As a continuation of the Strategic Public Management Symposium, “6. Civil Strategy Symposium”, hosted by Marmara University Faculty of Political Sciences and organized by the Urban Problems and Local Administrations Research and Application Center, Civil Society Central Base and the clubs of Marmara University, was held at the İbrahim Üzümcü Conference Hall.
The opening speech of the symposium, which included participants from bureaucracy, students, public boards, non-governmental organizations, academics and the private sector, was made by Rector Prof. Dr. Mustafa Kurt, chairman of the symposium Prof. Dr. Yüksel Demirkaya and Civil Society Epicentre Representative Ömer Faruk Terzi.
Ahmet Türköz, General Director of Civil Society Relations of the Ministry of Interior, Üsküdar Mayor Hilmi Türkmen, Lect.Dr. Roza Süleymanoğlu Dinçer, Author-Director Okan Özbay and Entrepreneur and Businessmen Foundation President Mehmet Koç attended as speakers in the opening panel of the symposium.
In his opening speech, Rector Prof. Dr. Mustafa Kurt, saying that three most important stakeholders of strong societies in developed countries are the public, private sector and civil society, emphasized the importance of the cooperation of the three stakeholders and said, “It is accepted by many segments that democracy has made a positive development in societies where these three stakeholders cooperate in line with their common goals”.
Prof. Dr. Yüksel Demirkaya, in his opening speech, pointed out that the participants created a very wide spectrum and said, “This beautiful atmosphere that you add color with your arrival gave hope for the future, civil society and civil strategy.”Ömer Faruk Terzi, Member of the Representative Committee of the Civil Society Epicentre, mentioned the differences in the understanding of civil society in the West and in Turkey in his opening speech.
Üsküdar Mayor Hilmi Türkmen, who spoke at the sesssion titled "Civil Society and Intersectoral Cooperation Strategies" session, highlighted civil society’s importance with the expression of "Civil society is a must for society" and "The more non-governmental organizations, the more democracy". Ahmet Türköz, on the other hand, mentioned the importance of cooperation between public administration and non-governmental organizations and noted that there has been a 98% increase in the number of NGOs since 2004. In his entrepreneurship-focused speech, Mehmet Koç emphasized the importance of entrepreneurship that supports civil society and stated that our society is more enterprising but less entrepreneurial. In his speech, Koç gave place to the statements “Come, be an entrepreneur, do not be afraid”.
In his speech, Okan Özbay referred to the 'Digital Mobilization' period and focused on the concepts of digital cohesion and NGO. Dr. Roza Süleymanoğlu Dinçer, on the other hand, touched on the place and importance of women in NGOs and mentioned that NGOs are for the whole society and that the participation of all individuals is important, but the society in Turkey stays away from NGOs for certain reasons. In his speech, Dinçer also referred to the Local Equality Action Plan and underlined that there have been positive developments in recent years.
Other sessions of the symposium will be held on December 9, 2022 at the İbrahim Üzümcü Conference Hall.
