WACA (WORLD ADMINISTRATIVE CITIES ASSOCIATION) - 세계행정도시연합

After the World Administrative Cities Forum held in Sejong, the administrative capital of the Republic of Korea, in 2017, we as the members of the World Administrative Cities Association and the participant cities of the Inaugural General Assembly, gathered in Ankara on 5 September 2018, on the occasion of establishing World Administrative Cities Association with the predetermined theme; “Urban Regeneration Projects”, Smart Cities” and “Best Practices of the Administrative Cities”.

The Statute of the World Administrative Cities Association and accordingly, the members of the Executive Committee and the General Assembly were determined; Ankara city is elected unanimously for the 2018-2020 Term Presidency of the Association. The city which is going to host the 2nd General Assembly which will be held in 2020 is going to be determined in the upcoming Executive Committee Meeting. What’s more, in the Inaugural General Assembly, Tehran, Mogadishu, Niamey, Maputo, Sarajevo and Nicosia cities have made an application to be a member of the Association. Also, the decision in regard to their membership is going to be discussed and ratified in the upcoming Executive Committee meeting.

The issue of urban regeneration, one of the permanent solution methods for rapid population growth and settlement problems which are considered as the most challenging problems of cities today, was discussed thoroughly; especially the need to address these projects more human-focused and produce solutions that prioritize the common mind with the active participation of the citizens, was affirmed.

In this age of information, the concept of smart city is a rising value in the city agenda, so within this respect, the positive contribution of the application of information technologies to almost all areas of city services for the improvement of the city’s welfare and living standards, and its possible consequences were emphasized.

Accordingly, we, as the participants of this meeting, have agreed on the following issues;

• 1Adopting the slogan “More Livable Administrative Cities and Capitals”.
• 2Attaching importance to sustainable, environmentally friendly, innovative technologies in cities and new administrative units should be created accordingly.
• 3Accepting the smart city applications as a strategic approach, not only to administrate our cities in an innovative way, but also to solve fundamental problems such as poverty, gender gap, inequality, energy management and employment.
• 4Formation of a process to improve the sustainable growth and the quality of life engaged with the information communication technologies prioritizing human and society. Within this respect, special importance should be attached to protection of private life and personal data.
• 5Believing that the areas which lack providing basic humanitarian needs and social requirements in cities, should be redesigned with urban regeneration methods.
• 6Emphasizing the importance to consider of all the aspects together such as protection, sustainability, productivity, planning of protective and preventive measures in times of catastrophe when the regeneration projects are carried out.
• 7Ameliorating the legal, administrational and organizational structures for the implementation of urban regeneration projects; also central governments, local administrations and all the city stakeholders should work coordinately within the framework of the new urban planning principles agreed on the UN Humanitarian Settlement Global Report.
• 8Affirming to preserve the historical assets in the areas of urban regeneration is an indispensable element for the inheritance of cultural heritage to future generations.
• 9As members of the World Administrative Cities Association and participant cities, we should share our experiences with other cities and conduct studies to enhance cooperation between members.

In consideration of the above mentioned, we hereby declare that we will support all kinds of initiatives launched by the World Administrative Cities Association (WACA) in order to achieve the aforementioned objectives with common understanding and cooperation.

05.09.2018, Ankara