Basque lawyer Jonan Lekue was one of the international participants at the conference organized by GABB (Union of South Eastern Anatolia Region Municipalities) “Local Governments’ Meeting for Peacebuilding”.

The conference main aim was to underline and discuss the fact that it is vitally important for the local governments to sustain people-oriented development by stimulating local resources and dynamics and to create new channels for dialogue to discuss new models of governance within the peace building process.

"The conference was very interesting and issues were discussed very in depth. - says Lekue - I would say one of the most interesting things was to be given the opportunity to exchange and talk about the different experiences of so many different cities about conflict resolution at a local level".

Lekue also stressed that "it was also important to have the time and space to discuss and analyze the different ways of organizing and deepening democracy at local level. The participants - he adds - discussed about the meaning of direct democracy, the role of women, the role of local institutions in building peace and new forms of democracy".

The Basque lawyer also underlines that it was very impressive to listen to the delegation from Rojava (West Kurdistan). "They explained - he says - the revolution taking place in Rojava, something not appearing often in the news but really very interesting".

The conference addressed issues like: Changing Society – Changing Demands, The Role, Capacity and Authority of the Local Governments in the 21st century, Country Experiences and Resolution Processes, Resolution of the Regional Conflicts and the Role of the Local Government in Peacebuilding, Local Governments as Alternative Institutions in Fair, Social and Ecological Improvement in National and International Level.

 GABB

Union of Souteastern Anatolia Region Municipalities (GABB) is a regional union established by the municipalities located in Eastern and Southeastern Regions of Anatolia, Turkey. Today, with her 120 member municipalities 9 of which are in provincial level, GABB is the most active local administrations union in the region and, it provides support to member municipalities in the fields of capacity building and technical works.