The iF Design Award, one of the world's top four design awards, announced its 2021 winners on April 17. A Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) Voluntary Local Review (VLR) Report published by the New Taipei City Government in 2019 won the Award for Communication; the award's jury members praised the extraordinary quality of the report's idea, impact, and function, which stood out among the other winning works.

The Secretariat of New Taipei City Government published its first VLR in 2019, which was the first and 10th to be published in Taiwan and worldwide, respectively. Concurrently, other SDG projects were implemented through both online and offline channels—including interactive websites, creative videos, and the Taiwanese-style parties—to show Taiwan New Taipei City’s efforts and commitment to sustainable development together with other countries worldwide.

The VLR is different from a conventional report in that it is presented as a set of building blocks made from wood waste collected locally in New Taipei City. The meaning behind this design is to let citizens build an ideal city of their own. Because of the VLR's creative elements, the New York City Mayor's Office even shared an unboxing video of the VLR on its Facebook page in January 2020, and the video description reads as follows: "It's not every day that we get to do an unboxing video! We love seeing the thoughtful creativity every local government brings to the Voluntary Local Review, and New Taipei City just raised the bar…"

New Taipei City Government—for the first time—won an award at the iF Design Award, which received nearly 10,000 submissions from 52 countries. The city's VLR was also nominated for multiple awards, including the Golden Pin Design Award and Japan's Good Design Award.

Competent Authority: Secretariat