UCLG-MEWA Retreat was held on 26-27 February 2019, in Istanbul, with the participation of UCLG-MEWA Presidency, UCLG-MEWA Committee Presdents and strategic partners. The meeting which built on the strong institutional structure; came forward with emphasize on being “inclusive, informative and interactive.”

2019 edition of UCLG Annual Retreat took place on 11-15 February 2019, in Barcelona, Spain. The annual meeting gathered the UCLG Presidency, Secretariats of Sections and Committees, as well as the representatives of the Policy Councils and key partners around thematic workshops and policy discussions..

Organized within the context of the localization of the Agenda 2030 defined by the United Nations, the Pilot Project was completed. Closing Meeting of the “Pilot Project on Mapping the SDGs in Turkey”, a joint project funded by World Academy for Local Government and Democracy, brought representatives of the hosting municipalities, officials from the central government and many NGO representatives together.

The UCLG-MEWA delegation, headed by Mehmet DUMAN, UCLG-MEWA Secretary General, paid official visit to the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus (TRNC), between 20-22 January 2019, in order to strengthen institutional relations.

Policy Forum on Development (PFD) Task Team Meeting continues in the City of Brussels, Belgium. Members of the PFD Task Force, including UCLG-MEWA, came together to review the current agenda and to discuss the PFD roadmap.

Kartepe Summit was organized for the second time under the auspices of Kocaeli Metropolitan Municipality, on 26-28 October 2018, with the theme “Migration, Refugees and Humanity.”

UCLG-MEWA organized another episode of UCLG-MEWA Local Government Talks, with the Talk by Dr. Kamalin Shaath, former President of the Islamic University of Gaza, and Chairman of Hope Foundation for Education, on 23 October 2018, in its General Secretariat.

Sustainable Development Goals, which highlight that development should follow a more sustainable pattern, is now at the agenda of municipalities in Turkey.

Within the framework of the “Municipal Know-How Programme for Host Communities in the Middle East” and “Qudra Programme”, a workshop was organized on 8-10 November 2018, in Istanbul, Turkey, by Connective Cities, GIZ-Qudra and UCLG-MEWA. 47 representatives from Turkish and German municipalities participated in the workshop, which was held with the theme “the Options of Refugee-Friendly Municipalities towards Integration and Social Cohesion.”

Istanbul International Environment Summit, this year under the theme "Transformation for Livable Environment", organized by Istanbul Metropolitan Municipality, has started today at the Avrasya Show and Art Center in Istanbul.

UCLG-MEWA Executive Bureau and Council Joint Meeting and UCLG-MEWA Urban Mobility Şanlıurfa Summit were held on 20 November 2018 in Şanlıurfa Metropolitan Municipality. The roadmap of UCLG-MEWA for 2019 was created in the meeting where approximately 350 participants from 17 countries gathered.

UCLG-MEWA Urban Mobility Şanlıurfa Summit, UCLG-MEWA Executive Bureau and Council Joint Meeting and the 6th Meeting of UCLG-MEWA Committee on Urban Mobility took place on 20-22 November 2018, in Şanlıurfa, Turkey, with the motto “Let’s move in a smart way!”

Organized within the scope of the Mediterranean City-to-City Migration Project, the sub-regional workshop about improving communication on migration for local governance took place on 18-19 September, under the auspices of Tunis Municipality.

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).

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. Sustainable Development Goals, which were built on three key challenges namely elimination of extreme poverty, combating with inequalities and injustice, and fighting against climate change, refer to the commitment made by UN member countries on the issue of tackling these difficulties, in its simplest term.

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.

Organized with the initiative of Ankara Metropolitan Municipality; Inaugural Congress of the World Administrative Cities Association took place on 4-6 September 2018 with the participation of representatives of local governments and experts from the capital cities of various countries.