The Girne Municipality has been a member of the Middle East and West Asia (MEWA) Section of the United Cities and Local Governments Organisation since 2018. At the (UCLG) General Assembly held in Konya in June 2021 Girne Municipality was elected as the Co-Chairman of the Organisation and the Chairman of the Gender Equality Committee.
On the 5th and 6th August Girne Municipality is holding a Council meeting of that committee thus kicking off an international conference where gender equality in local governments will be discussed.
A press briefing was held on the 2nd August 2022 at the Girne Municipality New Service Building about the conference.
As well as the Council meeting, the final report of a project entitled “Monitoring Equality in Municipalities”, from the previous working period of the Committee, will be introduced. A panel will discuss, “Achieving Gender Equality in Local Leadership; challenges and opportunities”, in preparation of a report on “Equality Action Guide for Local Governments”.
At the briefing Girne Mayor Nidai Güngördü said the conference would be held in the Girne Grand Pasha Hotel. By joining the UCLG-MEWA Organisation and taking on the Presidency of the 2019-22 Tourism and Culture Commission they were working to represent the TRNC and Girne (one of the 280 member cities) in the best possible way.
They had been taking part in the various meetings of the Organisation either in person or online. He also reminded the press that the international “Accessible Tourism” workshop took place last year on the 20th and 21st of October in Girne and about 120 delegates had attended.
He said the principle of equality was the fundamental right of everyone and should be effectively implemented in all areas of life, on that basis. He emphasised that local governments had the important duties of creating a society based on equality and eliminating existing inequalities.
Güngördü pointed out that forging liveable conditions for all citizens exposed to discrimination, especially women, was possible with policies that focused on human rights. Girne was home to a mosaic of peoples from modern and democratic countries of Europe and Asia. As well as its own local population, students and workers from 108 different countries lived there. Thousands of tourists from different countries visited the city every year. With all that in mind and concentrating on human rights they had set off to govern with an all inclusive perception that did not discriminate between the religion, language, race or gender of its peoples.
He said: “Sharing knowledge as a member of the MEWA organisation and responding to its expectations of us has been and continues to be instrumental in the development of our vision for our country and region. It has guided and provided opportunities for us to take steps in securing more humane, equal rights and freedom conditions for everyone. However, considering the World in general, the desired point in women’s rights and gender equality has not been reached yet”.
The same was true for the region also. But as Co-Chairman of UCLG-MEWA and Chairman of the Gender Equality Committee he was determined to introduce policies that would lead to changes for women and other individuals who were exposed to discrimination in Girne and the region.
He was pleased to contribute to a more civilised humane way of life by cooperating with academics, non-governmental organisations and responsible individuals employing scientific principles.
He expected the conference would receive intense international participation either in person or on line. Believing that very constructive results would be achieved he thanked everyone who had contributed to the organisation of the conference.
Source (Turkish): Girne Municipality
