City of Ljubljana Deputy Mayor Prof Janez Koželj has won a special award as Urban Visionary 2011.

On Wednesday 29 February 2012 at Ljubljana Opera House, the awards were given out for ‘Outstanding – achievements in external advertising’, organised by Ljubljana advertising agency Europlakat to mark its 20th anniversary. The award ceremony was also attended by Aleš Čerin, Deputy Mayor pro tempore carrying out the functions of Mayor of Ljubljana, Deputy Mayor Tjaša Ficko and Deputy Mayor Prof Janez Koželj.

As part of the ‘Outstanding’ project, this year awards were given for the first time for the best advertisements seen on posters in 2011. Along with the award for the poster, the special prize of ‘Urban Visionary 2011’ was also given, which was won by Deputy Mayor Prof Janez Koželj for Bicike(lj) – a project which improved the quality of life in the city and made a contribution to the sustainable development of Ljubljana. The City of Ljubljana implemented the self-service bike borrowing system together with Europlakat.

‘Outstanding – achievements in external advertising’

At the initiative of Europlakat, which took on the sponsorship and organisation of the project, henceforth a professional jury will bestow annual ‘Outstanding’ awards for the best advertising in the categories of ‘Billboard’, ‘Citylight’, ‘Rolling Board’ and ‘Innovate’. Above all Europlakat seeks advertising that is communicative and aesthetic, that surprises, entertains, and encourages reflection. The role of the new awards is to identify and promote examples. In addition to the largest advertising spaces (12m²) the Ljubljana Citylight media network has the fastest-growing reach in terms of advertising time. From mid-December 2011, there has been available in Ljubljana a network of hundreds of Metrolight dynamic objects with a total of 420 advertising surfaces. In the winter months, the objects are also illuminated throughout the day (24/7), and they differ from all other advertising objects in terms of modern design and location selection. They are especially characteristic in the field of informing and awareness-raising; this is advertising of cultural, sporting and other events and socially beneficial campaigns.

Further information about ‘Outstanding’ and the award ceremony can be found on the official project website.