“cities Developing Solutions” Will Meet inIstanbul
ISTANBUL - Marmara Urban Forum will be held for the first time in Istanbul, Turkey on 1-3 October 2019 hosting more than 200 speakers from 25 countries and 3000 participants including 100 mayors, and the urban matters to be discussed include but are not limited to urban technologies, innovation, public space, immigration, climate change. Such stakeholders of the cities as NGO representatives, mayors, scholars from all around the world and Turkey are coming together on the same platform. The events are comprised of panels, parallel sessions, interviews, roundtables, workshops, concerts, exhibitions, competitions and technical trips organized for three days.
With Marmara Urban Forum (MARUF), Marmara Municipalities Union aims to establish an urban forum to be biennially organized at the international level. MARUF, to be held for the first time at the Istanbul Congress Center on 1-3 October 2019, will bring together all the stakeholders that play an important role in the design, transformation and management of cities, and different approaches to urban services and city management will be addressed together. The forum will provide the basis for sharing knowledge, experience and opportunities with more than 200 speakers from 25 countries and 3000 participants.
“CITIES DEVELOPING SOLUTIONS”
MARUF, organized with the motto “Cities Developing Solutions” in line with the Sustainable Development Goals, will be a platform where different voices will come together to discuss the importance and function of cities as well as their problems, and prepare a platform for sharing global and local information. The aim of the forum is to seek solutions to the economic, political, social, ecological problems caused by the urbanization process in the lives of individuals and societies and to examine these problems in solidarity and cooperation at local, regional, national and international levels.
12 THEMES
In its first year, Marmara Urban Forum will provide a detailed overview of the world of cities with a broad perspective of 12 themes: Environment and Climate Change, Urban Technologies and Innovation, Transport and Mobility, Urban Infrastructure, Housing and Built Environment, Migration, Social Inclusion, Resilience, City Networks, Local Development, Public Space, and Governance.
MARUF aims to strengthen the role of local governments and cities in crises and human mobility situations for various reasons, to raise awareness on safe, inclusive, resilient and sustainable urbanization, to contribute to the transformation of cities to make them more liveable and equitable, to provide information flow between cities and city-regions and support networks of relations between cities.
Partners consist of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs Directorate for EU Affairs, Istanbul Metropolitan Municipality, Istanbul Foundation for Culture and Arts (IKSV), WRI Turkey Sustainable Cities, International Association of Public Transport (UITP), Swedish Institute, Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA), Network of Associations of Local Authorities of South-East Europe (NALAS), as well as several municipalities located in the Marmara Region, development agencies and universities; prominent figures from these institutions are taking part in the forum's steering committee and advisory board. Attendance to the forum is free of charge and all the necessary information is available at www.marmaraurbanforum.org.
