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28
August
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IEF invitation from Mayor Soyer to Turkey |
Izmir Metropolitan Municipality Mayor Tunç Soyer invited all of Turkey for the Izmir International Fair, which will be held for the 92nd time this year with the "Youth Theme" between 1-10 September. Mayor Soyer said that in a climate of growing disappointments, they organized a giant 10-day organization to help people embrace each other and raise their hopes for the future.
Izmir Metropolitan Municipality Mayor Tunç Soyer participated in Fox TV's Çalar Saat program and answered questions about the agenda live. Evaluating the poverty environment created by the economic crisis in Turkey, Metropolitan Mayor Soyer gave information about the work carried out in Izmir. Stating that steps have been taken to address the housing problem and dormitory needs of university students, Mayos Soyer also made statements about the climate crisis and efforts to support agriculture. Mayor Soyer also called for Turkey to participate in the 92nd Izmir International Fair (IEF), which will open on September 1 this year with the 'Youth Theme'. Mayor Soyer added that the giant organization, which will keep its doors open to guests between 1-10 September, will again introduce many innovations.
Invitation to all over Turkey: 10 days will pass in full
Mayor Soyer, who made a call about the IEF, which has become the symbol of the city and has been organized for nearly a century, said, “We will open it on September 1. In a climate where disappointments grow, we are organizing a 10-day giant organization to increase the joy of people, to fulfill their pleasure, to embrace each other and to increase their hopes for the future. 26 big concerts will take place. This year, the fair will be held with the theme of youth. It will also host many innovations. It is an organization we provide in order to alleviate the distressing situation our people are in, even for a little bit, to make them smile, to be more informed and to have more fun. The program will be full for 10 days. We invite young people from all over Turkey.”.
“In 2026, we will bring together the youth of Europe with the youth of Izmir”
“Why youth theme?” Answering the question, Mayor Soyer said, “There are two main reasons. First; The Republic is completing its 100th year and we are starting its second century. At the starting point, we thought that we should enter a new century under the leadership of the youth, just as Atatürk entrusted to the youth. We organize many organizations that highlight the youth and enable them to be inspired by each other, have fun and be informed. A second reason is; Izmir is a candidate to be the 2026 European Youth Capital. 5 cities left for the final. One of those cities is Izmir. In 2026, we will bring together the youth of Europe with the youth of Izmir, and host the youth of Europe for 1 year. We wanted to prepare for it already.”.
“We are going to the tender for the construction of a giant dormitory with 820 beds”
Referring to the housing problem faced by university students, Mayor Soyer said, “This year, we are going out to tender for the construction of a giant dormitory with 820 beds. Apart from this, there are many dormitories we have opened with the resources of the Izmir Metropolitan Municipality, as well as the dormitories we have opened with various donors. We will lay the foundation for another one in September. What we do is little. Whatever we do is not enough. The number of university students in İzmir reached around 180-190 thousand. Unfortunately, the existing dormitories have a capacity that cannot meet one sixth of this figure. Much more is needed. The housing crisis is at its peak. Unfortunately, the 3 cities in the world where the highest increase in housing prices are experienced are from Turkey and one of them is İzmir. It seems that the housing problem will increase more in the coming days. We are making all our preparations to solve this problem. This economic crisis is not just about housing. It is about children's food, stationery expenses, young people's benefit from social and cultural activities. There is a great deal of constriction and distress in all matters. While our young people are studying, all these grievances are multiplying," he said.
“We consume the most water in agriculture”
Answering the question about the climate crisis and the fight against drought, Mayor Soyer said, “Humanity is facing a huge crisis: the global climate crisis affects not only our geography, but the whole world. We live on a sick planet now. In various districts of İzmir, our producers cannot find water at 250 meters. The disaster we are facing is not a disaster that we can say has rained little this year. A very deep disaster. The fact that underground resources have been withdrawn so much will make us pay a huge price. We investigated the origins of this water consumption. We investigated where we consume a lot of water and what we should do to reduce it. We use 77 of every 100 units of water we consume for agricultural production. The remaining 10 units are domestic consumption and 13% industrial consumption. First of all, we need to think about agricultural production," he said.
“Karakılçık reached 12 thousand acres”
Mayor Soyer said, “We say that we need to return to local seeds, heirloom seeds and local animal breeds. Karakılçık wheat was on the verge of extinction due to hybrid seeds. We have been fighting for about 10 years since Seferihisar. After the base price announced as 8.25 lira, we bought it from our manufacturer for 16 lira. It has now turned into a product planted all over Izmir. The story of karakılçık, which started with a handful, has reached 12 thousand acres today. "This is a type of seed that requires much less water, is much more durable, and is much healthier," he said.
“This factory is a castle”
Stating that the works carried out within the scope of the Another Agriculture is Possible project fight against both drought and poverty, Mayor Soyer said, “We have promoted small cattle breeding instead of cattle breeding, which consumes a lot of water in animal husbandry. To encourage this, we started to buy goat's milk for 17 liras and sheep's milk for 21 liras and established a factory that processes 100 tons of milk per day. This factory is actually a castle. It ensures that all milk prices are regulated. This whole story not only increases the savings in water, but also makes the producers smile, and ensures that products are more compatible with the fertility of these lands. It ensures that the small producer is satiated in the place where he was born. We have adapted two more things to this in the fight against drought. We have ensured that the wastewater we process at Bayındır Hasköy Treatment Plant is used in agriculture. We give cubic meters to producers for 1 cent. The second is the Sungerkent application. Half of İzmir's water comes from Tahtalı Dam. We can get much more of the water coming from Tahtalı Dam from the roofs.”.
“We do public transport and pay excise duty”
Explaining the difficulties experienced by local governments during the economic crisis, Mayor Soyer stated that each hike in fuel aggravates the transportation costs and said, “Turkey is the place of fire and we, the municipalities, have their share of this fire. We charge 13 lira full fee (adults) and 5 lira student fee for public transportation. Under normal conditions, the cost of a passenger is 41 lira. In other words, we lose 27.5 lira for each passenger we carry. This is not sustainable. All municipalities are under similar conditions, and this is a situation that creates a huge economic distress in the coffers of metropolitan municipalities. There is something very simple to do. That is the removal of SCT from diesel fuel. An Arab sheikh comes to the port with his yacht, fills it with diesel and does not pay a penny of SCT. We provide completely public transportation and pay Special Consumption Tax. Therefore, SCT should be abolished on transportation services provided by municipalities,” he said.
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