Local Government Academy 3 Begins

The 1st week of the Local Government Academy 3 certificate program, organized by the Bahçeşehir University School of Government and Leadership, was held at Bahçeşehir University's Beşiktaş campus on Saturday, 15 September 2012.

The program, attended by Bahçeşehir University UYGAR DirectorProf. Dr. Mustafa Ilıcalı,Democratic Left Party Chairman and former Minister of StateDr. Masum Türker,former Mayor of BingölSelahattin Aydar,and Mayor of Antalya Metropolitan Municipality Mustafa Akaydın, touched on many topics such as local governments and democracy, the economic and social impacts of local governments, leadership in municipalities, and the Antalya experience in local governance.

Prof. Dr. Mustafa Ilıcalıbegan by noting that Istanbul ranks 68th among smart cities. He emphasized that nothing can be produced without knowledge, and therefore the importance of increasing our knowledge and expanding its use. He pointed out that Türkiye's 2023 target is to become one of the world's top 10 economies. In his speech, he also made the following important observations about the structure of municipalities: "If the council does not support the mayor, it weakens the mayor through populist politics. Having council members and the mayor from the same party makes administration easier."

Dr. Masum Türkersaid that the word for politics in Turkish, "siyaset," derives from the word "seyis" (groom), and that politics is an organization for building power. He stated that politics in Türkiye has been explained through executions. Regarding local governments, he made the following observations: "Local governments are an inseparable part of state administration and a tool for ensuring social justice. Two rules must not be forgotten: Stakeholdership and Social Responsibility. Stakeholdership means having everything you do accepted by persuading the parties. Social Responsibility means ensuring honesty in the distribution of rights. Women should have a greater role in politics. If half of the mayors in this country were women, Türkiye would be saved; women are nurturing and empathetic."

Selahattin Aydar, drawing on the relationship between Local Governments and Leadership, said: "Leadership is mobilizing an existing society. A leader is the one who carries societies along. A leader is the one who broadens their horizons with innovation and progress and develops them intellectually and spiritually. A leader is open to innovation. If a leader gets stuck in stereotypes and cannot overcome them, society criticizes him and he cannot win the mayoralty. Then society does not develop. A leader constantly renews himself, brings practical solutions to problems, and uses technology and tools. Leadership is positive motivation; it is encouragement. Sacrificing oneself for the nation is a motivation. One must motivate according to the individual and society. It is 'being there early.' It is setting an example in word and deed."

Prof. Dr. MustafaAkaydınstated that local governance means mastering the classical beyond the classical method and is partly a fashionable term. He explained that urban governance is a form of management with three vectors: historical, natural and human (people and their values). In his speech, in which he emphasized the importance of tradespeople, urban civil society, neighborhood democracy and communication, he also made the following observations: "General and local elections should not be a system left over by the state. Decisions are made with the people. Communication with civil society organizations is important; I am the one who has the fewest problems. Even though I am very involved with civil society, I still experience problems."