SUMP Türkiye Volunteers Meet With The Business World! Within the scope of the European Mobility Week, the partnerships of the projects that can be included in the “Permanent Projects” category have been shaped.

The third meeting of SUMP Türkiye volunteers, a communication campaign created for more efficient and sustainable communication under the “EU Support for promoting Sustainable Urban Mobility in Turkish Cities” Project (SUMP Türkiye), implemented under Sectoral Operational Programme for Transport (USOP) , was held on April 24, 2024 with the participation of business world, academics and relevant NGOs.

In his opening speech, Ertuğrul Şafak, Project and Finance Manager, Union of Municipalities of Turkey, emphasised the importance of creating synergies among the stakeholders of "SUMP Turkey Volunteers" and the importance of project collaborations in sustainable urban transport.

The Key Expert for Communication Activities of SUMP Türkiye Project and moderator of the meeting, Ms. Ayşe Sarp Gür, summarized the project's renewed communication strategy and approach. Within the communication strategy, Ms, Ayşe Sarp Gür reminded that 2024 was designated as the 'Usage' year for sustainable urban transportation vehicles within the new slogan 'Let’s Live the City Together,' theme of "Shared Public Spaces" for the European Mobility Week was determined, is the primary goal to realize easily implementable projects through stakeholders to increase citizens' usage of these vehicles.

Representatives of civil society organisations such as Intersection Network, Association of Cyclists, Enverçevko made presentations and projects that can be collaborated with companies through the SUMP Türkiye Volunteers Project were discussed.  In the continuation of the meeting, representatives from the business world took the floor and briefly talked about their projects. The founder of Full Charger Electric Charging Stations and E-mobility Association Director Osman Atama, emphasised the importance of electrification works within the scope of sustainability. Representatives of Borusan Otomotiv Business Excellence and E-PMO Unit talked about the activities carried out by Borusan Otomotiv to increase social awareness in the field of sustainable mobility and electrification and to change the usage practices of users. Hop Technology Corporate Development Leader Barış Arslan drew attention to the importance of electric vehicle scooters in transportation. Opet Sustainability Coordinator İrem Koçtaş Çalışır talked about the innovative steps taken by OPET within the scope of green energy and carbon neutral 2050 targets.

Three project proposals that could be quickly and easily developed to promote the increased preference for sustainable mobility among citizens were discussed. Kavşak Network introduced their projects: A contest and hackathon designed to encourage individuals to use public spaces more efficiently within the framework of the European Mobility Week, whose annual theme is “Shared Public Spaces” for 2024. 

President of Enverçevko and Assistant Professor at Muğla Sıtkı Koçman University, Feridun Ekmekçi presented “Bike 2 University” He discussed the reasons for encouraging bicycle usage as an active transportation model within the scope of sustainable urban mobility.

President of Türkiye Bikers Association, Murat Suyabatmaz presented the “Riding My Bike to My Work Place” Project. He emphasized the importance of bicycle usage as a mode of transportation in urban mobility. Consequently, this three projects developed by the NGOs were presented  to the business for potential collaborations.

Lastly, business world representatives expressed their willingness to improvement of existing projects and to develop new projects to promote sustainable mobility. Within the scope of the European Mobility Week, the partnerships of the projects that can be included in the “Permanent Projects” category have been shaped.

Additionally, it was noted that the SUMP Türkiye volunteers' online meetings will continue in May, targeting public enterprises. In these meetings, cooperation opportunities for existing proposals and new project proposals will be discussed and the meeting was closed.