WATERIST - Istanbul Water Congress and Fair, will take place under the auspices of Istanbul Water and Sewerage Administration (ISKI) General Directorate as the President of UCLG-MEWA Water and Wastewater Task Force, in Haliç Congress Center in 11 - 13 October 2018.

The project of “Improving climate change awareness and engagement in Istanbul” which aims to step up local dialogue among municipal bodies and increase public awareness on climate change mitigation and adaptation in Istanbul city continues at full stream.

Organized by Arab Towns Organization, "Our City Our Responsibility Conference" is taking place on 12-13 September 2018 in Salalah, Oman, with the participation of Mehmet Duman, UCLG-MEWA Secretary-General.

“Enhancing Social Cohesion at Local Level through Capacity-Building of Migrants and Refugees Assembly” is a pilot project that is organized within the framework of the QUDRA Program under the leadership of the German International Cooperation Agency (Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit-GIZ).

After the 3rd Meeting of UCLG-MEWA Committee on Environment, Mohamed Saadie, UCLG-MEWA Co-President & President of the Union of Dannieh Municipalities, made several official visits in Istanbul, firstly the headquarters of the Union of Turkish World Municipalities, where the agenda items were the twinning of municipalities, and ways to include more municipalities as members, in order to benefit from the growing network.

3rd Meeting of UCLG-MEWA Committee on Environment took place on 7-8 August 2018, under the auspices of Selçuklu Municipality at Selçuklu Congress Center in Selçuklu, Konya, Turkey; with the participation of more than 200 participants from 10 different countries.

Adopted at UN Sustainable Development Summit organized in September 2015 in New York, 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development represents a significant transformation on the global level.

The Pilot Project on Mapping the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) in Turkey, which is made in cooperation and with sponsorship of World Academy for Local Governments and Democracy (WALD), organized its second workshop after the first workshop in Mezitli.

UCLG-MEWA is continuing its efforts for ensuring the localization of the SDGs that were adopted by the UN in 2015.

In order to consolidate and strengthen the relationships between United Cities and Local Governments Middle East and West Asia and the members which are a priority to the Secretary-General Mr. Mehmet Duman, where successive visits to the diplomatic missions of UCLG-MEWA states members.

UCLG-MEWA, Sürdürülebilir Kalkınma Hedefleri temasıyla düzenlediği UCLG-MEWA Yerel Yönetim Söyleşileri’nde İstanbul Lale Vakfı Bilim Kurulu Üyesi İsmail Gülal’ı konuk etti. Söyleşide “Metropollerde Yeşil Alan Sürdürülebilirliği” konusu ele alındı.

Mehmet DUMAN, UCLG-MEWA Secretary General, paid a visit on 24 July 2018 to Khalifa AL-MARZOOQI, Consul General of the United Arab Emirates in Istanbul, Turkey, in his office and briefed him about the ongoing works and activities of the organization.

President Şahin: “Domestic and international agenda is quite busy in the new term.”

Organized under the auspices of the European Commission, Partnership Forum was held in Brussels, Belgium, on 25-26 June.

Opening and Introductory Meeting of UCLG-MEWA Pilot Project for Mapping the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) in Turkey was held on 3 July 2018, at UCLG-MEWA General Secretariat in Istanbul, Turkey; gathering the members of UCLG-MEWA Presidency, Committee on Local Governance, and Supervisory Board. The project is planned to be firstly undertaken in Turkey as a pilot work, which will later be disseminated throughout the MEWA region.

UN has set the theme for 2018 as "WithRefugees.” In line with dynamics of the region it operates, UCLG-MEWA supported and engaged in the activities and events during this year’s World Refugee Day.

In accordance with this theme, UCLG-MEWA invited all members for taking an urgent act on plastic consumption and waste production and raising awareness on the topic with using a #BeatorEatPlastic tag in their social media accounts to focus on the importance of beating plastic production and consumption.

United Cities and Local Governments World Organization (UCLG) held its first Executive Bureau meeting of 2018, on 23-26 May 2018 in the European Parliament, under the auspices of the City of Strasbourg.

Organized for the units and departments working on water and sanitation management in the municipalities of Palestine, the Training Program on Wastewater and Municipal Water Systems for the Municipalities of Palestine took place on 1-6 May 2018, in Istanbul, Turkey.