The prestigious Prince Claus Fund Awards were given today. The top awardees were Jaime Lerner of Curitiba, Brazil for his visionary work in making it a model of urban development, Viva Rio, an NGO in Rio de Janeiro, and Francisco Toledo, an artist in Mexico. Ten other awards were given. Ismail Serageldin was asked to deliver the prestigious Prince Claus Fund Awards Lecture before an audience of VIPs headed by HM the Queen, Prince Claus and Prince Alexander. His theme was Urban Heroes: building the humane cities of tomorrow . The address, illustrated with slides, was very well received by the audience.