The International Association of Educating Cities opens the call for the Educating Cities Award 2026, aiming to recognize and highlight best practices that promote inclusion and social cohesion through education.

Who can participate?

All IAEC member cities can submit applications, except those that are part of the Jury, the host city of the 18th International Congress of Educating Cities, and the winners of the 2024 edition. To participate, cities must be up to date with their membership fees.

Theme and axes of the call

The central theme of this edition is “Education as a Source of Inclusion and Social Cohesion” and the candidate experiences should fall within one of the following focus areas:

1. Lifelong Education
2. Socio-labor Integration
3. Cultural and Community Life

Detailed information on the theme and focus areas can be found in the attached guidelines.

The initiatives must have started before June 2023 and demonstrate a positive impact on their communities.

Evaluation Criteria

The Jury will evaluate the applications based on:

• Relevance to the award theme
• Impact of the experience
• Scope
• Involvement of local government and collaboration between municipal departments
• Participation of civil society and the business community
• Innovation, consolidation, and transferability to other contexts

Jury and Selection Process

The Jury will consist of two cities from the IAEC Executive Committee and three specialists in the field. The Jury may declare the award void if none of the applications meet the established criteria.

Calendar

• Deadline for submitting applications: October 15, 2025
• Final decision communication by the Jury: February 2026
• Award Ceremony: May/June 2026, at the 18th International Congress of Educating Cities in Granollers (Spain).

Obligations of Award-winning Cities

Winning cities must:

• Communicate the acceptance of the award within the stipulated deadlines.
• Attend the 18th International Congress of Educating Cities to collect the award.
• Produce a 3-5 minute video about the awarded experience, with funding provided by IAEC.
• Publicly announce the receipt of the award.
• Share their experience with other cities in the network through exchanges or study visits.

How to Participate

Applications must be submitted through the platform provided by the IAEC:  https://proposals.bidce.org/en/AWARD-2026

The required documentation includes:

• The application must be submitted in three languages, with English as mandatory and the other two chosen from Spanish, French, or Portuguese, via the form available on the platform. The form should be filled out once and the other required languages attached as PDF documents.
• A support letter from the Mayor in one of the IAEC languages.
• A minimum of five high-quality photographs illustrating the experience.
• Optional materials such as videos or supplementary documents.

For more information, please read the attached guidelines or contact the IAEC via email at  edcities@bcn.cat