Last Updated: Jun 20, 08:49 pm
Category: OpenCities Projects
On 24 March 2007, Open Cities was invited by the British Council in Ankara to speak at a conference in Izmir, Turkey’s third largest city. The conference explored the need for and early experience of regional development agencies in Turkey. Hosted by Yassar University, the conference was attended by state officials, local chambers of commerce, businesses and academics.
Marc Stephens, MD of Open Cities, spoke about the experience of the English Regional Development Agencies, drawing on 5 years of experience working in and with RDAs in England. Marc’s particular focus was inward investment and the role of RDAs in attracting and retaining foreign direct investment. Download a copy of the presentation in the downloads section of this website.
Open Cities has subsequently been invited to join a project funded by the Department for International Development that aims to provide capacity building services to the cities of Izmir and Adana in Turkey. The project has been temporarily delayed by a legal challenge in the Turkish courts.
