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                    Accolades

                    People walking along Southbank at dusk
                    Melbourne has received national and international recognition as a top destination and world-leader in many areas such as community engagement, climate leadership, business, sports and more.

                    ​Some of the accolades Melbourne has received include:

                    • The Economist Intelligence Unit ranked Melbourne the world's most liveable city for seven consecutive years, from 2011 to 2017.
                    • Melbourne has been named Australia's top ranked student city, and third best in the world, in the Quacquarelli Symonds Best Student Cities rankings in 2019.
                    • The City of Melbourne and City of Sydney's CitySwitch Green Office program won the building energy efficiency category of the C40 Cities Awards in 2016.
                    • In the 2016 National Landscape Architecture Awards, City of Melbourne won a landscape architecture award for its Return to Royal Park project, and an award of excellence for its Urban Forest Strategy and Precinct Plans.
                    • Melbourne received a Most Admired Knowledge City (MAKCi) Award at the Knowledge Cities World Summit in 2016. The annual MAKCi Awards identify and recognise communities around the world that are successfully engaging in formal and systematic knowledge-based development processes under the flag of Knowledge Cities.
                    • In 2015 Melbourne was selected as one of 16 cities for the IBM Smarter Cities Challenge. 
                    • City of Melbourne has been recognised as a world leader in community engagement, winning Australasian and International Organisation of the Year at the International Association of Public Participation Core Values Awards in 2014.
                    • In 2014 the City of Melbourne was awarded a C40 and Siemens City Climate Leadership Award for its Urban Landscapes Climate Adaptation Program.
                    • Competitive Alternatives, KPMG’s Guide to International Business Location Costs in 2014 has ranked Melbourne second in cost competitiveness of business location among six mature Asian markets (four Australian, plus Tokyo and Osaka).
                    • Aon Hewitt's 2012 People Risk Index ranked Melbourne the 16th lowest risk city in the world (out of 131 cities studied) for low risks associated with recruiting, employing and relocating employees.
                    • In 2011 Melbourne was ranked 17th most innovative city in the 2ThinknowTop 100 Innovation Cities index.
                    • Melbourne was ranked 14 out of 150 in the world's top performing metropolitan areas in terms of population, income and employment growth, and post world global financial crisis according to 2010 Global MetroMonitor, the Brookings Institution, London School of Economics and Political Science.
                    • In 2010 the City of Melbourne was one of three cities to gain an honourable mention in the inaugural Lee Ku​an Yew World City Prize, awarded to individuals and organisations that have made outstanding contributions to the creation of vibrant and liveable communities around the world.
                    • Melbourne was named winner of the 2014 SportsBusiness Ultimate Sports City, large city category. Melbourne was also recognised as Best Sports City in the 2009 SportsBusiness Sports Event Management Awards.
                    • Melbourne was named a UNESCO City of Literature in 2008 – the second city in the world to receive this accolade. 

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