Ugur Ibrahim Altay, President of the World Organization of United Cities and Local Governments and Mayor of Konya Metropolitan Municipality, spoke at the 44th General Assembly of the Council of Europe Local and Regional Governments Congress held at the European Union Parliament building in Strasbourg, France.

In the session titled “Resistance of Cities and Regions in the Face of Crises”, President Altay talked about the climate crisis and the work they did after the earthquake disaster experienced by Turkey. With the contribution of diplomacy practices that have become more evident on issues such as the refugee crisis, the Kovid-19 epidemic, the Russia-Ukraine crisis; All humanity has helped the earthquake zone in Turkey from the very first moment. I would like to thank the countries, local governments and peoples of the world who showed the solidarity of the century in these days when we are experiencing the ‘Disaster of the Century’ as Turkey.”

Emphasizing the need to strengthen the infrastructure of cities and develop resilient policies against all kinds of disasters, Mayor Altay said, “These policies are aimed at reducing the effects of emergencies; will play a major role in the rapid response and reconstruction phase. However, if we do these things, we can prevent the crises we experience from turning into established crises. This meeting, which aims to make all cities more resilient; I believe that it will open the doors of a world that demands and provides justice for all.”

Uğur İbrahim Altay, President of United Cities and Local Governments World Organization (UCLG) and Mayor of Konya Metropolitan Municipality, spoke at the 44th General Assembly of the Council of Europe Local and Regional Authorities Congress.

Leen Verbeek, President of the Congress of Local and Regional Authorities of the Council of Europe, Nurdan Bayraktar Golder, Permanent Representative of the Council of Europe to Turkey, congress delegates, mayors and members of the youth delegation attended the general assembly held at the European Union Parliament building in Strasbourg, France.

Addressing the participants in the session titled “Resistance of Cities and Regions in the Face of Crises” in the General Assembly, President Altay addressed the issues of earthquake disaster and climate change that shook Turkey; He explained on the basis of the concepts of ‘established crisis’ and ‘multiple crisis’.

“KONYA IS A CITY THAT ALWAYS TAKE INITIATIVE IN GLOBAL ISSUES”

President Altay, who draws attention to the fact that Konya is an ancient city with 10 thousand years of experience that brings tradition and modernity together, that it always takes initiative in global issues, and that it has strong relations with many cities and organizations from Turkey and abroad, also said UCLG, the world’s largest local government organization. He reminded that .

“KONYA MODEL IS A MUNICIPAL CITY MANAGEMENT MODEL”

Stating that they continue all their work for Konya, which has preserved its deep culture and knowledge for hundreds of years, with a system they call the ‘Konya Model Municipality’, Mayor Altay pointed out that the Konya Model Municipality approach is a model for managing the city as a whole in extraordinary times.

“WE ARE WORKING TO MINIMIZE THE EFFECTS OF CLIMATE CHANGE”

Continuing his speech with the words “There are many issues that Konya has experienced in the face of multiple crises”, President Altay first drew attention to the climate change crisis; He emphasized that Konya, which is the largest city of Turkey in terms of surface area, is among the cities most affected by global climate change and that they carry out important studies to minimize the effects of climate change.

TOLD THE WORK DONE IN THE EARTHQUAKE

In his speech at the General Assembly, President Altay underlined that 11 cities of Turkey suffered great destruction with the earthquakes of 7.7 and 7.6 that took place on the same day, and that more than 50 thousand citizens lost their lives, and that approximately 120,000 buildings, including cultural heritages of ancient religions and civilizations, were destroyed. , as Konya Metropolitan Municipality, explained in detail the work they did during and after the earthquake.

“WE CAN ONLY BE SUCCESSFUL AS WE ARE ONE”

Hz. Mevlana said, “If you become a friend, you will see countless friends. But if you do not become friends, you will remain without friends,” President Altay said, “Turkey’s; With the contribution of humanitarian diplomacy practices, which have become more prominent in issues that concern the whole world, such as the refugee crisis, the Kovid-19 epidemic, the Russia-Ukraine crisis; All humanity has helped the earthquake zone in Turkey from the very first moment. I would like to thank the countries, local governments and peoples of the world who showed the solidarity of the century in these days when we, as Turkey, are experiencing the ‘Disaster of the Century’. We have all experienced very closely that; We can only be successful as long as we are ‘one’.

“WE SHOULD MAKE OUR CITIES RESISTANT AGAINST DISASTERS”

Emphasizing the need to build resilient cities that are resistant to natural disasters, Mayor Altay said, “Despite all the successful work we have done during this earthquake, we have also seen that we have the capacity to develop the issue of building resilient cities. In order to build a resilient city, it is necessary to renew the existing building stock using today’s technologies, to raise awareness of the public for disaster times, to create city furniture, tools and equipment by taking into account extraordinary times, and to share national and international experience. We must strengthen the infrastructure of our cities and develop policies that are resilient to all kinds of disasters. These policies include mitigating the effects of emergencies; will play a major role in the rapid response and reconstruction phase. However, if we do these things, we can prevent the crises we experience from turning into established crises. I have full faith that we will get through this difficult process and that the ancient cities of Turkey will regain their beautiful days. At this point, this meeting, which aims to make all cities more resilient; I believe that it will open the doors of a world that demands and provides justice for all.”

Source: (BYZHA) – Beyaz News Agency