ÇANKAYA HEALTHY CITIES PROJECT

Turkish Healthy Cities Association was established by cities that believed in the need for a formal platform, which would make it possible for cities with similar goals to improve and implement the Healthy Cities movement in Turkey could come together.

The Metropolitan Municipality of Bursa, which is the first city to become a member of WHO Healthy Cities Project from Turkey, has pioneered the establishment and development of the Healthy Cities Association in Turkey.

Activities for establishing Turkish Healthy Cities Association has started in 2003. The same year the Ministries of Internal Affairs and Health and interested cities in Turkey have established a commission for the preparation of the association’s constitution.

On February 20, 2004 a meeting was held with the Ministry of Health, the Governorship of Bursa, Bursa Provincial Directorate of Health, Bursa Metropolitan Municipality and the Municipalities of Tepebaşı, Bartın, and Yalova, which were members of Phase III. During this meeting suggestions concerning the constitution have been taken.

All the member cities of the National Network were called to become founding members of Turkish Healthy Cities Association. The councils of Yalova, Van, Kadıköy, Afyon, Tepebaşı, Çankaya, Ürgüp, Ordu, Kırıkkale and Bursa have taken decisions expressing their intention to join the association as founding members.

The establishment of the Healthy Cities Association was formally completed after the news related with its establishment was published in the official gazette on December 22, 2004. The establishment procedure of the Turkish Healthy Cities Association was completed with the first meeting on February 3, 2005 in Bursa.

Çankaya Municipality has taken an important step towards an effective and functional participation in Healthy Cities Association meetings and the process of dealing with Union by taking the Municipal Council Decision dated 07.04.2006 and numbered 330.

Our council has been represented in Turkish Healthy Cities Association bodies in different periods, and we have participated in the organized conferences with scientific papers reflecting our Municipality’s works.

Our project, Responsibility of Local Governments on Vocational and Social Rehabilitation of Mentally Disabled Individuals “Çengel Cafe Practice” won award in Izmir Conference held in 2007.

(http://www.skb.org.tr/wp-content/uploads/2012/09/ÇENGEL-CAFE-UYGULAMASI.pdf)

Our Municipality received "Best Practice Award" with our "ÇAÇOY (Çankaya Wooden Toy Atelier) Project" from Turkey Healthy Cities Association in 2012.

(http://www.skb.org.tr/wp-content/uploads/2012/09/Çankaya-Belediyesi-Ahşap-Çocuk-Oyuncakları-Atölyesi.pdf)

Our municipality won the Special Jury Prize with our "Natural-Biological Pond / Çansera Park" project held in Healthy Cities Association’s Best Project Contest in 2015 and also won an award in the Healthy Cities Best Practice Award Contest in 2016 by our "Integration of street collectors into the system" Project.

(http://www.skb.org.tr/2015-saglikli-sehirler-en-iyi-uygulama-odulleri-sahiplerini-buldu-2-s13550k/)

HISTORIC PERSPECTIVE OF ÇANKAYA MUNICIPALITY ON HEALTHY CITIES PROJECT

Çankaya Municipality has begun works related on Healthy Cities project under Mayor Mr. Doğan TAŞDELEN’ s period in 1994 due to his establishment of bilateral relations with Ankara Office of the United Nations World Health Organization.

On the basis of being involved in this project, the adoption of "Health for All" principles and the implementation of these principles in Çankaya Municipality have been building block. The accession process has been enacted of Çankaya Municipality to the Healthy Cities Project by the decision taken by the Municipal Council dated 09.09.1994 and numbered 268.

The new period that started in 18th of April 1999. Çankaya Municipality has spent effort in order to implement the Project by attempting to consider the "Healthy City" concept, and in this connection Çankaya Municipality made an application for the 3rd Period of the Healthy Cities Project as per its Council’s decision dated 03.08.2001 and numbered 178.

Çankaya District Cooperation Certificate that is requested by the WHO was issued and approved by the Subgovernorship, universities, and several other non-governmental institutions including the professional chambers and organizations and the Application Basis and Principles Works of the Çankaya Urban Health Plan was finally completed.

