LOCALINTERNational 2025 Participants Announced

LOCALINTERNational 2025, one of the most important international programmes of the Union of Municipalities of Türkiye, will be held this year with the theme “Participatory Youth: The Floor is Ours.” 

Since 2012, more than 300 students from around 60 countries have had the opportunity to learn about Türkiye’s local governance experience first-hand through the programme. Bringing together young people from different geographies every year, LOCALINTERNational offers a unique ground for learning, sharing, and cooperation around the values of local democracy.

LOCALINTERNational 2025 attracted great interest: 21,900 students from all around the world applied to the programme. The selection process was conducted transparently and meticulously at every stage:

• In the first stage, applications were evaluated based on academic performance, gender equality, and geographic diversity, and the number was reduced to 410 candidates.
• Then, the answers given by these candidates to the motivation question were examined in detail, and the list was reduced to 118.
• In the final stage, after video interviews, the 20 participants of LOCALINTERNational 2025 were determined.

These 20 students, coming from different countries and disciplines, will come together between 31 August – 7 September 2025 in Ankara, Eskişehir, and Istanbul. For one week, they will closely learn about Türkiye’s local governance system, participate in trainings and field visits, and share their experiences both with their peers and with local leaders.

We thank all 21,900 students who applied. Your motivation and energy made this process not only competitive but also inspiring.

Here are the 20 students who have been selected to participate in LOCALINTERNational 2025: