The 2022 European Mobility Week (EMW) introductory meeting was held in the Union of Municipalities of Türkiye (UMT) headquarters.
President of the UMT and Mayor of Gaziantep Metropolitan Municipality Fatma Şahin, Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs and Director for EU Affairs Ambassador Faruk Kaymakcı, Deputy Head of EU Delegation to Türkiye Ambassador Undersecretary Eleftheria Pertzinidou, Czech Ambassador Pavel Vacek, Director General of Local Authorities of the Ministry of Environment, Urbanization and Climate Change Turan Konak with representatives from various ministries and municipalities attended.
Şahin: “We need to transform the 'connection' into powerful projects that does not produce greenhouse gases and pollutes the air”
President Fatma Şahin, who took the floor at the opening, underlined that the EU is a very important institution for the world and said, “Although it has not been a full membership, our process with the EU comes from history, the capacity to produce common solutions to the common problems you see today, and when you look at the future, it is ours. We have a lot of work to do both with our neighbors and with the European continent.”
Saying that the borders have been removed with globalization in the world, Şahin underlined that common problems should be solved jointly. Also said municipalities should work thematically, Şahin stated, “The biggest problem of the modern world is working at a desk all the time. Physically low mobility brings many problems. This lifestyle causes people to face many health problems such as obesity, high blood pressure and diabetes. Now the whole world talks about protective-preventive measures. What will we do before it happens? It costs less.” Underlining that cycling is a mental transformation, Şahin said, “This is a perspective, a perspective on life. That's why we competed with the world in project capacity at EMW. For the first time, we left Austria and Spain behind last year. Municipalities believed in this, our mayors loved and embraced this work, and we, as the UMT, produced idea projects. We rewarded the projects and provided financial support.”
Noting that the number of projects was 617 last year, Şahin said that they produced more projects than any other country in Europe. Pointing out that it is important to ensure sustainability in this regard, Şahin shared the works carried out in Gaziantep in her speech. Referring to this year's EMW theme, Şahin said: "This year's theme is 'connect'. Where will we connect? The pandemic has told us something. We will connect to the environment, we will connect to nature. When we say 'connect', we need to connect to nature, flowers and insects. We need to transform the 'connection' into powerful projects that does not produce greenhouse gases and pollutes the air."
Kaymakcı: “With the contributions of the UMT, the participation of our municipalities in the European Mobility Week reached a high level”
Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs and Director for EU Affairs Ambassador Faruk Kaymakcı arrived to the UMT headquarters by bicycle from his office at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. Kaymakcı drew attention to the mobility, the use of bicycles in urban life and that cyclists are drivers in traffic.
Noting that the UMT participated in the European Mobility Week much more effectively with the contribution of its efforts, Kaymakcı said, “Frankly, we could not participate in this event, which was started 20 years ago, at the level we wanted at first, but as a European country, as a candidate country, we have reached the point we have reached today. I care so much. I would like to express that the work and efforts of the Union of Municipalities of Türkiye have been very effective at this level we have achieved. As a result of these efforts of the UMT, the municipalities of our country are now participating in the European Mobility Week events on a European scale, increasing every year. We care about the point we have reached, and we continue to work to take this level of participation even further.”
Referring to this year's theme of the European Mobility Week in his speech, Kaymakcı said, "The pandemic has locked us in our homes and immobilized us. We understood the value of movement after the pandemic. On the other hand, increased energy prices, inflation, and the fact that some connections were blocked or even broken on a global scale with the Russia-Ukraine war also made mobility a much more important issue both within the country and between countries.”
Vacek: “I support the bike, I am extremely behind its expansion and advancement”
Reminding that the European Mobility Week is a 20-year event, Czech Ambassador Pavel Vacek underlined that sustainable mobility is still a very important issue. Vacek stated that they are pleased with the active participation of Türkiye within the scope of the week and stated that Türkiye’s status as a candidate country and as a developing and rising country is important. Giving information about the EMW activities in Czechia in his speech, Vacek also said, "I support the bicycle, I am extremely behind its expansion and advancement." At the end of his speech, Vacek put on his helmet and said, “Don't forget to wear a helmet!”
Pertzinidou: “This event is not just an awareness event”
Noting that the Mobility Week has been going on for 20 years, Eleftheria Pertzinidou said, “This event is not just an awareness event. Here, we aim to achieve a change in behavior. This change is something that we need very much a point that will reduce our dependence on our personal tools in our behaviors, habits. Unfortunately, this process of change is not an easy one.” Stating that it is very important to switch to a low-carbon transportation option, Pertzinidou said that this will be achieved by using walking, cycling and public transportation vehicles.
Also, Pertzinidou emphasized local governments are the most important factor behind these changes and their sustainability, Pertzinidou continued: “70 percent of the world's population now lives in cities. In the coming years, this number will increase even more. For this reason, we think it's time to build trends on these changes. We believe that it is necessary to increase mobility in the city for both reducing accidents and exhaust gas emissions and for sustainability.”