ABTTF takes part at the HABITAT World Urban Forum

The federation of Turks of Western Thrace in Europe (ABTTF)takes part at the World Urban Forum of the UN-Organisation HABITAT, which takes place in Barcelona in September.

UN-HABITAT, the UN-Organisation for the support of socially and ecologically sustainable towns and settlements, organises this second World Urban Forum from 13th to 17th of September in the Spanish city Barcelona. This time a delegation of the federation of the Turks of Western Thrace in Europe will participate at the various conferences which deal with the main question: ”cities-point of intersection of cultures, participation and integration?”

In particular the following topics will be discussed: „urban cultures“, „urban realities“, „urban renaissance“, „urban administration“, “urban poverty”, “resources of the city”, “sustainability in the city”, ”urban services”, “urban catastrophes.”

The federation of the Turks of Western Thrace in Europe will present their situation at the conferences regarding urban culture, urban infrastructure, urban administration and environmental awareness. As already known, the regions in which our minority lives belongs to the most underdeveloped regions in the European Union. Therefore the opportunity should be taken to present the social and cultural problems of the Turks of Western Thrace especially in the urban sector and in order to exchange information and approaches for solutions.

The main problems of the most important settlement areas of the Turkish minority are for instance the insufficient infrastructure, the sector of nursery school education which is completely neglected, the lack of education, problems concerning the citizens` participation at the local government and an underdeveloped sense of environmental awareness in the minds of our minority. Organisations which show the way to this direction will take the first step in order to reinforce the consciousness for education, political participation and environmental topics by means of activities in the educational sector of the Turkish citizens of Western Thrace.