The Conference on Local Opportunities for a Green Future and Digital Transition held in Konya

Although the alignment with the European Union's (EU) Green Deal and digital transition policies has begun at the country level, it is noteworthy that we are entering a period in which local actors are producing joint solutions to common problems in regions with similar characteristics in different parts of the world by cooperating and benchmarking with one another.

The Conference on Local Opportunities for a Green Future and Digital Transition was organised to introduce funding opportunities provided mainly by the EU, together with those of national and international institutions, which play a critical role in implementing local projects prepared within this perspective. The conference brought together participants from Konya, Karaman and Aksaray, as well as neighbouring provinces.

The conference commenced with remarks by the Governor of Konya İbrahim Akın, the Mayor of Konya Metropolitan Municipality Uğur İbrahim Altay, the Mayor of Karatay Hasan Kılca, the Mayor of Selçuklu Ahmet Pekyatırmacı, Director General for Financial Cooperation and Project Implementation Bülent Özcan, and Secretary General of Mevlana Development Agency İhsan Bostancı.

The Conference, which aims to lay the groundwork for new collaborations and broaden information sharing among governorates, provincial directorates and agencies, municipalities, universities, civil society organizations, professional bodies, and the private sector, drew significant interest from attendees.

Throughout the conference, an exhibition area open to visitors featured stands presenting green and digital transition–themed projects previously completed or ongoing in the province of Konya.

The conference continued with a panel titled “EU Grants for a Green Future and Digital Transition,” with speakers from the Directorate for EU Affairs, the Ministry of Environment, Urbanization and Climate Change, and the Agriculture and Rural Development Support Institution. The panel session titled “Access to International Finance for Cities,” featured speakers from İlbank, the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD), the World Bank, the Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA), and the Konya Metropolitan Municipality.

In the afternoon sessions introducing the EU Programmes participated by Türkiye, potential beneficiaries received key information about Horizon Europe, Digital Europe, Erasmus+, and the Single Market Programme, along with tips on the application process. In these sessions, beneficiaries implementing EU-funded projects in Konya also shared their experiences.

The organization of the Conference was also supported by the Konya Chamber of Commerce, Konya Chamber of Industry, InnoPark, and Konya Teknokent.