Activities
 

Symposia and Conferences

UCLG-MEWA organizes specialized symposia and conferences on a regular basis. They are occasionally undertaken jointly with international and regional organizations. Symposia are usually organized on a regional basis and focus on topics of current concern to local governments, encouraging the interaction of practitioners, as well as regional and international experts. Some recent symposia have been on the following topics:
 

  • management of urban financial resources in the Middle East

  • environmental and local initiatives

  • alternative approaches to urban service-delivery in the Middle East

  • the reform and decentralization of local governments

  • the role of local governments in the protection and promotion of human rights (with WALD)

  • urban rights (with WALD)

  • ombudsman

  • decentralized cooperation

Training and Development

UCLG-MEWA serves as a catalyst for local government training activities in the region. It organizes seminars and workshops on a regional or single-country basis to meet the needs of key individuals from local governments and local government organizations who will, in turn, serve as catalysts and facilitators for the training of local government administrators and elected officials in their spheres of influence. Such seminars usually involve small groups of participants working in an informal, interactive setting using the most up-to-date training materials and methods. UCLG-MEWA works closely with national and international institutions in the development of its workshop and seminar materials.

Over the past few years UCLG-MEWA has offered a series of seminars and workshops in the following areas of current concern to local governments in the region. Among the topics covered are the following:

  • strategic planning in local government

  • performance management in local government

  • excellence in local government management

  • responsiveness in local government

  • management of human resources

  • inter-governmental relations

  • management of metropolitan government

  • planning and management of training in local government

  • information technology and local government

  • ethics in local government

  • environmental management

  • local government and democracy

  • local government and human rights

UCLG-MEWA continues to develop new seminar and workshop topics to meet the changing needs of local governments.

Project Development and Management

UCLG-MEWA has undertaken the development and management of a number of major local government projects in the MEWA region and in Turkey with the support of national and international organizations. It has been implementing a series of European Commission sponsored projects which seek to strengthen local government performance and foster democratization in the Mediterranean basin. Municipal diagnosis studies conducted with the support of the World Bank, and the management development program conducted in collaboration with the OECD Public Management Service, have successfully been completed.

Recent projects developed and managed by UCLG-MEWA, under the auspices of the United Nations, placed a heavy emphasis upon ‘empowerment’ strategies and ‘partnerships’ with regional and local stakeholders.

Research

UCLG-MEWA conducts research on priority management development needs, local government capacities, and institutions in the region as part of its efforts to develop new and updated materials for its seminars, workshops and symposia. It also conducts research on major issues of current concern to local governments in the region.

A series of extensive national and international surveys and research projects have been undertaken on the following subjects:

  • urbanism and housing ministries

  • public housing policies and finance

  • local government development and reform in Turkey: basic goals and strategies

  • the future of Istanbul

  • local government and democracy

  • human rights and local government

  • environmental NGOs in the Middle East region

These research projects have provided a solid foundation for IULA-EMME activities and publications.

Library and Documentation

UCLG-MEWA maintains a select library of books, documents and periodicals in various languages focusing on local government, with a specialization in the Middle East and Eastern Mediterranean region. The library is open to local government officials, specialists in the field, and researchers. A computerized cataloguing system allows for easy access to all the items. In addition, the Library and Documentation Center maintains links with other specialized libraries in the region for more comprehensive access to information on local government and urban development issues.

 

Publications

IULA-EMME currently has six series of publications under the auspices of its IULA-EMME Local Government Library.

Institutional Directories
Guides to the activities and functions of organizations world-wide in areas of relevance to the local government.

Environmental Series
Facilitating communication and fostering the sharing of information among local governments in the area of environmental protection and preservation.

Local Government Development Handbooks
Providing local government officials in Turkey and in the region with the latest approaches to city management, in various areas of relevance in accord with their countries’ present needs.

The World of Local Government
Providing readers with information about local governments in the MEWA region and about issues of current concern to local and regional governments in general.

MED-URBS Publications
Dealing with issues related to urban management, human resources and democracy which are of relevance to cities in the circus-Mediterranean and EMME regions and based on research undertaken by IULA-EMME and international experts under the auspices of the EU.

Serial Publications
In addition, IULA-EMME published a series of ‘Working Papers on Local Government’ based on regional symposia, and a survey in coordination with local-level environmental initiatives called Middle East Local Environmental Monitor (MELEM) under the auspices the UNDP-LIFE program.

Local Agenda 21 Publications

 

A wide spectrum of books, informative brochures and leaflets, reports, proceedings of meetings, posters and other publications have been published under the Turkey LA-21 Program.

 

‘Preparing the Istanbul Metropolitan Municipality for the EU Pre-Accession Process’ Project Publications

 

Within the context of the project entitled ‘Preparing the Istanbul Metropolitan Municipality for the EU Pre-Accession Process’, a series of books are in the process of being published to be utilized as key points of reference, information and awareness-raising materials on the EU. Some of these publications, all in Turkish, are titled as follows: European Union-Turkey and Local Government (by Prof. I. Tekeli and Prof. S. Ilkin); Local Authorities and their functions in the European Union; Acquis Communautaire and Local Authorities (in 14 different sectors); Glossary of European Union (in Turkish).