With a focus on Climate Change, the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) in action, and the Quality of Life, the UCLG-MEWA Executive Bureau Meeting 2025 was held on May 27-30 under the gracious hospitality of Aksaray Municipality and themed as “A Regional Dialogue on Shaping the Future on Local Governance and Quality of Life.”
The event started with a bustling field trip to Nakkaş Women’s Activity Center, Science Center, Grand Mosque (Ulu Cami), Somuncu Baba Complex and Miniature Museum, and City Museum, attended by various participants of the meeting and organized by the Aksaray Municipality.
Official Opening of the Executive Bureau was held on the morning of May 28, with more than 20 Mayors in attendance, besides the Governor of Aksaray and two Governors from Syria. The opening was attended by nearly 150 people, mainly comprising municipal staff, elected council mayors, and other city leaders.
The opening addresses included Dr. Mehmet Duman, UCLG-MEWA Secretary General; Dr. Evren Dinçer, Mayor of Aksaray; Eyüp Kahveci, Mayor of Kütahya and UCLG-MEWA Treasurer; Sara Hoeflich, UCLG Deputy Secretary General; Ahmet Akın, UCLG Vice President and Mayor of Balıkesir; Uğur İbrahim Altay, UCLG Executive President and Mayor of Konya; and Mehmet Ali Kumbuzoğlu, Governor of Aksaray. Two video messages were also sent by Tayseer Abu Sneineh, UCLG-MEWA President and Mayor of Al-Khalil, and Jan Van Zanen, UCLG President and Mayor of the Hague, who excused their presence from the event.
The Presentation of drought conditions in the Province of Aksaray, one of the most affected cities in Türkiye, was carried out by the Mayor of Aksaray and his team. In recognition of this devastation and its impact, UCLG-MEWA Aksaray Statement on Drought was also issued at the end of the day’s proceedings.
The second half of the day on May 28 was dedicated to the proceedings of the Executive Bureau Meeting, with the evaluation of the reports of the Supervisory Board/ Financial Management Committee, the activity report for the term in between the previous Executive Bureau Meeting and the current one, and Statutory Affairs.
On May 29, two thematic sessions, viz Workshop: Measuring Quality of Life in the Middle East and West Asia Region and Training on localizing the SDGs in Urban Governance, were also held in collaboration with Quality of Life Initiative and UCLG Learning and UN-Habitat, respectively.