ASSOC. PROF. DR. TAHİR BÜYÜKAKIN

Town twinning which are sometimes referred as “sister city” and “sister town” is a democratic and participatory approach that enables finding solutions to problems together while also bringing different communities together within the framework of common values ​​and principles. Developed connections within the scope of town twinning studies can sometimes be in the scale of communication and information sharing, as well as bringing along more advanced cooperation and partnerships. As a matter of fact it is essential that, instead of singular activities, these studies should be designed as long term studies, which include the activity steps serving a certain goal and that they are assessed in a sustainable unity. Alongside the study visits and personnel exchange in mutual relations it is also extremely important to establish communication networks and develop common methods, guides and tools for information and experience sharing in terms of increasing the productivity and efficiency of connections. Collaborations to be made at the point of developing project partnerships and organizing joint events such as festivals, conferences, seminars and trainings are important opportunities to produce concrete outputs. Within this context, thanks to town twinning studies and knowledge sharing and experience between cities, the quality of service is increased by ensuring more effective and efficient use of resources which contributes to the increase of citizen satisfaction, living standards and socioeconomic development. On the other hand, the assessments, analysis and monitoring studies to be made in order to increase the efficiency and productivity of this connections are critical steps in terms of ensuring the sustainability of town twinning. In today’s world, local authorities have great responsibilities, where brand cities are spoken more than countries, on a global scale, efficiently and productively, well designed carried out town twinning activities contributes to the enhancement of the service providing capacities of the local authorities in our country, in addition to the promotion of Turkey at the International level and the improvement of intercultural connections.