A SEASIDE VIEW: When local affairs become int'l
Güncelleme Tarihi:
by Chris Drum Berkaya
Oluşturulma Tarihi: Mart 03, 2009 00:00
BODRUM - The Bodrum peninsula is, along with the rest of Turkey, sprouting the flags, banners and posters of the candidates of every political party aiming for the onerous duties of municipal office holders.
The peninsula has a confusion of candidates as it carries the heavy burden of eleven municipalities, a situation created ten years ago when they were carved off from the three existing municipalities and villages. It seemed then to be an act of cynical political chicanery aimed more at vote-taking and less at the reality of sustainable economics for the hapless ratepayers who have to bear the costs, as well as the increased summer population that quadruples the burden on infrastructure.
Judging the capacity of the candidates, experienced or otherwise, to take up the challenges of the 21st century is a tough call, and not one to be measured merely on a handshake or meetings with the only too familiar slogans and rounds of promises.
A three day meeting in Bodrum last week provided a very welcome look at the future of municipal programmes and the level of understanding needed at local level. Sixteen representatives, from local governments around the Mediterranean, gathered for a workshop under the umbrella of the European Union programme that encourages networking among neighbouring countries, EUROMED, and its’ Local Authorities Partnership Programme in the Mediterranean, MED PACT.
The visitors were not politicians but the employees of local authorities from Marrakech, Morrocco; Skopje, Macedonia; Brtonilga, Croatia; Sin El Fin/Beirut, Lebanon; Rio Marina/ Elba, Italy, and from Italy, the EU member project leaders, the local authorities of Prato and Lucca (near Florence and Pisa), and staff of the PAMLED programme.
They were in Bodrum to meet with Bodrum Municipality employees and Muğla University staff on the implementation of two projects that will, it is hoped, make significant changes in Bodrum for residents and visitors alike. The first is an environmental awareness plan particularly focused on rubbish recycling; the second will develop a tourism plan based on cultural heritage and archaeology.
Firstly however, the Moroccan and Lebanese representatives presented local projects that are now being implemented with the assistance of the Italian partners. Marrakech, a popular international tourist destination, is working on the rationalisation of water consumption in a city that has few sources of water. The suburb of Beirut is tackling ways to keep their young people in the locale through a youth entrepreneurship programme. The problems that all the partners share - the demands of tourism, water supply, coastal and historical resource allocation, waste control, retaining youth in non-city environments, migration Ğ are all vital questions that place a great demand on the resources of municipalities. Because of this, the opportunity to share experiences and knowledge is a welcome one, especially when there is a degree of financial support.
At the opening session, to which some local Bodrum civil associations were invited to observe, the project co-ordinator from Prato, Fabiana Farro, was very forthright in saying that project timeframes had been delayed, since in all cases, the first challenges for both project leaders and new local partners had been to ensure mutual understanding of the expected mechanisms of the EU partnerships, the documentation, the budgets and maintenance of commitment to the activity. She said that implementation demands selection and training of municipal employees capable of seeing that projects feed into city strategies.
The EU technical adviser, Ziad Mussad, who arrived on a later flight fresh from Brussels, spoke after the opening formalities, which was perhaps unfortunate, as it meant the mayor and Bodrum governor (and thus most of the local press) did not hear some very plain speaking. Mussad was at pains to emphasise that the projects under discussion were pilot projects, intended to share methods in handling deep seated problems, and build commitment and lasting partnerships to start local sustainable projects to tackle other problems. He announced that more EU funding had been agreed, but he urged the partners to remember that global economics were affecting the main funding countries of the EU, and to start looking for additional funds for the co-funding themselves, to secure local resources and, thereby, the all-important commitment to local ownership. His bottom line rings true also for the election campaigns. He said, ’How do you judge commitment in a local authority? Do the policymakers have it in their five year plans, in their budgets, and are they inclusive in their approach to all the stakeholders in the local economy?’
Those are very good words to remember and take with us in these days of election campaigns.
Judging the capacity of the candidates, experienced or otherwise, to take up the challenges of the 21st century is a tough call, and not one to be measured merely on a handshake or meetings with the only too familiar slogans and rounds of promises.
A three day meeting in Bodrum last week provided a very welcome look at the future of municipal programmes and the level of understanding needed at local level. Sixteen representatives, from local governments around the Mediterranean, gathered for a workshop under the umbrella of the European Union programme that encourages networking among neighbouring countries, EUROMED, and its’ Local Authorities Partnership Programme in the Mediterranean, MED PACT.
The visitors were not politicians but the employees of local authorities from Marrakech, Morrocco; Skopje, Macedonia; Brtonilga, Croatia; Sin El Fin/Beirut, Lebanon; Rio Marina/ Elba, Italy, and from Italy, the EU member project leaders, the local authorities of Prato and Lucca (near Florence and Pisa), and staff of the PAMLED programme.
They were in Bodrum to meet with Bodrum Municipality employees and Muğla University staff on the implementation of two projects that will, it is hoped, make significant changes in Bodrum for residents and visitors alike. The first is an environmental awareness plan particularly focused on rubbish recycling; the second will develop a tourism plan based on cultural heritage and archaeology.
Firstly however, the Moroccan and Lebanese representatives presented local projects that are now being implemented with the assistance of the Italian partners. Marrakech, a popular international tourist destination, is working on the rationalisation of water consumption in a city that has few sources of water. The suburb of Beirut is tackling ways to keep their young people in the locale through a youth entrepreneurship programme. The problems that all the partners share - the demands of tourism, water supply, coastal and historical resource allocation, waste control, retaining youth in non-city environments, migration Ğ are all vital questions that place a great demand on the resources of municipalities. Because of this, the opportunity to share experiences and knowledge is a welcome one, especially when there is a degree of financial support.
At the opening session, to which some local Bodrum civil associations were invited to observe, the project co-ordinator from Prato, Fabiana Farro, was very forthright in saying that project timeframes had been delayed, since in all cases, the first challenges for both project leaders and new local partners had been to ensure mutual understanding of the expected mechanisms of the EU partnerships, the documentation, the budgets and maintenance of commitment to the activity. She said that implementation demands selection and training of municipal employees capable of seeing that projects feed into city strategies.
The EU technical adviser, Ziad Mussad, who arrived on a later flight fresh from Brussels, spoke after the opening formalities, which was perhaps unfortunate, as it meant the mayor and Bodrum governor (and thus most of the local press) did not hear some very plain speaking. Mussad was at pains to emphasise that the projects under discussion were pilot projects, intended to share methods in handling deep seated problems, and build commitment and lasting partnerships to start local sustainable projects to tackle other problems. He announced that more EU funding had been agreed, but he urged the partners to remember that global economics were affecting the main funding countries of the EU, and to start looking for additional funds for the co-funding themselves, to secure local resources and, thereby, the all-important commitment to local ownership. His bottom line rings true also for the election campaigns. He said, ’How do you judge commitment in a local authority? Do the policymakers have it in their five year plans, in their budgets, and are they inclusive in their approach to all the stakeholders in the local economy?’
Those are very good words to remember and take with us in these days of election campaigns.