RESLOG Municipalities Discussed Social Services For Migrants
The last book of RESLOG-Turkey Project Knowledge Generation Activities which have been prepared in cooperation with MMU Migration Policy Center in order to share the experiences of Turkish municipalities that directly affected from mass migration was published. The book titled "Syrian Mass Migration and Municipal Experiences in Turkey: Inclusive Social Services" was presented at the 11th "Local Governance and Migration Meeting" on 4 November 2020.
The program started with the opening speeches of the MMU Migration Policy Expert and MMU Project Coordinator Merve Ağca, RESLOG-Turkey National Project Manager Sinan Özden and RESLOG-Turkey National Project Coordinator Gül Tuçaltan. Tuçaltan expressed her regret due to the recent earthquake in Izmir and highlighted the importance of disaster risk reduction trainings carried throughout the project by mentioning that the municipalities being prepared to respond to complex problems emerged due to multiple disasters simultaneously.
After the opening speeches, which emphasized the importance of the activity that creates a culture of cooperation between municipalities and enables capacity building by sharing knowledge and experience in the field, European Institute Director of Bilgi University and the compiler of the book Prof. Dr. Ayhan Kaya mentioned the narrative method used in the book. The book constitutes important source for migration literature, as it has been prepared with a participatory approach and storytelling method to provide insight information of municipal services provided to migrants and refugees.
Representatives of Bursa Metropolitan Municipality, Kocaeli Metropolitan Municipality Esenyurt Municipality, Sultanbeyli Municipality and Şahinbey Municipality who contributed to the book on a voluntary basis shared their social service practices and underlined that they act with the principle of providing equal social services to everyone living in their cities by leaving no one behind. Stating that they are trying to address the issue of migration management with a holistic approach in providing services, the representatives of the municipalities expressed that they are motivated to carry out new services on the basis of human rights and cooperation. The program was held with the participation and contribution of representatives of pilot municipalities, municipalities of MMU Migration Platform, academicians and representatives of NGOs.
