Vital Warnings for Local Administrators

The second week of the "Local Governments Academy Certificate Program" organized by the Bahçeşehir University School of Government and Leadership took place on Saturday, 24 September 2011, at Bahçeşehir University's Beşiktaş Campus.

Important assessments on local governments were made during the program, which hosted Bahçeşehir University School of Research Methods Director Assist. Prof. Dr. Çağdaş Şirin, Governor of Çorum Nurullah Çakır, Van Member of Parliament Fatih Çiftçi, and former Mayor of Gaziantep Metropolitan Municipality Celal Doğan.

Assist. Prof. Dr. Çağdaş Şirinexplained that fieldwork is of vital importance, saying, "Don't rely too much on academics in election campaigns. Not everything is as it is written in books. The reality is very different."

Nurullah Çakırdescribed the role of local governments in the protection of cultural heritage and the position of the governor in this process through many different project examples. Emphasizing the importance of understanding and monitoring the process correctly, Çakır stressed that the progress achieved so far is significant, but that more ground must be covered by increasing the necessary attention and public awareness every day.

Fatih Çiftçisaid that comparing eastern and western provinces reveals many differences, the most important of which are internal institutional factors and financial status. Noting that all eastern provinces face financial difficulties and that citizens see municipalities in the east as a source of employment and income, Çiftçi stated that environmental factors, the economic structure and the political system are also very important factors affecting the perception of municipal governance in the east.

Celal Doğan placed particular emphasis on the charter of autonomy in Local Governments. He stated that this charter, adopted by the European Union and the Grand National Assembly of Türkiye, was originally intended to strengthen democracy, but that the concept currently under discussion is far from this.