Istanbul, November 4-5 — The United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) Istanbul International Center for Private Sector in Development (IICPSD) has run the “Training Program on Municipal Enterprises for Local Authorities Ahead to Achieving the UN 2030 Agenda” (MELA) in Turkey in collaboration with Association of Palestinian Authorities (APLA), Kibar Holding and United Cities & Local Governments Middle East & West Asia Section (UCLG-MEWA) on 4-5  November  2020.

IICPSD’s MELA Training Program is structured as a rigorous technical modular seminar providing background on key concepts and recent trends in urbanization and describing how cities can be governed by an inclusive way, explaining different modalities of private sector engagement in basic municipal services and gives and comprehensive understanding of the legal framework while showcasing global good practices of MEs and potential financial instruments in these fields.

The UNDP Urban Strategy highlights sustainable urbanization as setting the right policies to ensure that no one is left behind, every person enjoys the benefits of urban growth and has access to infrastructure and social services.

Ms. Gülçin Salıngan, Deputy Director of IICPSD pointing out the rapid rate of urbanization globally, stresses that local governments and municipalities are crucial institutions as they are the first parties to tackle urbanization challenges.

The training program was followed by representatives from local governments in Palestine with a significant level of participation in discussion sessions.

Mr. Sahba Sobhani, Director of IICPSD, Dr.Hayri Baraçlı, the Member  of Presidency of Turkey Local Authorities Policy Board , Mr. Haluk Kayabaşı, CEO of Kibar Holding and Mr Mohammed Saadie, President of UCLG-MEWA, Mr. Mehmet Duman, Secretary-General of UCLG-MEWA and Mr. Abdallah Anati, Executive Director of APLA delivered keynote speeches at the opening ceremony.

IICPSD’s Director Mr. Sahba Sobhani opened the first day by welcoming the keynote speakers and attendees while highlighting the importance of harnessing the role of the private sector to provide resilience and inclusion in urban areas.

Member of Presidency of Turkey Local Authority Policy Board, Dr. Hayri Baraçlı emphasized the importance of know-how and experience sharing to achieve the UN 2030 Agenda and provide inclusive local management.

The President of UCLG MEWA  Mr. Mohammed Saadie stated the importance of local governments learn from each other’s experiences and emphasized the importance of awareness raising through training programs like IICPSD’s  MELA Training.

Mr. Mehmet Duman, Secretary General of United cities Local Governments, Middle East West Asia Section, said “SDGs point out that development of local authorities are much more prominent to achieve the 2030 Agenda” highlighting SDG11 and emphasizing that local authorities are frontiers of the urban change.

Mr. Haluk Kayabaşı, CEO of Kibar Holding stressed that as the world is getting more urbanized and industrialized, private sector should adapt its management and investment strategies for creating social and environmental impact. He suggested all private sector actors should consider sustainability as a management paradigm and integrate economic, environmental and social factors with corporate governance principles and evaluate them in all its applications, activities and decision mechanisms.

Mr. Abdallah Anati, Executive Director of APLA, kindly thanked IICPSD, UCLG-MEWA and Kibar Holding; stating that he looks forward to benefit from practitioners' experiences to improve the efficiency of service delivery in Palestine.

Following a well-attended opening ceremony, the training had started with the “Local Authorities in Palestine- Situation Analysis” module led by APLA. The training continued by our distinguished instructors’ modules on localizing SDGs, the role of private sector in development, establishing municipal enterprises, impact investing and integrity risks and risk management.

IICPSD Urbanization Lead, Ms Aslıhan Albostan, at the end, noted the importance of collaboration between local authorities and private sector to provide inclusion and leave no one behind in cities; acknowledging the nourishing discussion sessions following the training modules.

IICPSD’s thematic area Private Sector Engagement through South-South Cooperation for achieving the SDGs supports companies in tailoring their business models to respond to development needs by identifying and promoting best practices  Within this frame  IICPSD will continue its effort to raise awareness on the role of private sector for inclusive urbanization by conducting its MELA training program in global south.

For any inquiries, please contact:

Evrim Ayana Karslı, ayana.karsli@undp.org