UCLG-MEWA Congress brought together many national and international participants in Gaziantep, Turkey.
The 5th Ordinary Congress of UCLG-MEWA took place in Gaziantep, Turkey on 19 April 2016 under the auspices of Gaziantep Metropolitan Municipality.
The morning session started with the speeches of Mehmet Duman, UCLG-MEWA Secretary General; Fatma Şahin, Mayor of Gaziantep; Shahram Gilabadi, representing Dr. Muhammad Bager Qalibaf, Mayor of Tahran, UCLG-MEWA President and UCLG Vice-President, Khalil Jbara, Advisor to the Minister of Interior and Municipalities of Lebanon, Sayed Ali Mohammad Mousavi, D-8 Secretary General, Ali Yerlikaya, Governor of Gaziantep, and Yalçın AKDOĞAN
Deputy Prime Minister of Turkey.
Mehmet Duman, UCLG-MEWA Secretary General, noting the problems in the region, added; “Today, the City of Gaziantep is hosting 350.000 Syrian refugees according to official figures. I would like to give my gratitude to the local government representatives in Turkey, Lebanon and Jordan that became ansars to the refugees in this human tragedy in our region. I wish the troubles in the MEWA region and world will come to an end.”
Sayed Ali Mosavi, D-8 Secretary General, who made his speech after Mr. Duman, stated that their cooperation with UCLG-MEWA would continue, and Yalçın AKDOĞAN Deputy Prime Minister of Turkey underlined that democracy and development start from the local.
Fatma Şahin is UCLG-MEWA President for the New Period
In the session took place in the afternoon, UCLG-MEWA President, Executive Bureau and Council members were elected for the 2016-2019 period, with the contribution of 160 members of UCLG-MEWA, 50 of whom are mayors from 15 countries. Within this context, Fatma Şahin, Mayor of Gaziantep was elected as the UCLG-MEWA President for 2016-2019 period. UCLG-MEWA Co-Presidents are as follows;
- Mohamed Saadieh, President of Union of Municipalities of Dannieh Lebanon
- Burhanettin Kocamaz, Mayor of Mersin, Turkey
- Hussein Bani Hani, Mayor of Irbid, Jordan
- Moussa Hadid, President of Association of Palestinian Local Authorities (APLA),
- Sadegh Najafi, Mayor of Tebriz, Iran
Adnan Köşker, Mayor of Gebze, Turkey was elected as the UCLG-MEWA Treasurer, and Hayri Inönü, Mayor of Şişli, Turkey was elected as the UCLG-MEWA Ombudsman.
UCLG-MEWA Supervisory Board/Financial Management Committee Members are Tunç Soyer, Mayor of Seferihisar, Mustafa Dündar, Mayor of Osmangazi, Mürsel Torun, World Academy for Local Government and Democracy (WALD) Accounting Member, and M. Tevfik Göksu, Mayor of Esenler.
Moreover, members to represent UCLG-MEWA in UCLG World Council and Executive Bureau were elected.
Report of Activities for the period of 2013-2016
UCLG-MEWA Report of Activities prepared on the activities and developments took place since the UCLG-MEWA Congress held in Tehran, Iran, on 10 April 2013 was disseminated to the members, and Mehmet Duman, UCLG-MEWA Secretary General proviced information about the activities.
UCLG-MEWA Constitution
UCLG-MEWA Constitution which was prepared in line with the proposals of our members in consideration of the needs, demands of Republic of Turkey Ministry of Interior, and amendments in MEWA Constitution, was presented to general assembly members, and adopted anonymously after examined by the members.
UCLG-MEWA Supervisory Board/Financial Management Committee Report
2013-2014-2015 Supervisory Board/Financial Management Committee Report which were prepared by UCLG-MEWA Supervisory Board/Financial Management Committee that was established during the United Cities and Local Governments Middle East and West Asia Section (UCLG-MEWA) Congress in Tehran, Iran, on 10 April 2013, were submitted to the information of Congress members by Lokman Çağırıcı, Mayor of Bağcılar and UCLG-MEWA Treasurer. Report was adopted and Executive Bureau was acquitted.
Program of Activities
In line with the latest developments, arrangements on the projects and activities that UCLG-MEWA will execute in 2016 were made in the 2016 Program of Activities, which was adopted in Executive Bureau and Council Joint Meeting in Malatya, Turkey, on 13 November 2015.
Ombudsman Report
Activities covering 10 April 2013 – 19 April 2016 period were presented in the report prepared by Çanakkale Municipality which was elected as the UCLG-MEWA Ombudsman in UCLG-MEWA Congress in Tehran, Iran, on 10 April 2013.
Next Meeting of UCLG-MEWA Executive Bureau is at Şanlıurfa, Turkey
The proposal of Nihat Çiftçi, Mayor of Şanlıurfa, Turkey, on organizing next meeting of UCLG-MEWA Executive Bureau at the end of 2016 was adopted anonymously by the members and it was decided to hold the meeting in November 2016 in Şanlıurfa, Turkey.
UCLG-MEWA Introductory Movie which was presented to the local government representatives for the first time, attracted a great deal of interest during the Congress. After the congress was completed in line with the agenda prepared, meeting of committees was organized.
You can find the local governments whose memberships to UCLG-MEWA were accepted in the Congress in our website (www.uclg-mewa.org).