Nancy Duxbury, researcher at Centre for Social Studies – University of Coimbra, was awarded in the "Individual" category, ex aequo, the 7th Edition of the International Award UCLG - Mexico City - Culture 21.

Nancy Duxbury, Ph.D. in Communication from Simon Fraser University in Canada, is a leading scholar in the global conversation on culture in sustainability. She is a Principal Researcher at the Centre for Social Studies of the University of Coimbra, Portugal, where she has worked since 2009.

She leads the coordination of the interdiscipinary research group on “Urban Cultures, Sociabilities and Participation", the CREATOUR Observatory on Culture and Tourism for Local Development, and co-coordinates the doctoral programme “Cities and Urban Cultures”.

The work of Nancy Duxbury focuses on policies for the integration of culture into sustainable local development, as well as on models of cultural development in small communities. She also investigates the interdisciplinary field of cultural mapping, which encompasses the fields of academic research, collective practice and art to understand and articulate meaningful cultural resources and how places hold culture. 

Nancy Duxbury is the coordinator of a four-year Horizon Europe research project, “IN SITU: Place-based innovation of cultural and creative industries in non-urban areas”. She was also the leader of a major three-year research project on creative tourism in Portugal called "CREATOUR: Creative tourism destination development in small cities and rural areas." Her research is interdisciplinary in nature, and both the events she organises and her publications are meeting places that bring together academic and practical knowledge, as well as artistic approaches. She is an adjunct professor at the Simon Fraser University School of Communication and Thompson Rivers University's Department of Journalism, Communication, and New Media. She is also a co-founder of the Creative Cities Network of Canada.

About the award

The International Award UCLG –-Mexico City - Culture 21 is a biennial international award promoted by Mexico City and the organisation United Cities and Local Governments (UCLG), which recognises cities and personalities that have distinguished themselves through their contribution to culture as a pillar of sustainable development.

With two categories, "City, Local or Regional Government" and "Individual", the award celebrates innovative practices linked to the exercise of cultural rights, citizenship and sustainable development, reaffirming UCLG's commitment to placing culture as a fundamental dimension of sustainable cities.

The awards ceremony will take place in Mexico City in October this year.