United Cities and Local Governments Middle East West Asia

National Network
Turquie
Address

Yerebatan Caddesi No.2 Sultanahmet
34110 Istanbul/
Turquie

Telephone
0090 212 511 10 10
E-Mail
a.licha@uclg-mewa.org
Organisation Type
Non-Governmental Organization
Year of Establishment
1987
Fields of Activity
  1. Arts
  2. Democracy and community development
  3. Environment/Sustainable development
  4. Gender
  5. Human rights
  6. International/Cultural relations
  7. Others
  8. Research
  9. Youth and education
General Information
United Cities and Local Governments Middle East and West Asia (UCLG-MEWA) is one of the nine Regional Sections of UCLG and functions from its headquarters in Istanbul. Our organization performs its activities and initiatives through 20 countries and has almost 140 members. We aim at representing our members in international organizations such as United Nations, and enabling our members to develop and implement new projects. UCLG-MEWA has an annual budget of 2 million Euro, mainly funded by membership fees. Our staff is composed of 20 persons.  In partnership with our members and bilateral and multilateral organizations such as UNICEF, UNDP, UNESCO or UN-Habitat, we develop project to strenghten local governments in the MEWA region. We are active through concrete projects, exchanges and seminars.
Mission and Objectives

The mission of UCLG-MEWA, in parallel to the UCLG World Organization is: To be the united voice and world advocate of democratic local self-government, promoting its values, objectives and interests, through cooperation between local governments, and within the wider international community.
To achieve this mission, UCLG-MEWA shall pursue the following objectives:
a. To promote strong and effective democratic local self-government throughout the region;
b. To promote unity and cooperation amongst members;
c. To ensure the effective political representation of local government to the international community, in particular the United Nations and its agencies;
d. To be the regional and worldwide source of key information and intelligence regarding local government;
e. To be the regional and worldwide source of learning, exchange and capacity-building, supporting the establishment and strengthening of free and autonomous local governments and their national associations;
f. To promote economic, social, cultural, vocational and environmental development and service to the population based on the principles of good governance, sustainability and social inclusion;
g. To promote race and gender equality, and to combat all forms of discrimination that are illegal with regard to international law, and/or illegitimate in relation to the values and policies of the organization;
h. To be a strong democratic organization, reflecting in its composition and functioning the diversity of the local spheres of governance;
i. To promote decentralized cooperation and international cooperation between local governments and their associations;
j. To promote twinning and partnerships as a means for mutual learning and friendship between peoples;
k. To develop policies, programmes and initiatives within the framework of the World Organization’s mission, values and objectives, which imply seeking appropriate means to implement them, within the internal rules of the organization.

Main Projects / Activities

UCLG-MEWA is involved in differents projects related to the 7 following topics: 
- Urban and territorial governance;
- Urban financing;
- Strategic urban planning and land management,
- Inclusive cities and territories (poverty reduction and inequalities, slum upgrading, gender, accessibility and migration, etc);
- Cities as engines of economic development;
- Sustainable environment;
- Culture and sustainable development.

Contact (1) Full Name
Adrien LICHA
Job Title
Coordinator
Head of the organisation
Mehmet DUMAN Secretary General