AVCILAR

The Mediterranean region, including Türkiye, is among the most vulnerable and at-risk regions against the impacts of climate change. Today, minimising the vulnerabilities created by the climate crisis and creating cities compatible with the climate crisis are among the important duties of local governments. Avcılar is a district located in the west of Istanbul. It has a population of 452,132 and its demographic structure is mainly shaped by human displacement.

The Avcılar Eco-Sci Project, upon which this Local4Action HUB is based, started out with surveying the local population’s knowledge of the climate crisis. Its research highlighted that there was a low awareness rate regarding how to address issues related to climate change. Thus, the Project aimed to reach potential entrepreneurs living in Avcılar and İstanbul who were not yet involved in the process of adapting to climate change or taking measures against the climate crisis and to transform their ideas and the content they create into concrete initiatives.

The Local4Action HUB Avcılar scales up the impact of the Eco-Sci Project, running local training programs and design marathons for social entrepreneurs, connecting them to global agendas, and forming a Social Entrepreneurs Network around the Local4Action HUB Avcılar Eko-Bil. 

Participants will be able to establish a direct relationship with the local government and be integrated directly into policy-making oriented participatory  processes. 

Social enterprises established within the Local4Action HUB will be invited to participate in conferences and meetings on topics related to such as social entrepreneurship, climate-related initiatives, and global policy fora, hence bringing local action at the global regional and global level.

Local4Action HUB Eko-Bil is aimed to be completed in four cycles within a 2-year period.

Expected outcomes

• Organization of workshops for community members on climate crisis awareness raising and social entrepreneurship
• Ideas marathon for participants having followed the entire workshop cycle to foster co-creation for project development
• Promote exchanges between social entrepreneurs and investors 
• Multi-language publication of a promotional booklet with all the social enterprises at the commercialization stage that have completed the cycle of the Local4Action HUB and remaining pre-incubation processes

The Local4Action HUB Avcilar promotes awareness raising  among local populations about the climate crisis and its impacts, hands-on experience in adaptation actions, and support to turn this knowledge into social entrepreneurship.

Link to Agenda 2030

• SDG 4 – Ensure inclusive and equitable quality education and promote lifelong learning opportunities for all
• SDG 8 – Promote sustained, inclusive and sustainable economic growth, full and productive employment and decent work for all
• SDG 9 – Build resilient infrastructure, promote inclusive and sustainable industrialization and foster innovation
• SDG 11 – Make cities and human settlements inclusive, safe, resilient and sustainable
• SDG 12 – Ensure sustainable consumption and production pattern
• SDG 13 – Take urgent action to combat climate change and its impacts (acknowledging that the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change is the primary international, intergovernmental forum for negotiating the global response to climate change)
• SDG17 – Strengthen the means of implementation and revitalize the Global Partnership for Sustainable Development

Link to the Pact for the Future of Humanity

• Commitment for People
  • C10 – Respect for planetary health and the well-being of future generations

• Commitment for Planet
  • C4 – Empower local communities to play a central role in protecting biodiversity, water, the environment and the planet and recreate local employment
  • C10 – Identify mechanisms to redress the historically uneven distribution of environmental benefits and burdens and co-create resilience systems.

• Commitment for Government
  • C5 – Involve the scientific-community, civil society and local communities in the process of policy and decision making

Link to other Global Agendas

• The Paris Climate Agreement

Coming soon

Coming soon

For further information please contact:

• Avcılar Municipality Directorate of Strategy Development, Ö. Deniz Ayaroğlu, Social Entrepreneurship Department Manager – deniz.ayaroglu@avcilar.bel.tr and Işılay Beste Bayrak, Permaculture Department Manager – beste.bayrak@avcilar.bel.tr
• Local4Action HUBs Program – local4actionhubs@uclg.org