THE SERVICES IN KARATAY CORRESPOND EXACTLY TO THE GLOBAL GOALS OF THE UN

Karatay Municipality has completed the "Voluntary Local Review" within the scope of "Sustainable Cities and Communities", one of the 17 Sustainable Development Goals within the framework of the "2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development" by the UN, in recent months. Karatay Municipality, one of the first three municipalities in Turkey that prepared the report, organized a Voluntary Local Review (VLR) Work Program in order to follow up the process together with all the dynamics in Konya and to make all kinds of services to be implemented in the district much higher quality and more efficient

Karatay Municipality, which prepared a Voluntary Local Review in 2021 in cooperation with the Union of Municipalities of Turkey (TBB) and United Cities and Local Governments - Middle East and West Asia Section (UCLG MEWA), organized the "Voluntary Local Review (VLR) Working Program".

The program was carried out in order to evaluate the process that has passed since the preparation of the "Voluntary Local Review", as well as to decide together with all the dynamics of Konya about the services and projects to be implemented by the municipality with the said process.

KARATAY MUNICIPALITY AIMS TO INCREASE THE SERVICE QUALITY EVEN MORE BY ADMINISTERING THE DISTRICT TOGETHER WITH ALL THE DYNAMICS.

Halil Şener, the Head of Department of the Ministry of Environment, Urbanization and Climate Change, Kıvılcım Özge Kara, the National Real Estate Specialist of the Ministry of Environment, Urbanization and Climate Change, United Nations Development Program (UNDP) managers and experts, Ramazan Şevik, the Deputy Mayor of Karatay, Karatay Municipality unit manager and staff, representatives of many public institutions, organizations and NGOs in Konya, representatives from universities and international organizations attended the program organized at Karatay Youth Center under the main title of "Developing the Performance Management System in Municipalities".

OUR SERVICES IN KARATAY ALSO CORRESPOND TO THE GLOBAL GOALS OF THE UN

Deputy Mayor of Karatay, Ramazan Şevik, said that the municipality started the report preparation process by addressing the institutional structure of the municipality in his speech, in which he shared the current situation with the "Voluntary Local Review"  preparation process with the participants.

In this context, Ramazan Şevik stated that they established the Directorate of Foreign Relations in order to develop cooperation with international institutions and organizations and said, “We carried out a Voluntary Local Review preparation work in our district in cooperation with the Union of Municipalities of Turkey and UCLG-MEWA. Last year, we determined the situation by comparing our services with the 17 goals identified as Sustainable Development Goals, with the support of our external and internal stakeholders, within the framework of the understanding of participation. As a result of this study, we see that the services we have rendered until today substantially correspond to the global objectives and contribute to this. We are not satisfied with this, and we want to further develop the actions and policies we will develop based on the assessment that emerged through the Voluntary Local Review (VLR) process. Therefore, we expect your contribution and support. We believe that all kinds of services we will provide, with contributions from you, will help our district achieve its global goals”.

I ALSO CONGRATULATE THE MUNICIPALITY OF KARATAY FOR PREPARING THE VLR REPORT

Halil Şener, Head of Department of the Ministry of Environment, Urbanization and Climate Change, mentioned that they have always been in cooperation with Karatay Municipality in the Voluntary Local Review (VLR) process.

Halil Sener said the following; “In today's world where the needs are unlimited, and resources are scarce, the 17 goals determined by the UN are highly important, and the whole world is working to distribute these resources equally. In our country,  our municipalities have been given broad authority with reforms in the early 2000s. Municipalities began to work on many projects that give particular importance to the happiness and comfort of the citizens with these regulations. These efforts also serve the UN's Sustainable Development Goals. In this context, I congratulate Karatay Municipality, which has made great efforts and prepared the VLR report.”

KARATAY MUNICIPALITY IS ONE OF THE LEADING MUNICIPALITIES IN TURKEY IN STRENGTHENING ITS INFRASTRUCTURE

urcu Miraç Dıraor Aydın, the Portfolio Manager of the United Nations Development Program (UNDP), stated that the UN Development Program has been serving in Turkey for 60 years and said that many projects, programs, and studies have been realized until today in this context.

Burcu Miraç Diraor Aydın said; “Karatay Municipality is one of the leading municipalities in Turkey in the studies carried out to strengthen the infrastructure concerning the UN's Voluntary Local Review and Evaluation Process (VLR). As you know, the Mayor of Karatay, Hasan Kılca, speaking at the "2021 High Level Political Forum", told the UN what he did as an exemplary district in this process. Therefore, it is highly important to ensure the international integration of these activities at both local and national levels. In this context, the current situation of Karatay Municipality is important and stands before us as a very good example. I would like to thank the Karatay Municipality for putting in such an effort and taking the initiative.”

While Local Administration Reform Phase 3 (LAR III) Component 1 Key Expert Dr. Volkan Recai Çetin and UNDP LAR 3 Senior Local Expert Dr. Volkan Erkan made a presentation on the 17 Sustainable Development Goals and VLR within the framework of the UN 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development at the meeting after the speeches; Fuat Özcan, the Foreign Relations Manager of Karatay Municipality, referred to the preparation process of Karatay Municipality's VLR Report. The “Voluntary Local Review (VLR) Work Programme” ended with the stakeholders participating in the meeting and representatives of institutions and organizations presenting their opinions and suggestions.