An international congress on “International City Councils and Cities Congress” will be organized in Istanbul during April 14-15, 2016 by Istanbul Aydin University Center for Studies on Turkey and UNESCO Chair on Cultural Diplomacy, Governance and Education. The papers can be presented either in Turkish or in English. 

The aim of the Congress is to discuss the role of city councils in academia and society in general. International researchers, academicians, non-governmental organizations, members and administrators of institutions who study city councils and cities, and the stake holders of local governments and city councils will present their projects and other studies, bulletin, research papers on city councils and cities.   

This congress provides an opportunity to discuss priority issues on these subjects and aims to provide a space to develop a better understanding of the city council. The aim of the Congress is to assess the quarter of a century history, current status and predictions of city council.

There will be two platforms in the Congress: academic and thematic. The aim of the thematic platform is to get academicians, public administrator and representatives of other council come together to discuss their problem proposals and share these with the public. Subjects headings academic and/or thematic planned to be presented in the Congress have been given below.

ACADEMIC SUBJECT HEADINGS

  1. Local Democracy and City Councils
  2. Functionality and Sustainability of City Councils
  3. City Councils and Assemblies (Women, Youth, Disabled and Children Assembly)
  4. Citizenship and Urban Consciousness
  5. Relation Between City Councils and Civil Society
  6. City Councils and Reputation Brand? Management

TEMATIC SUBJECT HEADINGS OF CITY COUNCIL WORKSHOP

  • SESSION 1: CITIZEN RIGHTS “CITY IS THE FREEDOM!”  / What have been done till today and what can we do next to increase the ability of  city councils to make Projects  which  strengthen urban life and increase the relevance with universal standards?
  • SESSION 2: URBAN ISSUES AND SOLUTIONS “OVERCOME IT!” / What is the best solutions that city councils to provide to the problems of poverty, unemployment, substance dependence, refugee and other human problems that spill out into the streets? Best implementation examples and requirements?
  • SESSION 3: GREEN DEVELOPMENT “LOVE THE NATURE, PROTECT YOUR ENVIRONMENT!” / What is the expectation and roles of city council about the human, nature and technology can live together and applications that measures problems?
  • SESSION 4: POSSIBLE RISKS IN THE URBAN SETTING AND THE CRISIS MANAGEMENT “BE READY TO EVERY POSSIBILITY!” / What is the role of city council for disaster and accidents especially preparation against earthquakes? What is the capacity in the face of disaster?
  • SESSION 5: URBAN INTEGRATION OF DISADVANTAGEOUS GROUP “RESIST TO BECOME ENSTRANGED”What stage is it the capacity of the city council for women, youth, children, disabled, pensioners, rural-to-urban migrants to urban life integration?
  • SESSION 6: GOOD GOVERNANCE IN THE CITY“LOVE GOOD GOVERNANCE AND WANT IT!” / Good governance, mutual accountability requires the involvement of all the party decisions and practices within the public perspective and contains many elements like law and economics. How can we love good governance? How can we discuss important issues such as urban renewal?

TERMS AND CONDITIONS OF PARTICIPATION

Submission of Abstract and Evaluation

The Congress is open to all native and foreign academicians and researchers involved with the subject matter. Participants should send approximately 250 to 300-word research paper proposals, which should detail goal, method, sources used and possible findings, as an e-mail attachment to citycouncilscongress[at]aydin.edu.tr no later than January 08th, 2016. Submitted proposals will be evaluated by the Scientific Advisory Board and Organization Committee Members who will take into account the terms of the Congress, compliance with scientific conditions and the originality of the study. Committee members will conclude their evaluation as: approved / to be revised / rejected. The authors of the approved papers will be notified on January 22nd, 2016. 

Full Paper Submission and Evaluation

The full version of the selected work must be proofread and submitted to the address citycouncilscongress[at]aydin.edu.tr as an attachment in Word format by March 11th, 2016. The full papers will be examined by the Organization Committee for compliance with the abstract and scientific conditions, and be included within the Congress Program. Final program of the Congressed will be announced on April 01st, 2016.

FULL PAPER FORMAT

  1. The heading of the study must be written in bold, using capital letters; the text alignment should be central and the name of the author should be placed just below, to the right. The academic title, institute and e-mail should be given in an unnumbered footnote at the bottom of the page.
  2. Following the heading and name, the Turkish and English abstracts should be written in size 10pt, each consisting of no more than 300 words. The English abstract should also include the heading in the English-language.
  3. The typeface should be Times New Roman, in size 12pt. Tables, footnote and references should be relayed in size 10pt.
  4. The study should be written in M. Word program, blocked according to an A4 paper size. Margins should consist of 2,5cm while the header and footer should be 1,25cm.
  5. There must be spacing between paragraphs. The indent: 0 cm, 6pt space-before: 6pt space-after, using single line spacing.
  6. Concerning references, the surname of the author, date of publication and page number should be given in this order in brackets as in the following example: (Çaycı, 2002: 520). If referenced in a footnote, however, should be expressed in a sequence following the name and surname of the author, the book title (in bold, articles expressed in quotation marks and italic), the publishing house, place of publication and page number. The sources used should be presented as mentioned in the footnote, in alphabetical order according to surname at the end of the article.
  7. Tables and graphics need to be individually numbered, giving their source directly beneath the table or graphic in size 10pt.
  8. Original documents, pictures (photos, images, etc.), maps which are not directly relevant to the study should not be presented within the article body but should be numbered and attached at the end of it. High-resolution images should be saved on a CD and submitted separately.
  9. The papers should consist approximately between 10 to 20 pages.
  10. The papers should be either Turkish or English

Registration Fee: For who will present paper, it is required both to fill in the application form and pay the registration fee of 50.- US Dollars or 100.- Turkish Lira. Participation in sessions are free, but it is required to fill out the application form