KA.DER Advisory Board Member İlksen SORGUÇ DİNÇER, in his speech at the introductory meeting, stated that local governments are important mechanisms in the creation of policies and activities that directly affect our daily lives, and said, “The strategic planning work of the municipality is to indicate how the city for which the municipality is responsible will be shaped in the medium and long term. It should aim to increase the quality of life of citizens living in the city. While achieving this goal, municipalities should cooperate with citizens, civil society, business world and international organizations."

Although Türkiye is one of the countries that early gained women's right to vote and be elected, today; We all know that women are one of the countries with the lowest representation in the political arena and that they are not represented at the level they deserve in local government levels. 

Dinçer said, “In the last March 31 local elections, KA.DER made priority efforts to increase the number of women mukhtars, increasing the number of women mukhtars from 674 by 58.9 to 1.071. Today, 2.14 percent of women sit in these seats. The current number of female mukhtars in Mersin increased from 8 to 21. We congratulate the women who became muhtar candidates and thank the residents of the neighborhood who voted for women. In addition, the number of 22 Women Assembly Members in Mersin increased to 36."

Dinçer stated that, following the introductory meeting held by KA.DER Headquarters in Istanbul on August 27, it was held today in Mersin, hosted by the Mersin Branch, and said, “Tomorrow, we are holding similar meetings in Adana, hosted by our Adana Branch and our Eastern Mediterranean Regional Representative. At the same time, we will introduce the Inclusive Municipal Governance Scorecard Event for women and girls on September 18, again in cooperation with KA.DER and Argüden Governance Academy, with the participation of mayors, NGOs and municipal representatives, hosted by the Union of Marmara Municipalities.”

After the speeches, Kader Projects Coordinator Ayşe Kaşıkırık made presentations on egalitarian policies in local governments, İnan İzci from Argüden Governance Academy, Integrated and Inclusive Strategic Planning Approach and Dr. Erkin Erimez made presentations on Integrated and Inclusive Strategic Plan Preparation Guide Approaches for Municipalities. The program continued with a question and answer session.