Seferihisar Mayor Tunc Soyer made a speech at the Breakfast at Sustainability’s event on June 2nd in EU Brussels office organized by ICLEI, EESC and Heinrich Böll Foundation.
The Mayors of ICLEI Europe region and EU representatives exchanged information about the local implementations of 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDG) adopted by United Nations in 2015 to limit global warming.
Seferihisar Mayor Soyer especially focused on the agriculture, energy and sustainable development policies and informed the attendees on the local implementation of UN’s goals: “Seferihisar is a member of Cittaslow network since 2009. We reconsidered how we could locally fight against climate change, poverty and descending water resources. We gathered our forces for agriculture, founded producer cooperatives and production facilities for the farmers. We opened up farmers’ markets for the farmers to sell directly to the consumer; also built an online sales web site for organic products. The initiated a seed preserving center to protect and distribute local seeds, organized courses for the farmers about good farming practices. The irrigation canals connecting the Seferihisar Dam to the fields were renovated. We organized a handicrafts’ markets and enabled the women to make additional earnings. The projects like CV Bank and People’s Card supported the disadvantaged population and raised employment. The world agreed on promoting the renewable energy production rather than fossil fuels. We will found solar and wind energy cooperatives to enable our citizens in participating in the green future of Seferihisar. The local governments ought to play an active role in a more sustainable future. ”