Mayor of Limerick to visit Turkey to attend WHO European Healthy Cities Annual Conference

THE Mayor of Limerick is to lead a delegation from Limerick City and County Council to Bursa, Turkey from June 16 to 18 to attend the World Health Organisation’s (WHO) European Healthy Cities Annual Conference.

It follows Limerick’s bid for accreditation to the WHO European Healthy Cities and Counties Network in 2024.

The Mayor will take part in a panel discussion at the conference on the theme, of ‘How Can Cities Thrive and Fight Climate Change’, to be moderated by Petra Hongell of the WHO Regional Office for Europe. A keynote speech ahead of the panel discussion will be delivered by Katrín Jakobsdóttir, former Prime Minister of Iceland and Chair of the Pan-European Commission on Climate and Health.

Also included on the panel will be Mads Falkenfleth Jensen, Founder and Director, Wellbeing Economy Lab, Copenhagen; Margaret (Greta) Defeyter, Northumbria University, United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland; Pınar Okyay, Deputy Secretary General, Izmir Metropolitan Municipality; and Ruşen Keleş, Retired Professor, Ankara University Faculty of Political Sciences and Law.

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Mayor Moran will also hold bilateral meetings with his mayoral counterparts of the cities in Bursa and Izmir during his time in Turkey.

Ahead of the trip, Mayor of Limerick, John Moran, commented: “As Mayor of Limerick, I am always proud to represent our city and county on the international stage and will be particularly so during my upcoming visit for the WHO meetings in Türkiye.”

“Limerick’s commitment to becoming a healthier and more liveable city, a key pillar in the More for Limerick mayoral programme, aligns closely with the work of the WHO network. I look forward to sharing the Limerick story, where I’ll be focusing on the ongoing work for the community of St Mary’s Park and King’s Island who had to deal with huge difficulties during the flooding of 2014 and their journey to the present day.

Mayor Moran continued: "It will be great to share the good progress we are making on the construction of the King’s Island Flood Relief Scheme. I am also looking forward to bringing home new ideas and learning from other cities forging their own paths to sustainability.

"In building these relationships at international events such as these, we expand our shared capacity to tackle the challenges of climate, health, and both urban and rural living. These stronger partnerships will benefit all of us as we continue to shape a Limerick that thrives for everyone.”