The World Health Organization (WHO) European Healthy Cities Network 2025 Meeting is being held with the participation of many mayors, scientists and experts from home and abroad, hosted by Bursa Metropolitan Municipality. Stating that they will create a common roadmap for a healthy future with the meeting they are hosting again after 20 years, Mayor Mustafa Bozbey said, “Every contact that will be established here, every collaboration that will be established will shed light on our common future.”
The 1900 Business Meeting and Technical Conference of the WHO European Healthy Cities Network, which includes more than 2025 cities and municipalities worldwide, started at the Merinos Campus of the Atatürk Cultural Center, hosted by the Metropolitan Municipality. The meeting, which will be held between June 17-19 with the theme of ‘Resilient Healthy Cities: Sustainable Urban Futures for All’, will be attended by 500 local and foreign mayors, scientists and experts. The program, which is the last meeting of the 2019th phase covering the 2025-7 period, will evaluate the successes of the previous years for two days, discuss the challenges encountered and determine strategies for the transition to the 8th phase.
The opening ceremony of the program was attended by Marmara Municipalities Union and Bursa Metropolitan Municipality Mayor Mustafa Bozbey, Turkish Healthy Cities Union and Izmir Metropolitan Municipality Mayor Cemil Tugay, Metropolitan Municipality Secretary General Assoc. Prof. Dr. Ergül Halisçelik, Provincial Culture and Tourism Director Dr. Kamil Özer, Limerick Mayor John Moran, Burdur Mayor Ali Orkun Ercengiz, Bursa City Council President Prof. Dr. Ertuğrul Aksoy, Provincial Director of Environment, Urbanization and Climate Change Hayrettin Eldemir, Osmangazi Mayor Erkan Aydın, Gemlik Mayor Şükrü Deviren, Mudanya Mayor Deniz Dalgıç, Metropolitan Municipality bureaucrats and many local and foreign administrators.
“We will contribute to local governments producing sustainable policies”
Following the screening of the Bursa promotional film, the Sword Shield and Sema shows were a visual feast for the audience. Speaking at the program moderated by Petra Hongell from the WHO Europe Office, Marmara Municipalities Union and Bursa Metropolitan Municipality Mayor Mustafa Bozbey reminded that they had come together in Bursa again in 2005 and contributed to the Healthy Cities Movement. Stating that the world and cities have changed in the 20 years that have passed and that people's responsibilities have increased, President Bozbey said, “Today, we are all witnessing the transition from the 7th phase to the 8th phase of the Healthy Cities Network. We will make a strong start by reflecting the progress we have made so far in the 8th phase and create a common roadmap for a healthy future. Every topic we will discuss under the main theme of our conference this year, 'Resilient Healthy Cities: Sustainable Urban Futures for All', is of vital importance. We will evaluate many topics from the climate crisis to social inequalities, from health policies to the welfare economy with expert speakers in the field. By incorporating the principle of 'health for all' into the planning of our cities, we will contribute to local governments producing more inclusive and sustainable policies.”
“The Bursa Commitment will be a document of common will”
Stating that pandemics, wars and deepening climate crisis are dragging the world into an inevitable transformation, Mayor Bozbey stated that city administrators should manage this change in the most accurate way and leave a world that is free from environmental impacts for future generations. Stating that building resilient cities is now a necessity of the age, Mayor Bozbey said, “For a healthy future, we have to be cities that can foresee risks and manage these risks. We will all make an important commitment at the end of this meeting. The ‘Bursa Commitment’ to be signed at the close of the conference will be a document of the common will we have put forward for our future. This commitment is the roadmap for an inclusive and resilient city understanding that does not compromise on equality, prioritizes peace, protects our planet. People are at the very center of this vision. In addition, we will plant 1200 saplings in the soil in order to compensate for the carbon emissions generated during the meeting. I believe that every contact and every collaboration to be established here will shed light on our common future.”
Stating that they will continue to strengthen cooperation with the World Health Organization from now on; to disseminate good practices regionally and globally, to improve and grow together, President Bozbey thanked the WHO, representatives, institutions and those who contributed to the organization of the meeting.
“We can turn the risks in our cities into opportunities”
Cemil Tugay, the Mayor of the Turkish Healthy Cities Association and Izmir Metropolitan Municipality, provided information to the participants about the work and approaches of the Turkish Healthy Cities Association. Tugay said that health is becoming more important every day due to crowded cities, environmental problems, wars and climate crises, and that 93 percent of the people in Türkiye live in cities and only 7 percent in rural areas. Tugay, who stated that the population is aging and the young population is decreasing all over the world, said, “The birth rate in Türkiye is around 1.4. The elderly population rate has exceeded 10 percent. The population of Turkey is now considered to be an elderly population. It is estimated that one in every three people in Türkiye will be elderly in 2075. Currently, one in every four households is home to an elderly person. We can say that the child population is lower in the socio-economically developed cities in the west of our country and that the decrease is continuing. There are also serious problems related to shelter and nutrition. In addition to these, the climate crisis has been seriously increasing its impact over the years and is a direct or indirect threat to human health. Despite these, if we take careful steps, act consciously and show solidarity, we can turn the risks in our cities into opportunities. Therefore, the Healthy Cities Network is very valuable to all of us.”
Kira Fortune, WHO European Healthy Cities Network Manager, thanked Bursa Metropolitan Municipality Mayor Mustafa Bozbey, Izmir Metropolitan Municipality Mayor Cemil Tugay and their teams for their hospitality and leadership in the talks. Fortune stated that they will benefit deeply from the experiences of cities and municipalities for three days and that they will also transform the information obtained into action. Fortune also touched on the importance of starting the 8th phase in Bursa and stated that they will focus on how local solutions can be produced and how local challenges can be overcome.
WHO Representative and Turkey Mission Chief Tasnim Atatrah and WHO Communicable Diseases Department Head Robb Butler also shared their thoughts by sending a video to the program. Atatrah stated that it was very important to meet in Bursa, which has a deep-rooted history and a clear vision of the future, and expressed that Bursa is an important city that represents the intersection of the past and progress, and thanked Bursa Metropolitan Municipality for hosting. Robb Butler stated that the world has gone through a pandemic process in the past years and has experienced difficulties such as social unrest and climate change, and said that healthy cities in Türkiye are doing important work on these issues, and that common goals will be expressed again at the meeting. Butler stated that municipality representatives and technical experts came together and strongly demonstrated the spirit of cooperation, and thanked Bursa Metropolitan Municipality for hosting the meeting.
After the speeches, a family photo was taken. The conference continued with sessions organized under the titles of Prosperity, Planet, Participation, People, Place and Peace.
