The program, consisting of UCLG-MEWA Executive Bureau Meeting, a panel on “City Diplomacy in the Implementation of Global Agendas” and a networking event, was held on 10-12 March 2020 under the auspices of Nevşehir Municipality. UCLG-MEWA Financial Management Committee/Supervisory Board Meeting and UCLG-MEWA Committee on City Diplomacy and Local Governance Presidency Meeting were also held within the scope of the Nevşehir program.
The first day of the program, March 10, 2020, started with UCLG-MEWA Financial Management Committee Meeting. During the meeting chaired by Rasim Arı, UCLG-MEWA Treasurer and Mayor of Nevşehir, Cennet Ceren Çavuş, UCLG-MEWA Administrative and Financial Affairs Coordinator, presented the Financial Report covering the period between 1 January-31 December 2019 to the members of the UCLG-MEWA Financial Management Committee/Supervisory Board. Additionally, the membership movements of UCLG-MEWA were also evaluated during the meeting. UCLG-MEWA Executive Bureau addressed the issues of processing the membership applications of candidate institutions and initiating the membership suspension process of 28 members who had not paid their previous fees for the years 2017, 2018 and 2019 in full.
Following the meeting, UCLG-MEWA Committee on City Diplomacy and Local Governance Presidency convened. The meeting, during which the policy paper and three-year road map of the Committee were reviewed, was chaired by the Committee’s President Cemal Baş, who is also a representative of the Union of Municipalities of Turkey. The Co-Presidents of the Committee, namely Ankara Metropolitan Municipality, Izmir Metropolitan Municipality and Gaziantep Metropolitan Municipality, also attended the meeting.
Following the meetings held on the first day, the opening session of the program was held on 11 March 2020. The session was held with the attendance of Thembisile Nkadimeng, Mayor of Polokwane, Co-President of UCLG and President of the South African Local Government Association (SALGA); Mohamed Saadie, President of the Union of Dannieh Municipalities and President of UCLG-MEWA; Zeydan Karalar, Mayor of Adana and Co-President of UCLG-MEWA; Yücel Yılmaz, Mayor of Balıkesir and Co-President of UCLG-MEWA; Cemal Baş, Representative of the Union of Municipalities of Turkey and President of UCLG-MEWA Committee on City Diplomacy and Local Governance; Rasim Arı, Mayor of Nevşehir; and Mehmet Duman, UCLG-MEWA Secretary General.
The UCLG-MEWA Report of Activity covering the period of 7 December 2019-29 February 2020 was presented at the Executive Bureau Meeting held in the afternoon. 2019 Financial Report of the UCLG-MEWA Financial Management Committee/Supervisory Board was also presented to the members of the Executive Bureau. After the Program of Activity covering the period of 11 March 2020-31 December 2020 was presented, a briefing was given on the membership movements of UCLG-MEWA. UCLG-MEWA Executive Bureau decided on processing the membership applications of candidate institutions and initiating the membership suspension process of 28 members who had not paid their previous fees for the years 2017, 2018 and 2019 in full. The proposal on Gebze Municipality being the host of the first UCLG-MEWA Executive Bureau Meeting to be held in 2021 was also submitted. The proposal will be discussed and resolved at the next Executive Bureau Meeting to be hosted by Adana Metropolitan Municipality.
After the administrative meetings, the program continued with the panel entitled “City Diplomacy in the Implementation of Global Agendas” organized by UCLG-MEWA Committee on City Diplomacy and Local Governance, one of the six committees of UCLG-MEWA. The speakers of the session, which was chaired by Cemal Baş, representative of Union of Municipalities of Turkey, were Thembisil Nkadimeng, UCLG Co-President; Dr. Fahri Solak, Secretary General of the Union of Turkish World Municipalities; Volkan Topçu, Lecturer at Yalova University; and Mücahit Sami Küçüktığlı, Representative of Konya Metropolitan Municipality. During the panel session, the panelists discussed the potential of cities in the implementation of global agendas such as Sustainable Development Goals, New Urban Agenda and Agenda 21 for Culture and the role of city diplomacy in as a means of implementation in the process from different points of view.
The last part of the program continued with the “Networking” event, where the participants were divided into four different groups around four tables and were involved in interactive exchanges. The participants were first informed by the facilitators on topics of Development and Aid Cooperation, International City Networks, Global Urbanization Policies and Sister Cities, which are important elements of local diplomacy activities. The program concluded with the sharing of experiences in these areas.