The second edition of UCLG-Kazan Cities’ International Activity Award, which covers the cities in the Eurasia and MEWA Region of UCLG-Eurasia, was held during the UCLG Retreat in Tangier, Morocco on February 28, 2020

Sustainable Bus System for Smart Cities Conference was held at Istanbul Expo Center, Turkey on 5-6 March 2020, in partnership with United Cities and Local Governments Middle East and West Asia Section (UCLG-MEWA), World Resources Institute Turkey (WRI) Sustainable Cities, Busworld Academy, HKF Trade Fairs, Association of All Private Buses (TÖHOB), the United Nations Center for Regional Development (UN-CRD) and UN-Habitat.

The program, consisting of UCLG-MEWA Executive Bureau Meeting, a panel on “City Diplomacy in the Implementation of Global Agendas” and a networking event, was held on 10-12 March 2020 under the auspices of Nevşehir Municipality

UCLG Retreat, organized by UCLG World Organization with the participation of the Sections and relevant stakeholders, took place in Tangier, Morocco between 24-28 February 2020

The projects and activities of the district municipalities of Izmir were evaluated within the context of the SDGs. Organized under the coordination of Izmir Metropolitan Municipality and the Sustainable Urban Development Network, the alignment workshop took place between 16-18 April

The 10th World Urban Forum was held between 8-13 February 2020, at the Abu Dhabi National Fair, hosted by the Abu Dhabi Municipality, with the participation of local government representatives coming from all over the world

Mr. Mehmet Duman, Secretary General of UCLG-MEWA paid a working visit to Mr. Ambassador Dato’ Ku Jaafar Ku Shaari, Secretary General of D-8

UCLG-MEWA Committee on Gender Equality Presidency Meeting was held in Beylikdüzü, Istanbul on February 4, 2020

Smart Cities and Municipalities Convention and Exhibition was held in Ankara on 15-16 January 2020 by the Union of Municipalities of Turkey (UMT) under the auspices of the Presidency of Turkey

Idealkent Awards found their owners at UNESCO's headquarters in Paris. On behalf of UCLG-MEWA, President Mohamed Saadie and Secretary General Mehmet Duman attended the award ceremony.

The International Forum on Local Solutions to Migration and Displacement was held on 26 and 27th of November in Gaziantep, Turkey.

Training on "Open Data Basics" was organized within the scope of the “Open Data and Smart Cities Project” supported by the UK and run by the NovuSens Big Data Institute on 3 December 2019 at UCLG-MEWA (United Cities and Local Governments Middle East and West Asia Section) office, in Istanbul, Turkey.

The implementation of projects related to the priority areas specified in the UCLG-MEWA’s Strategic Plan for 2020-2022 and accordingly provision of necessary support to the members are among the issues that the Organization attaches importance to in the new period. In this context, institutional capacity building activities were initiated around the projects planned for the next term.

UCLG-MEWA Executive Bureau Meeting was held on 6 December 2019 in Izmir, Turkey under the auspices of Izmir Metropolitan Municipality.

Istanbul Sustainable Transportation Congress was held on 17-18 December 2019 at Istanbul Congress Center.

The World Organization of United Cities and Local Governments keeps a strong commitment towards the connection between culture and sustainable development. The International Award UCLG – Mexico City – Culture 21, held on a biennial basis, is one of the best examples of this commitment.

Following the Presidency Meeting, UCLG-MEWA Culture and Tourism Committee held its panel session entitled “Alternative Tourism: Trends and Visions” within the scope of Travel Turkey Izmir Fair under the auspices of Izmir Metropolitan Municipality. During the panel held on Friday, December 6, 2019, important branches of alternative tourism such as health tourism, congress tourism, gastronomy tourism, ecotourism and urban tourism were discussed in detail by experts.

Sustainable Development Goals take on a different dimension with the project launched by UCLG-MEWA and Human Development Foundation (INGEV).

The renewed Presidency of the UCLG-MEWA Committee on Culture and Tourism gathered from 21 to 23 November 2019 in Kyrenia, Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus, to discuss the three-year program of activities.

From 11 to 15 November, in Durban, South Africa, UCLG has held its World Summit of Local and Regional Leaders, one of the largest and most influential meetings of mayors, councilors, local and regional governments and associations worldwide.