International Sustainable Cities Summit, which was organized with the call of Şerdil Dara Odabaşı, Mayor of Kadıköy, Gino Van Begin, Secretary General of Local Governments for Sustainability (ICLEI) and Tunç Soyer, Mayor of Izmir, was held as a hybrid meeting at Kozyatağı Cultural Center on 18 March 2022.
In four panels entitled “Green City Finance Plan”, “Presidency Session”, “Culture and Nature” and “Localization of Global and European Agendas”, the participants discussed what cities can do for the future of the world, relations with international fund organizations, green city investments, circular culture, circular life, and VLR processes.
Besides the participants from Istanbul, Adana, and Izmir Metropolitan Municipalities, Wolfgang Teubner, Regional Director Europe of ICLEI, Yunus Arıkan, Global Advocacy Director of ICLEI World Secretariat, and Peter Kurz, Mayor of Mannheim, attended the summit and shared their experiences and good practices.
With the “Kadıköy Declaration 2022” signed at the end of the summit, it was emphasized that local governments play an important role in democracy, peace, social justice, health, welfare, and sustainability. In the declaration highlighting the participation of Turkish cities in European and global sustainability goals and initiatives, municipalities were invited to cooperate with ICLEI.