The UCLG-MEWA General Assembly meeting-30 September 2010 27.04.2012

The UCLG-MEWA General Assembly meeting (decided to be postponed during the General Assembly meeting held on 25 June 2010) was held on 30 September 2010 in Istanbul, Turkey. The meeting was held with the participation of over 70 mayors and representatives of member local authorities, including representatives from Iran, Palestine and Turkey, and observers from Pakistan.
The meeting was opened with the welcoming remarks of Mr. Sadun EMREALP, Acting Secretary General of UCLG-MEWA. Subsequently, an opening speech was made by Mr. Kadir TOPBAŞ (Mayor of Metropolitan Municipality of Istanbul and the Co-President of UCLG World Organization), who also chaired the meeting.
Following the welcoming remarks by UCLG-MEWA Co-Presidents participating in the meeting, namely Mr. Hani Abdel MASİH (Mayor of Beit Sahour and the Secretary General of APLA – Association of Palestinian Local Authorities), Mr. Osman BAYDEMİR (Mayor of Metropolitan Municipality of Diyarbakır), and Mr. Muzaffer TUNÇAĞ (representative of Izmir Metropolitan Municipality), the draft Agenda of the meeting was adopted, with the inclusion of a number of items proposed by the members to be discussed during the meeting.
In line with the Agenda, the members of the General Assembly were informed about the “Global Fund for Cities Development”, and a decision was made for UCLG-MEWA to become a “Founding Member” of the Fund. Subsequently, the members were informed about the UCLG World Congress to be held on 16-20 November 2010 in Mexico City, and about the election of UCLG Statutory Organs during the UCLG World Congress, with particular emphasis on the candidacy of Mr. Kadir TOPBAŞ for the UCLG Presidency.
During the next section of the meeting, the following elections were held, and the new governing organs were formed with the anonymous decision of the participants:

• UCLG-MEWA members to be proposed for the UCLG World Council
• UCLG-MEWA members to be proposed for the UCLG World Executive Bureau
• UCLG-MEWA Council
• UCLG-MEWA Executive Bureau
• UCLG-MEWA Co-Presidents, the Treasurer and the Ombudsman
• UCLG-MEWA Secretary General

During the final section of the meeting, “other issues” were discussed. In this context, a decision was taken for holding the meetings of UCLG-MEWA governing organs in different cities. In this context, a further decision was taken to organize the next UCLG-MEWA governing organs meeting on 16 December 2010 in order to take timely decisions related to 2011, including the revisions in the Constitution and new Membership System, as well as the 2011 Program of Activities and the 2011 Budget.
Another decision was taken to continue with the provision of simultaneous translation during the meetings of UCLG-MEWA governing organs (General Assembly, Council and Executive Bureau) in English, pursuant to the Constitution, as well as in Turkish and Arabic, taking into consideration the membership profile in the Regional Section. Additional simultaneous translation languages could also be provided, taking into consideration the host city of the meeting, the countries of the participants and the availability of budget.
Another decision was taken for reviewing and appropriately lowering of UCLG-MEWA Membership Fees. In order to encourage the expansion of UCLG membership in the MEWA Region and to facilitate the payment of membership fees by member local authorities, it was decided to review the UCLG-MEWA Membership Fees system being implemented since 2004 in the light of the respective criteria endorsed by the World Organization, and appropriately lower the fees to facilitate their payment and to broaden the membership base. In this context, the UCLG-MEWA General Secretariat was empowered to prepare a draft proposal in relation to the new Membership Fees and submit the proposal to the relevant governing organs.
A final decision was taken as empowering the UCLG-MEWA General Secretariat to conduct preparatory activities for amending the UCLG-MEWA Constitution to harmonize with the recent changes made in the Constitution of the UCLG World Organization. On this basis, the UCLG-MEWA General Secretariat was further empowered to prepare the draft UCLG-MEWA Internal Rules of Procedure (including personnel policies) on the basis of the respective Rules of Procedure of the UCLG World organization. In this context, the proposed amendments of the Constitution resulting from this preparatory work and the draft Internal Rules of Procedure would be reviewed during the UCLG-MEWA Assembly meeting envisaged to be held on 16 December 2010.
Following the remarks of a number of participants, the meeting was closed.
In the evening, a dinner was hosted by Mr. Kadir Topbaş, Mayor of Metropolitan Municipality of Istanbul and the Co-President of UCLG World Organization, on the occasion of the UCLG-MEWA General Assembly.