Esra DiriDirector of Foreign Relations
BACKGROUND OF DIRECTOR:
She was born in Istanbul in 1980. She graduated from Kadir Has University with a degree in International Relations in 2006. In 2010, she completed her master's degree in the Department of European Union and Balkan Studies at Galatasaray University's Institute of Social Sciences with a thesis on the European Union and the Balkans. Currently, she is pursuing her doctoral studies at the University of Zurich. In 2012, as part of the IBAC Conferences, organized by Istanbul University, she gave a presentation on Turkish Foreign Policy and the Balkans in Albania. She founded the International Relations Library Association. She served as a coordinator in programs organized by Oxford University Press, Routledge, and Cambridge University Press. She worked as a coordinator in the Turkey programs of Prof. Dr. Vamık Volkan, Prof. Dr. Josep Nye, and Prof. Dr. John Ikenberry. She completed programs by the Mother-Child Education Foundation (AÇEV) and participated in activities within the foundation. She exhibited her glass mosaic works in various exhibitions. She is a member of Yeşilyurt Sports Club. In 2015, she started working as the Chief Assistant at Büyükçekmece Municipality. In 2023, she was appointed as the Director of Foreign Relations.
Mission
To develop and maintain international cooperation opportunities in the fields of culture and tourism in a way that contributes to the promotion of our city's cultural assets and values to the world in line with the basic priorities of the Büyükçekmece Municipality's international policy and the goal of EU membership.
Vision
“To be an active, pioneering and exemplary directorate that continuously creates value in all national and international platforms in its field of activity with its rising standards."
Duties and Responsibilities of the Directorate of Foreign Relations:
- To represent our Municipality and its work at the international level,
- To prepare and carry out the activities required to maintain, in the best way, the existing relations with the international organizations of which our Municipality is a member,
- To coordinate the protocol and hosting of international representatives and visitors,
- To carry out the existing sister city relations of our municipality and to establish new relations,
- To ensure that our municipality is included in national and international networks and to contribute to the establishment of cooperation
- To carry out national and international projects of our municipality and to develop new partnerships in this field,
- To create projects to benefit from the European Union and other national and international grants, to coordinate project planning, to create project teams within the municipality to create the expert staff needed according to the project subject, and to prepare and present projects that will provide external financial resources with these teams,
- To carry out the reporting of Grant Projects and to ensure institutional communication as required,
- To carry out and coordinate projects that qualify for financial support,
- To carry out preparatory work for the Mayor's programs abroad,
- To provide guidance services and to organize information meetings for public institutions and organizations, NGOs and other organizations in our district to benefit from EU and other external funds and grants,
- To translate the international reports and documents.
