Mayor Altay: We Are Working to Raise a Generation That Will Shape Our Country’s Future

Konya Metropolitan Mayor Uğur İbrahim Altay attended the “University Meetings” program organized by the Metropolitan Municipality Youth Assembly at the Faculty of Engineering of Necmettin Erbakan University (NEU).

Speaking at the event held in the Conference Hall of the NEU Faculty of Engineering, NEU Rector Prof. Dr. Cem Zorlu said that the Konya Metropolitan Municipality and district municipalities contribute to every aspect of the city, stating, “Education, culture, art—whatever it may be, they are involved in everything. They also do everything in terms of social municipal services. We are truly grateful for this. Whatever we request, they fulfill it. We thank them very much.”

Konya Metropolitan Mayor Uğur İbrahim Altay expressed his sincere thanks to Rector Prof. Dr. Zorlu for his contributions to the university and stated that they hope the new university campus will be completed as soon as possible.

Noting that the biggest challenge in the newly developing area is transportation, Mayor Altay stated that they are making great efforts to introduce a rail system to the region. He said, “We are working on a metro project that starts from Necmettin Erbakan University, goes to Alaaddin, continues from Alaaddin to Selçuk University and Konya Technical University, and also has a station in the Bosna Hersek neighborhood, allowing students living in dormitories there to reach the universities on a single line. Its budget is 1.8 billion euros, which is around 60–65 billion Turkish lira. Hopefully, it will be realized as soon as possible.”

Mayor Altay, noting that there are 130,000 university students across Konya’s five universities, said, “Our universities contribute significantly to Konya’s human resources. If we were to ask our professors, many of them came from different cities to complete their education, yet they are producing knowledge and wisdom here in Konya. Some of you will also stay in Konya, contributing to the city’s human resources. That is why, as people of Konya, we are very happy to host you and to see you continuing your education here.”

Mayor Altay, explaining that they strive to make Konya one of the cities with the most affordable public transportation, said, “You probably realize that we provide some of the cheapest transportation in Turkey.” He also spoke about efforts to uncover historical structures in the city center, stating, “Think about it—Konya served as a capital for 200 years, yet there isn’t even a meter of surviving city walls you can see. The Inner Wall was around Alaaddin Hill, and Konya’s outer walls were nearly one and a half to two kilometers beyond that. Unfortunately, they have not survived, but we are currently making significant efforts to restore and reveal these structures.”

Mayor Altay spoke about the Metropolitan Municipality’s initiatives for young people, including the Young Culture Card, the Youth Assembly, the Capsule Technology Platform, the Social Innovation Agency operating in cooperation with NEU, the Division Program at the Atmosphere Youth Center, Kademe, the Career Support Center, and the Jerusalem Working Group, inviting young people to participate in these programs.

At the end of the program, Mayor Altay answered the students’ questions.