Hutt City Council is celebrating global recognition after being selected as one of just 50 finalists in the prestigious Bloomberg Philanthropies Mayors Challenge.

The Challenge, which attracted 630 applications, is the world’s biggest ideas competition for cities. It rewards bold, creative ideas that have the power to improve lives.

Council’s ground-breaking GenAI Community Emergency Response Assistant (CERA) idea stood out from hundreds of entries around the globe.

As a finalist, Council will receive US$50,000 funding to create and test a CERA prototype to better deliver personalised, real-time emergency updates to residents.

CERA will help overcome two major challenges: the time it takes to verify and share updates during a crisis, and the lack of accessible, culturally relevant information for diverse communities.

The tool will learn from on-the-ground reports and speak multiple languages to deliver trusted, clear advice when it matters most.

Whether it’s a flood, big sea swells, an earthquake or a land slip, the aim of the technology is to get the right message to the right person at the right time.

Mayor Campbell Barry says the recognition is a massive vote of confidence in Te Awa Kairangi ki Tai.

"This idea came straight from listening to our communities-especially people who’ve told us they’re not getting the right information when emergencies hit.

"It’s about saving lives and making sure every person, in every part of our city, can act quickly when it matters. We’re backing our people to lead their own response, and we think this could be a real game changer-not just for us in Lower Hutt, but right across Aotearoa."

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Lower Hutt is one of the most at-risk areas in the country when it comes to natural hazards. More than half the population live in tsunami or flood zones. The city also sits on a major fault line and is surrounded by steep hills and coastlines.

If Council’s CERA tool is named a winner in the competition, it would receive a US$1 million prize to bring the concept to reality.

All funding and prizemoney in the Mayors Challenge is supplied by Bloomberg Philanthropies. There is no cost to ratepayers.

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