entities, at once antagonist and interdependent, constitutes a prosperous breeding ground from which remarkable urban projects have emerged. Indeed, port cities together with port authorities on the five continents, have re-examined the port-city relationship through the prism of unique urban developments and emblematic architectural works.

The AIVP Prize Antoine Rufenacht aims to celebrate these outstanding port city projects and the way they address the port city relationships in the context of sustainable development.

Une récompense internationale

The Prize aims to become a world reference for the sustainable development of port cities. Its ambition is to:

• Promote integrated, forward-looking development strategies built around a global vision of what a port city should be;
• Highlight the unique, high-quality work done by the teams responsible for making the projects a reality;
• Support efforts by port cities around the world to adopt a sustainable approach to development, in line with the goals identified in the Agenda 2030 by AIVP.

Download the flyer of the AIVP Prize Antoine Rufenacht