UCLG-MEWA Executive Bureau and Council Joint Meeting and UCLG-MEWA Urban Mobility Şanlıurfa Summit was 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.
Being the last administrative meeting held before the 2019 General Assembly of UCLG-MEWA, the event started with the opening speeches of Mehmet Duman, UCLG-MEWA Secretary General, Nihat Çiftçi, Mayor of Şanlıurfa, Uğur İbrahim Altay, Mayor of Konya and UCLG Co-President. After the adoption of the agenda items, participants stared to discuss the issues of UCLG-MEWA Executive Bureau and Council Joint Meeting.
Strategic Priorities Progress Report, which includes the activities as of 1 January 2017, was presented by Mehmet Duman, UCLG-MEWA Secretary General, and the strategic priorities determined by 2020 were shared with the members once again. Afterwards, UCLG-MEWA 2019 Program of Activities, which includes the projects and activities planned to be realized in 2019, was shared with members by Salim Korkmaz, UCLG-MEWA General Coordinator.
Following the evaluations on the activities, the meeting continued with financial issues. Within this context, the Financial Report of UCLG-MEWA covering the period 1 January-30 September 2018 was shared with the members. Subsequently, the 2019 Budget was prepared unanimously after considering the 2018 Annual Report and the 2019 Program of Activities.
The evaluation of membership applications was another agenda item discussed at the meeting. In this context, applications for UCLG-MEWA membership from 19 local governments from Afghanistan, Palestine, Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus, Lebanon, Syria and Jordan were discussed and approved.
The agenda continued with the discussion on nomination categories of the UCLG-MEWA Awards. In this context, the members advised to use the thematic areas of UCLG-MEWA; Urban Resilience, Migration & Social Cohesion, Local Development & Governance, Fighting Against & Adapting to Climate Change and Sustainable Development Goals.
The documents of the nine working committees and administrative structures of UCLG-MEWA were submitted to the Executive Bureau and Council Members. The decision to unify the committees which stand out with similarities in their field of study during the UCLG-MEWA Congress was one of the most important results of the meeting.
After discussing all of the agenda items of the UCLG-MEWA Executive Bureau and Council Joint Meeting, the program continued with the Administrative Meeting of UCLG-MEWA Urban Mobility Committee and UCLG-MEWA Urban Mobility Şanlıurfa Summit.
UCLG-MEWA Urban Mobility Şanlıurfa Summit
“Let’s move in a smart way!”
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!”
The event gathered representatives of local governments, private sector, international organizations and academics which presented their experiences, expertise and projects in the area of urban mobility; it was also an opportunity for the participants to develop synergies in order to start new partnerships in the field of urban mobility.
During the thematic sessions of the Summit that took place on 21 November 2018, experts shared their experiences on Smart Transportation; Transportation Financing, Governance and Operating; Eco-Friendly Transportation; and Good Practices of Transportation in the cities of the Middle East.
During the 6th Meeting of UCLG-MEWA Committee on Urban Mobility, the committee members reviewed the report of activities, adopted the program of activities, reviewed the membership, and made a proposal for the call of the host city of the next meeting. In the end of the meeting, experts from IETT also presented the outputs of the PTE-Index Project.
In the Summit, it was agreed that the Committee on Urban Mobility should work together with the UCLG-MEWA Committee on Smart Cities to realize more effective results. After this review was made during the UCLG-MEWA Executive Bureau and Council Joint Meeting held on 20 November 2018, it is planned to discuss and decide this topic on the UCLG-MEWA General Assembly to be held in 2019.
This event had, as a platform, a role in supporting local governments to improve the quality of services in terms of public transport and facilitate mobility for citizens.
