 FRONT PAGE About World Mayor City Mayors Foundation worldmayor@gmail.com Tel: +44 20 8439 7978   WORLD MAYOR 2018 • VOTE NOW • Shortlist 2018 • Longlist 2018 • Raison d'être • World Mayor history • World Mayor Prize • Code of Ethics • Criteria • Meet the Press WORLD MAYOR 2016 • Results 2016 • Project 2016 • Shortlist 2016 • Longlist 2016 • Code of Ethics • World Mayor Prize • World Mayor History • Raison d'être INTERVIEWS WITH • Mayor of Athens • Mayor of Lahr • Mayor of Mechelen TESTIMONIALS • Mayor of Aleppo • Mayor of Amstelveen • Mayor of Athens • Mayor of Cologne • Mayor of Gdansk • Mayor of Grande-Synthe • Mayor of Hettstedt • Mayor of Lahr • Mayor of Lampedusa • Mayor of Lesbos • Mayor of Mechelen • Mayor of Philadelphia • Mayor of Schwäbisch Gmünd ESSAYS BY • Mayor of Aleppo • Mayor of Amstelveen • Mayor of Athens • Mayor of Gdansk • Mayor of Lahr • Mayor of Mechelen • Mayor of Schwäbisch Gmünd PROFILES OF • Mayor of Amstelveen • Mayor of Athens • Mayor of Cologne • Mayor of Gdansk • Mayor of Grande-Synthe • Mayor of Lahr • Mayor of Lampedusa • Mayor of Lesbos • Mayor of Mechelen • Mayor of Schwäbisch Gmünd WORLD MAYOR 2014 WORLD MAYOR 2012 WORLD MAYOR 2010 WORLD MAYOR 2008 WORLD MAYOR 2006 WORLD MAYOR 2005 WORLD MAYOR 2004 |
WORLD MAYOR 2016 Local Council of East Aleppo Brita Hagi Hasan, the President of the Local Council of East Aleppo has been shortlisted for the 2016 World Mayor Prize. The City Mayors Foundation invited him to contribute a review of the Council’s tasks and the services it still provides in a city whose destruction has shocked world opinion. Introduction The Local Council of East Aleppo was formed because of the necessity to fill the vacuum left by the Syrian regime’s withdrawal of services provided to citizens and communities. The Local Council of Aleppo was elected for the first time in March 2013 with two objectives in mind: • Ensure Security, and • Provide essential services to the inhabitants of the City. Since 2013, the Council has offered the following services: • Education • Drinking Water • Electricity • Street cleaning and garbage collection • Sanitation network maintenance. The Council collaborated with a large number of local and international NGOs engaged in education to bring to a success this process. The Council works closely with the Boroughs elected assemblies to ensure transparent management of daily life aspects and interactions with citizens in formal and informal channels of communication. Current situation According to the last figures available, on the last day of August 2016, the number of inhabitants in East Aleppo was 325,480. This number includes almost 30,000 children under two years old, and 155,048 women. The current Council is the fourth edition since the beginning of this democratic process. It was elected by the General Assembly back in November 2015. Due to the difficult security situation, the Council is considered by inhabitants and external international partners as the only authority in divided Aleppo. Brita Hagi Hasan was elected as President of the Council. The current Council witnessed the arrival of the first woman to the Executive and the creation of an office devoted to women. This Women empowerment office overviews all aspects of women life and ensures health, capacity building and education to all women in Free Aleppo. Under the siege and because of the important number of deaths, the number of widowed women is growing. The Council and NGOs working in the field ensure helping in some situations. However, the needs are bigger than what we can offer. The Council has currently the following departments and offices: • Women Affaires Office • Statistics Office • Agricultural Office • Price and Quality Control Office • Investment Projects Department • Social Interaction Office • Borough Assemblies Department In addition to the previous services, the current Council extended its coordination with the Health Directorate, the Forensic Department. A Burial services bureau was added to the services. The Council provides other services related to the situation resulting from the Russian and Assad’s regime airstrikes. These services include raising barricades at frontlines inside the city to protect civilians in the streets or in their homes, as well as and clearing rubble after airstrikes. continuous Russian airstrikes in Aleppo targeting roads, bakeries, and warehouses. A significant percentage of Free Aleppo inhabitants are refugees, internally displaced, from other cities and towns of Syria. The Local Council offers a wide array of services despite the limitations of its resources and the dangers of the siege. With its 600 employees and blue collars, the Council has a huge burden to carry on each day the duties it is supposed to do in peace times. It takes a lot of bravery and spirit to go out to offer services knowing that one may not come back. Due to the current siege, an emergency plan was applied and specialized committees were established. These committees include: • Bakeries Committee which is in charge of ensuring bread at cost price. The Committee ensures distribution of almost 90.000 bags of pita bread every day. • Agricultural committee which includes all the NGOs involved in agriculture. This Committee is expanding the agriculture to all arable sols in eastern Aleppo. It distributed grains to citizens to use their balconies or inside their houses permaculture. • Higher Relief Committee which includes the ACC Relief Office and all the NGOs involved in aid. In the same time, the Council works hand in hand with the Civil Defense (AKA White Helmets) and the Health Directorate and its hospitals and clinics targeted several times. Medical staff, essential services were targets to prevent citizen from having the means to resist. The Local Council is standing up along with the Citizens and leading by example in these crucial times. |