Çankaya Healthy City project was started to take shape by a participating and scientific understanding in order to acquire a healthy and livable urban context and also for an urbanization process that is respectful to environmental values.

Starting from January 2002, a new and more functional organization has been initiated for the Çankaya Healthy Cities Project. In line with the remarks of the Project National Networks Coordinator that reports to the Ministry of Health the "Çankaya Healthy Cities Project Office" and it started to its investigations.

The National Network Coordination duty of the Healthy Cities Project in Turkey is currently carried out by the General Directorate of the Basic Health Services that reports to the Ministry of Health. Already, totally 5 cities have made their application for membership process to the Healthy Cities Project Network in addition to Bursa that had completed its said process.

Çankaya Municipality has come to the completion phase to the membership acquisition procedure and it is in the level of preparing the City Health Profile and Urban Health Indicators and to submit to the evaluation of related organizations / institutions.

Under the light of the health indicators that are prepared Çankaya Urban Health Development Plan shall be brought to the implementation level through the contributions of the universities, chambers of professions, associations, and foundation and citizen initiatives on the basis of democratic participation of such institutions.

Çankaya, where the central government of Turkey is located and the processes in national and international context are reflected is the most important district of the capital Ankara. The region where Çankaya Municipality renders service is a focal point where the business and actions that are maintained throughout the entire urban center of Ankara are concentrated.

Çankaya is the capital of culture, science, art and sport. All these factors require that Çankaya Municipality should undertake a pioneer role for initiation and implementation of such said processing in national scale.

Çankaya Municipality is one of the important urban environments where the international relations and projects, the information and experience exchange and sharing, where the local is met with the universal and thereby become enriched. These unique features make implementation of the Healthy Cities Project and the "Health for All" principle that comprises to the basic philosophy of this approach further meaningful.

The need for restructuring and reorganization in order to solve the problems and the understanding for a participative local government as for the decision making processes of the community are important. To determine and alleviate the environmental problems in our urban centers and to plan the urban infrastructure and health investments by seeking to maintain and improve the health conditions of the citizens, particularly the creation of a nature friendly urban system appear as the requirements of the socially oriented municipality understanding.

Çankaya Municipality Healthy Cities Project, as a new success of the "Çankaya being the enlightened face of Ankara" shall open a unique pace in the history of the local governments in Turkey. Starting from the principles of "Humans, health and a healthy living space are the first priorities" Çankaya Municipality is determined and dedicated to create a healthy urban center and a healthy living space enabling to raise healthy future generations.

Çankaya Municipality has been one of the leading municipalities as being membered from Turkey in 2004 to "Healthy Cities Project" under the coordination of the period of The World Health Organization (WHO) Regional Office for Europe. The policies, principles and programs that WHO determines are being implemented in our municipality as "Social Munipalism" applications under Çankaya Healthy Cities Project.

ÇANKAYA MUNICIPALITY CHRONOLOGY OF WHO EUROPEAN HEALTHY CITIES NETWORK

09.09.1994 Beginning of the project participation process with the decision of Çankaya Municipal Committee.

2000 A delegation from Çankaya Municipality participated in the "Healthy Cities" meeting held in Horsens, Denmark.

February 2002 The establishment of Çankaya Healthy Cities Project Office and the appointment of SKP (Healty Cities Project) Project Coordinator.

August 2002 Preparation and publication of Çankaya Healthy Cities Indicators City Health Profile and the City Health Development Plan.

September 2002 A delegation from Çankaya Municipality participated in the "Healthy Cities" meeting held in Rijeka, Croatia and Çankaya Municipality becomes a member of the World Health Organization (WHO) European Healthy Cities Network.

22.12.2004 Cankaya Municipality becomes a member of Turkish Healthy Cities Association.

2004 - 2009 Execution of studies in line with the determined programmes and principles of WHO Healthy Cities Project Phase IV.

2009 Çankaya Municipality becomes the first municipality as a member from Turkey to the period called Phase V in WHO Healthy Cities Project.

2009 - 2013 Execution of studies in line with the programs and principles determined in Phase V of WHO Healthy Cities Project

21.12.2015 Çankaya Municipality joined to Phase VI of WHO Healthy Cities Project.

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