The opening meeting of the "Civil Participation for Enhancing Democratic Local Governance in Turkey Project," funded by the European Union (EU) with the main beneficiary being the Union of Turkish Municipalities (TBB) and co-beneficiary being the Directorate General of Civil Society Relations of the Ministry of Interior (STIGM), and implemented by the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), took place on September 20 with the participation of stakeholder organizations and local actors.
The opening meeting of the project, simultaneously conducted in 7 pilot provinces including Çanakkale, Elazığ, Eskişehir, Gaziantep, Manisa, Mersin, and Trabzon, saw the attendance of representatives from local governments, non-governmental organizations (NGOs), and universities from these pilot provinces.
The opening speeches of the program were delivered by Dr. Hayri Baraçlı, the Secretary-General of TBB; Louisa Vinton, the Resident Representative of the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP); Alexander Fricke, the Head of Civil Society, Fundamental Rights, Judiciary, and Interior Section at the EU Delegation to Turkey; Mustafa İspirgül Turan, the General Director of Civil Society Relations at the Ministry of Interior; and Bülent Özcan, Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs and General Director of European Union Affairs and Project Implementation.
In his speech, Secretary-General Baraçlı emphasized the importance of establishing a public-civil society collaboration based on trust and mutual understanding to strengthen good governance processes at the local level. He highlighted the need to create conducive and sustainable environments for this collaboration. Baraçlı also provided information to the participants about the initiatives implemented within TBB to support and enhance participation at the local level.