Monitoring Sustainable Development Goals at the Local Level: Training Program on Voluntary Local Reviews was held on April 6, 2021, under the auspices of Sultanbeyli Municipality.
Organized to inform the department managers of the municipality about the content and scope of the VLR process initiated by Sultanbeyli Municipality and to raise awareness on how the report will contribute to the municipal services and the visibility of the district of Sultanbeyli on international platforms, the training program started with the opening speeches.
Speaking at the opening session, Mehmet Duman, UCLG-MEWA Secretary-General, stated that they attach much importance to the Voluntary Local Reviews prepared by local governments. Duman also emphasized that they have been actively carrying out VLR preparations with Sultanbeyli Municipality since 2020, that the district’s objectives, priorities, advantages, disadvantages, and activities are evaluated within the SDG framework by the Advisory Board established for this task, and that the first Voluntary Local Review of Turkey is underway.
In his opening speech, Hüseyin Keskin, Mayor of Sultanbeyli, stated that Sultanbeyli Municipality adopted a “Think global, act local” perspective, and added that they are making an effort to use global goals as guidelines while creating their strategic plans and determining their activities.
Following the opening speeches, a presentation was delivered on the UN Sustainable Development Goals. During the presentation, the background documents as well as global goals and targets were discussed. Later, an “Interactive Group Workshop” started. The training came to an end with a briefing about the Sultanbeyli VLR.