Izmir Metropolitan Municipality is hosting a meaningful event by combining the enthusiasm of May 19 Commemoration of Atatürk, Youth and Sports Day with the creative energy of young people.Designers in IzmirThe meeting organized under the title of “The Meeting of the People of Izmir” will be held in four popular touristic districts of Izmir (Çeşme, Karaburun, Seferihisar and Foça) between 16-19 May 2025. The opening of this special program, which was implemented under the leadership of Izmir Metropolitan Municipality and invited young people to produce innovative solutions to the city’s problems, was held enthusiastically with the participation of Izmir Metropolitan Municipality Mayor Dr. Cemil Tugay at Kültürpark Wooden Stage Area.
Karaburun Mayor İlkay Girgin Erdoğan, Foça Mayor Saniye Bora Fıçı, İzmir Planning Agency (İZPA) President Prof. Koray Velibeyoğlu, “Designers in İzmir” event coordinator Ali Faruk Göksu and valuable bureaucrats of İzmir Metropolitan Municipality attended the opening program where university students and graduates between the ages of 18-30 from a wide range of disciplines such as architecture, urban planning, graphic design, product design, art, communication and tourism came together and shared the excitement of the young people.
Confident and Hopeful Messages from President Tugay to the Youth
Izmir Metropolitan Municipality Mayor Dr. Cemil Tugay, who made the opening speech of the program, started his speech by giving information about the historical and cultural importance of Kültürpark to the young people who came to Izmir for the first time. Mayor Tugay, who stated that cities that carry out similar participatory design studies in the world have achieved very successful results, said, “It is very important for everyone to be a participant in designing the city. Your presence here is both a beautiful process for you and a turning point for us. We value this meeting and you very much.”
Referring to the design studies that will be carried out simultaneously in four different districts, President Tugay emphasized the importance of young people feeling and understanding the atmosphere of these districts and thinking as if they were a part of that region. “It is important for you to feel and understand that place, to look at it as if you were going to live there for the next 100 years as if you were a part of it and sometimes to look at it feeling like a child, a young person, an old person. Each of these districts is more special than the other. Each one is a separate jewel for us. It is truly an extraordinary thing to give ideas, make designs and present it in the most aesthetic and beautiful way in a corner of the city that belongs to all of us. Enjoy and savor this,” he said.
President Tugay, who stated that they look to the future with hope thanks to the energy and creativity of the youth, completed his words with the following meaningful expressions: “Everything will be fine, it will be fine because it has to be. Because such a beautiful youth definitely deserves a beautiful future. If you are citizens of the Republic founded by one of the greatest leaders and most valuable people to have come to earth, Gazi Mustafa Kemal Atatürk, if you are a member of the youth to whom he entrusted this country, and if we believe in you so much, if we embrace and hug each and every one of you individually, I am sure that everything will be very fine indeed. You are not alone in any of your needs. We will be with you as a very large team. We love you.”
An Inspiring Call from Coordinator Göksu
The coordinator of the “Designers in Izmir” event, which appeals to young people, Ali Faruk Göksu expressed his pleasure in hosting young people from all over Anatolia and different universities. Emphasizing the “Discover and Design” theme of the program, Göksu said, “For three days, you will discover the district, the problems, opportunities and potentials in that district in Foça, Seferihisar, Karaburun and Çeşme together and you will make the solutions visible. Mayors and administrators need young and creative ideas. You will be inspired and inspire in these four districts. You will transform the problems you discover into programs and projects through design thinking.”
Messages of Support and Confidence from District Mayors to Young People
Karaburun Mayor İlkay Girgin Erdoğan also expressed his confidence in the youth and said, “We are very hopeful about you. You will guide our plans for the future. Your ideas will be useful in shaping Karaburun in the future.”
Foça Mayor Saniye Bora Fıçı stated that she is very excited to host the young people who will come to their district and said, “I am already excited to host our valuable young people who will come to our district and to be able to apply the perspective they offer. Young people, the future is yours.”
They took to the field with the “Discover-Design” philosophy
Following the opening ceremony, the young people who participated in the event set off to the four districts they were assigned to. The young people, who will stay in these cute coastal towns for two days, will make field observations and get to know the texture of the region closely. On May 17-18, they will come together with local people and municipal authorities to exchange ideas, conduct environmental observations and develop innovative design ideas for the problems faced by the districts.
The projects to be produced in line with the themes of reuse of public spaces and preservation of local identity will be meticulously evaluated by district mayors and expert teams. The basis of the program is “Explore-Design” idea aims to understand the potential and problems of the districts through the eyes of young people and to produce sustainable solutions with this understanding. The event, “Corner to Corner: We Design Together, We Implement Together” and ”Discover and Make Visible: We Discover Together, We Design Solutions Together“ is carried out within the framework of two main programs. These frameworks allow young people to both experience their theoretical knowledge in the field and to develop solution-oriented projects in cooperation with local stakeholders.
Creative Ideas Will Be Evaluated in the Final
In this meaningful study, which Mayor Cemil Tugay attaches great importance to, the creative and innovative ideas of young people from various disciplines such as architecture, urban planning, landscape architecture, graphic design, product design, art and culture, communication and tourism will be blended. Participants will explore the determined problems together, design original and applicable solutions for these problems, and develop new ideas and projects. At the end of the event, all projects will be subjected to a comprehensive evaluation process by returning to Izmir on May 19th. It is aimed to cooperate with the relevant municipalities and institutions to implement the successful projects that emerge as a result of this evaluation. The “Designers in Izmir” meeting will go down in history as a hopeful step towards the future of Izmir with the energy and creativity of the youth.
