KILCA: WE REALIZE ALL OUR PROJECTS BY  FEELING EMPATHY WITH THE DISABLED PEOPLE.

Hasan Kılca, the Mayor of Karatay, attended the "MEWA Region Workshop on Accessible Tourism" organized by United Cities and Local Governments Middle East and West Asia Section (UCLG-MEWA). Hasan Kılca who explained the projects they have implemented in the field of tourism in addition to the regulations for the disabled in these projects said the following;  “We establish empathy in all of our projects which we carried out in this field. We aim to enable people with disabilities to participate more in social life”.

United Cities and Local Governments Middle East and West Asia Section's (UCLG-MEWA) “Workshop on Accessible Tourism” was held in the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus. The workshop was held with the slogan "Making Cities Accessible", and local and central governments, as well as NGOs and academic representatives, participated in the program.

HASAN KILCA TALKED ABOUT KARATAY'S PROJECTS RELATED TO ACCESSIBLE TOURISM"

Hasan Kılca, the Mayor of Karatay, also participated as a speaker in the program where many topics such as “Accessible Cities”, “Inclusive and Barrier-Free Tourism”, and “Cultural Tourism” were discussed in detail.

In the "High-Level Panel" discussion of the workshop, Mayor Hasan Kılca talked about their investments in tourism as a municipality and mentioned the regulations applied especially for the disabled people in these projects.

WE REALIZE ALL OUR PROJECTS BY FEELING EMPATHY WITH THE DISABLED PEOPLE.

Hasan Kılca, who defined Konya as the city of Mevlana, Şems, history, civilization, and tourism in the workshop, which was also followed online and lasted for two days, said that they attach importance to the program organized by UCLG-MEWA in terms of explaining the work they carry out as local governments and opening the door to new projects.

Kılca, who said that "We are all candidates for the disabled," stated that significant progress has been made for the disabled people to participate in social life, especially in the last 15 to 20 years;  “If each of us thinks like our disabled sisters and brothers, put ourselves in their place and act accordingly; that is, if we empathize, I think life would be much easier and better for all of us. In this context, I, a mayor with a 25-year history of municipal works, make regulations to make life easier for our disabled people, both in our projects and our facilities in our district, in our parks, and in many other living areas. A disabled member takes place on the top among our City Council Members. Therefore, we attach importance to the ideas and suggestions of our disabled people and put empathy at the forefront, and we implement all of our works. Our Obruk Khan restoration continues. Our restoration work has been completed, and we are currently doing landscaping. We aim to include a disabled elevator here in the project so that our disabled citizens can see this place as well. Again, we are bringing a Disabled  Care Center to our district. With this project, for which we will soon lay the foundation, we will have made many contributions to our disabled sisters' and brothers' education, rehabilitation, socialization, and employment. Again, our Alzheimer's Day Care Center carries out exemplary works for Turkey. Our Lavender Garden, which we have realized in the field of tourism in our district, has also been designed in a way that our disabled sisters and brothers can visit and see. Another project we will bring to our district is the Natural Life Center. It will be a place in which disabled people can move freely and which we have designed due to the contributions of disabled member of our council. Our Caravan Park and Bozdoğan Welcome Center have also been realized and are realized by considering the disabled people. As is known, there are a lot of potholes in Konya. We have a Geopark project to bring these places to tourism. Excavation works continue in Boncuklu Höyük and the Ancient City of Savatra. We have also shaped our work on these projects by considering our disabled people. Therefore, in this and many other projects, we will continue to make the lives of disabled people easy and keep them at the center of their lives.”

 CELEBRATION FROM UCLG – MEWA SECRETARY GENERAL TO KARATAY MUNICIPALITY

After the speech of Mayor Hasan Kılca, UCLG – MEWA Secretary General Mehmet Duman thanked Hasan Kılca, the Mayor of Karatay, for his projects related to the disabled people. Mehmet Duman said: “Our Mayor of Karatay, Mr. Hasan Kılca, mentioned dozens of projects that will touch the lives of disabled people in just 15 minutes. However, above all, having a disabled brother in the first place among the Council members of the Karatay Municipality is also a different occasion to celebrate. It is also an indication of how much Karatay Municipality cares about the disabled while realizing its projects. I think that this attitude of Karatay Municipality in the decision-making mechanism should be taken as an example by all other municipalities, and I hereby congratulate Karatay Municipality.”