Izmir Metropolitan Municipality designs projects for sustainably accelerating development of local cultures and it hosted culture directors and specialists coming from Buenos Aires, Lisbon, Barcelona and Liverpool and several other cities.

The European representatives were briefed about the culture-art and social projects carried out by the Metropolitan Municipality and culture venues.

The meeting of “Pilot Cities” started at the Havagazı Factory Youth Center with a presentation about a voluntary youth project; Brother-Sister Project. Then, the participants were briefed about the Mediterranean Academy, Pilot City Izmir Projects, Culture Lab Izmir Project, Izmir Culture Platform Initiative, Izmir History Project, Agora Communal Life Workshop, TARKEM, Izmir Metropolitan Municipality Rural Development Policies and Occupational Factory trainings.  

The visiting delegation visited floating library on the ferry sailing between Üçkuyular – Bostanlı, Port Izmir-3 Trianel Exhibition, Arkas Art Center, Izmir Historical Project site, Smyrna Agora Excavation House, Mediterranean Academy, Ahmet Piriştina City Archive and Museum, Disabled Awareness Center, Urla Design Library, 360-Degree Research Group’s Outdoor Workshop and Köstem Olive Oil Museum during this 3-day visit, and attended two seminars on “Cities and Cultural Networks” and “Cultural and Social Inclusiveness”.
In 2015, Izmir Metropolitan Municipality attended “Culture in Sustainable Cities: Learning with Culture 21 Actions in Europe, European Pilot Cities 2015-2017 Program” at the meeting organized by United Cities and Local Governments Organization (UCLG) that was held in Spain, Bilbao. Izmir was the only Turkish city attending the 2.5-year program that is carried on by the United Cities and Local Governments (UCLG) Culture Committee of the United Nations and Culture Action Europe (CAE).