Solution Labs Brought Urban Leaders Together in Istanbul
The event kicked off with the #SolutionsLab: Developing Care Systems and Empowering Women Leaders workshop series, bringing together 26 urban leaders from 11 cities, including Buenos Aires, Mexico City, Belo Horizonte, Lahore, Baghdad, São Paulo, Ramallah, Amman, Bogota, İstanbul, and Antalya. These workshops facilitated dynamic exchanges among participants, focusing on key urban challenges and solutions.
Care systems for equitable and prosperous cities
At Metropolis Solutions Lab #9: Developing Care Systems for Equitable and Prosperous Cities, the discussions centered around developing care systems for equitable and prosperous cities. Key topics included thematic discussions on caring services and infrastructures, governance insights on financing and data, and strategies for building caring societies to foster social cohesion. The second day featured Bogotá’s care system successes and challenges, tools for fostering local care systems, and collaborative efforts in defining and solving care-related issues.
Empowering women leaders in city governance
Simultaneously, the sessions of Metropolis Solutions Lab #10: Empowering Women Leaders for Gender Equality in City Governance included city-to-city exchanges on women's empowerment, gender mainstreaming in city policies, and advancing gender equity in local governance. Highlights included Istanbul's gender action plan, Buenos Aires' data initiatives, and discussions on empowering city leaders through gender mainstreaming and transformative policies.
A solid foundation for future collaborations
Throughout the workshops, parallel sessions explored vital topics such as identifying addressed problems, crafting solutions, identifying key actors and stakeholders, addressing challenges, outlining key next steps, and posing critical questions to the audience. The final session featured city-to-city presentations, highlighting collaborative efforts and reflecting on shared learning, ultimately outlining next steps for continued progress.
The Metropolis Solutions Labs workshop series in Istanbul has set a solid foundation for future collaborations and progress in developing equitable care systems and empowering women leaders in urban governance.
Side Trips
The Istanbul Metropolitan Municipality organized side trips to Yuvam Istanbul, the Regional Employment Office, Istanbul Neighborhood Center, and Institute Istanbul ISMEK, showcasing inspiring good practices to the participants. Additionally, tours of the Basilica Cistern and Feshane Artİstanbul were arranged, offering a delightful conclusion to the event.
