The first workshop of the project, in cooperation with GIZ, TEPAV, and the Gaziantep Metropolitan Municipality was held virtually on November 9-10.

Within the scope of the PEP - Promotion of Economic Prospects Programme financed by the German Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ), the negotiated preference workshop, “Gaziantep Discusses its Future: Public-Private Sector Dialogue and Vision Determination in Gaziantep”, part of an overall project to determine where Gaziantep wants to be situated during and after the COVID-19 pandemic recovery period was carried out virtually on November 9-10, 2021, with the cooperation of Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ) GmbH, TEPAV, and Gaziantep Metropolitan Municipality.

The workshop, which uses “Public-Private Sector Dialogue” as a tool, aims to discuss the necessary policies for the rapid recovery of Gaziantep’s economy both during and after COVID-19. Participants from NGOs, public institutions, the private sector, and academia interactively expressed their ideas and solutions for Gaziantep’s future through live voting, instant breakout discussions, and simultaneous thematic discussion sessions.

The first day of the two-day workshop began with an informational presentation made by TEPAV’s Sibel Güven on the purpose and flow of the program. Following this, GIZ-PEP Programme Manager Alberto Vega-Exposito delivered his keynote speech. Vega-Exposito thanked stakeholders and participants for the workshop, which was prepared with great effort, and wished that the program encompassing public-private sector dialogue would contribute to Gaziantep's socio-economic development. Afterward, in her opening remarks, Gaziantep Metropolitan Mayor, Fatma Sahin, mentioned the projects carried out by the municipality and underlined the importance of public-private sector cooperation for Gaziantep’s economy. Last but not least, Gaziantep’s governor, Davut Gül, in his opening remarks, emphasized the key role education plays for the development of Gaziantep and wished that this workshop would contribute to the process.

The workshop continued with an interactive presentation by TEPAV’s Güven Sak titled, "What kind of Gaziantep do you want your grandchildren to live in?" In light of current social and economic trends, Gaziantep's current situation was evaluated under the topics of industry, trade, education, population, and migration. Sak, underlining that after Turkey signs the Paris Agreement we now need to talk about the future of Gaziantep, also mentioned the importance of climate change and digital and green transformation that will take place after the pandemic.

The presentation, incorporating data-driven analysis, was interactively conducted with 17 questions answered with live voting and three discussion questions. Questions on (i) reasons for Gaziantep’s emigration, (ii) areas to focus on for the future of Gaziantep, and (iii) the impact of Syrians on Gaziantep's economy was discussed in four sub-sessions held simultaneously to increase participation.

The second day of the workshop began with an evaluation presentation delivered by Güven Sak on the previous day’s voting and discussion results. In his presentation, Sak further noted the need for Gaziantep to evaluate the advantages such as its youthful population and industrial infrastructure, the importance of the city’s inclusion into the global value chain in the post-pandemic period. Following the presentation, the workshop continued with simultaneous thematic discussions in three sub-sessions.

With the participants divided into “Manufacturing”, “Social Life”, and “Agriculture and Food Industry” sub-sessions, TEPAV’s Şenay Akyıldız, Sibel Güven, and Murat Kenanoğlu gave brief informational presentations on the given topics and moderated the discussions where participants, encouraged by discussion questions, had the opportunity to voice their opinions and suggestions. Highlights from the discussions held during the sub-group meetings were shared with all guests in the final main session by representatives selected by the participants of each sub-session.

The workshop concluded with closing and evaluation remarks given by GIZ-PEP Public Sector Capacity Development Advisor, Ceren Gökçe, and TEPAV’s Güven Sak, Sibel Güven, and Şenay Akyıldız.