Istanbul, 12 September 2019—The first ever Marmara Urban Forum (MARUF), organized by Marmara Municipalities Union (MMU), will be held in Istanbul between  1-3 October 2019.

The gathering is set to bring together over 3,000 participants including professionals from cities, national, regional and local governments, private sector, NGOs, universities and other stakeholders that play a crucial role in the design, transformation and governance of cities with the aim of sharing knowledge, experience and of creating new opportunities. The events are comprised of panels, parallel sessions, interviews, roundtables, workshops, concerts, exhibitions, competitions and field trips organized for three days.

MARUF, organized with the motto “Cities Developing Solutions” in line with the Sustainable Development Goals, will be a platform where different voices will come together to discuss the importance and functions of cities as well as their problems, and prepare a platform for sharing global and local information. The aim of the forum is to seek solutions to the economic, political, social and ecological problems caused by the urbanization process in the lives of individuals and societies and to examine these problems in solidarity and cooperation at local, regional, national and international levels.

Marmara Urban Forum will provide a detailed overview of the world of cities with a broad perspective of 12 themes: Environment and Climate Change, Urban Technologies and Innovation, Transport and Mobility, Urban Infrastructure, Housing and Built Environment, Migration, Social Inclusion, Resilience, City Networks, Local Development, Public Space, and Governance.

The Forum  aims to strengthen the role of local governments and cities in crises and human mobility situations for various reasons, to raise awareness on safe, inclusive, resilient and sustainable urbanization, to contribute to the transformation of cities to make them more liveable and equitable, to provide information flow between cities and city-regions and support networks of relations between cities.

The event is supported by, among others, Istanbul Metropolitan Municipality, UCLG-MEWA, NALAS, WRI Turkey Sustainable Cities, International Association of Public Transport (UITP), Swedish Institute, JICA, Consulate General of the Kingdom of the Netherlands as well as several municipalities located in the Marmara Region, development agencies and universities; prominent figures from these institutions are taking part in the forum's Steering Committee and Advisory Board.

Attendance to the forum is free of charge.

For more information please visit: www.marmaraurbanforum.org