Field Trip to the Marmara Municipalities Union

As part of an event organized by our Department of Public Administration, our students visited the Marmara Municipalities Union (MMU) on Tuesday, March 31, 2026. Established in 1975 with the primary goal of protecting the Sea of Marmara, the MMU is today a public institution serving over 190 member municipalities across 11 provinces in the Marmara Region.

During the visit, Merve Ağca (Coordinator of Environmental Management & Director of Sustainability and Climate Change), Samet Keskin (Director of Data and Technology Center & Senior Urban Planner), and Hazan Sertkaya (Education & Projects Specialist) delivered a comprehensive presentation. The session focused on:

• Knowledge and experience sharing programs between municipalities.
• Data-driven decision-making processes.
• Participatory governance practices.
• International collaborations.

The discussion also covered critical topics such as the localization of Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), the mucilage problem in the Sea of Marmara, the upcoming UN Climate Change Conference (COP31) to be held in Antalya in November 2026, and the Marmara Urban Forum (MARUF) organized biennially by the MMU.

The visit was highly productive for our students, providing them with the opportunity to observe local governments' environmental and sustainability policies on-site and gain practical insights into the field.

We would like to extend our sincere gratitude to the officials of the Marmara Municipalities Union for their warm hospitality and for sharing their invaluable expertise with our students.