Dear Colleagues,

I would like to inform you about a new project that has been launched by the Ministry for European Union Affairs in coordination with us- Union of Municipalities of Turkey, Istanbul Governorate, and Istanbul Metropolitan Municipality. I will explain you the details below, it is a twinning programme for ten pilot municipalities. I would kindly ask for your support to disseminate this information among your members.

The project "Istanbul on the Path to EU" is aimed at enabling the governorate, district governorates and municipalities of Istanbul to establish capacity for EU related issues and manage proper implementation of the EU acquis at the local level. Likewise,the project encourages local authorities and local organizations to actively engage in the EU accession process of Turkey and use the opportunities provided by the EU in their fields of interest and requirements.

One of the most important and motivating activities of this project is the Town Twinning Programme. The main aim of the Programme is to enable local authorities of Istanbul to establish partnerships and make common projects with counterparts in the EU member states.

Ten pilot districts in Istanbul have been selected to take part in this activity through a competitive process. The municipalities and district governorates of the selected districts in Istanbul will be acting in partnership. The attached fact sheets summarize the characteristics of the districts and their area of interests for cooperation.

The project is now in the process of identifying local authorities from EU countries who are interested in establishing partnerships with the selected pilot districts in Istanbul. EU local authorities who are willing to cooperate and capable of providing expertise in the areas mentioned in the fact sheets of the ten pilot districts in Istanbul encouraged to apply and send their profiles by completing the application form by e-mail (HYPERLINK "http://tr.mc1332.mail.yahoo.com/mc/compose?to=bozden@tbb.gov.tr" \nbozden@tbb.gov.tr) not later than 22th of March 2013.

After selecting the local authorities from EU countries for this town twinning programme a three-day workshop will be held in Istanbul in May 2013. In this conference local authorities both from Istanbul and EU member countries will have the opportunity to introduce themselves and to find suitable partners for future projects and activities.

The cost of the visits of the potential partners (both Turkish and EU) for workshops and the first visits to Turkey will be covered by the project. We would be grateful if you would distribute our call for applications to your members and networks for the purpose of identifying potential partners.

• Call for application (414.4 KB)
• Application form (366 KB)
• Factsheet (5.99 MB)

Many thanks and best regards,

Bahar Özden
Twinning Officer
Union of Municipalities of Turkey
Phone: +90 312 419 21 00- 208
Fax: +90 312 419 21 30