Organization - B40 Balkan Cities Network

Organizational Structure and Working Principles

Approved Date: 09.02.2022

B40 Balkan Cities Network

B40 Balkan Cities Network is an intercity organization with a shared vision for a European future and the goal to improve and expand cooperation among cities of the Balkan region.

B40 Balkan Cities Network promotes establishing equal and effective partnership among member cities; hoping to share experiences and innovative solutions for decision-makers at the municipal level.

B40 Balkan Cities Network recognizes that the good governance requires resilient, democratic, transparent, and inclusive local governance based on data, science and a shared wisdom.

B40 Balkan Cities Network member cities underline the critical importance of the localization of the new urban agenda with a specific emphasis on the sustainable development goals.

B40 Balkan Cities Network Basic Principles

Equality

All cities that are members of the B40 Network have equal representation on voting rights.

Standing Against All Forms of Discrimination and Respect For Diversity

All member cities of the B40 Network act within the framework of universal rules of respect, and reject any form of discriminatory action.

Solidarity and Cooperation in Addressing Global Challenges

All member cities of the B40 Network act in solidarity and cooperation in the fight against global problems, especially climate change.

B40 Balkan Cities Network Organizational Structure

Rotating B40 Network Presidency

The B40 Network will have a rotating city and its mayor acting as the president each year.

The city that will take the position of the presidency is chosen from among the candidate cities in the elections to be held at the summit to be held once a year.

All Mayors from the member cities are eligible to become a candidate for Presidency. B40 Network Presidency cannot be assumed for two terms consecutively.

The city, which is elected to hold the B40 Network Presidency also hosts the annual summit and will be responsible for the coordination and organization of the annual summit. The city, which holds the Network Presidency carries out the Network Presidency on the year following the annual summit.

While the host city covers the accommodation and meal expenses of the visiting delegations of the member cities, the travel and other costs will be covered by the delegations themselves.

Duties and Responsibilities of the Term President are as follows:

Hosting the annual summit and carrying out necessary operational tasks
Coordinating the exchange of knowledge and experience between member cities of the B40 Network in order to promote dialogue and good neighborly relations throughout the term of presidency
Coordinating annual priorities with the permanent secretariat in order to determine the common actions and policies to be carried out by the members.
Representing B40 Network globally.

Permanent Secretariat

Istanbul Metropolitan Municipality (IMM) will act as the permanent secretariat to support the cities that will preside on an annual basis and to ensure the sustainability of the B40 Network.

The processes regarding the holistic functioning of the B40 Network will be under the responsibility of IMM; however, preparations for the yearly summit, monitoring and reporting will be carried out in coordination with the B40 Network term presidency, which will be elected annually.

The Permanent Secretariat will consist of a network secretary and at least two experts with good command of English.

The duties and the responsibilities of the Permanent Secretariat are as follows:

To share information about the institutional structure and experience of the B40 Network with the Term President of the B40 Network,
To support the B40 Network term presidency in organizing events and developing collaborations throughout the term,
To prepare the annual report with cooperation of B40 Term Presidency.
To manage the processes of the B40 Network, such as updating the website
To ensure the coordination of the B40 Network among the relevant units within the member cities.

Working Groups

Working Groups are the sub-units of the B40 Network on the technical areas that are related to the agenda of the Network.

The activities of the B40 Network throughout the year will be carried out by working groups.

The themes to be included in the agenda of the working groups may be temporary in line with periodic priorities, or permanent themes may be determined.

The working groups determined in line with the technical session topics envisaged during the establishment of the B40 Network and designed according to the priorities are as follows:

Local climate action
Local democracy and migration
Smart cities and digital transformation
Local economic cooperation

Working groups will meet via online sessions every 3 months. Sessions may be held in more frequent periods upon request of B40 Network member cities.

A new working group can be created, following an agreement between the Network Presidency and the Permanent Secretariat.

Success Indicators and Motivation Factors

The targets that the B40 Network wishes to achieve throughout the year will be determined at the meetings to be held at the beginning of the term.

Accordingly, an annual report will be prepared by the B40 Permanent Secretariat at the end of the period.

Membership Terms and Method

Cities that participated in the first summit held in Istanbul on 29-30 November 2021 are considered to be the founding members of the B40 Network.

The B40 Network is also open to other Balkan cities. Balkan cities become members by attending B40 Network summits.

Also, cities that want to be included in the B40 Network will be able to submit their membership requests to the secretariat via a form on the website.

No membership fee is proposed for membership in the B40 Network.

Although the decisions to be taken by the B40 Network are not binding on the member cities, it is accepted that the member cities of the B40 Network are willing to implement the recommendations to be offered.

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