Türkiye’s first eco festival draws record crowds
A record number of visitors, more than 400,000 people, have attended Türkiye’s first eco festival, which is being held from June 4 to June 7 in Istanbul at the National Park (Millet Bahcesi) near the former Ataturk International Airport in the Yesilkoy district.
By the time the festival closes, the number of visitors is expected to exceed 500,000, Samed Agırbaş, President of the Zero Waste Foundation and a high-level climate ambassador for COP31, told journalists at a press conference, CE Report quotes BTA.
According to Agırbaş, this first-of-its-kind event in Türkiye, organized as the country prepares for hosting COP31 in Antalya from November 9 to 20 this year, has brought together participants and guests from approximately 183 countries, including representatives of government institutions, universities, local authorities, the private sector, and non-governmental organizations.
One notable aspect of the festival is that no plastic water bottles have been used. Instead, visitors were provided with glass water flasks and thermos bottles, which were distributed throughout the event.
There are plans to implement this model in other provinces across the country, with the aim of establishing Türkiye as a global example in zero-waste practices.
The festival is held under the auspices of Türkiye’s First Lady, Emine Erdogan.
Within the festival, distinguished by its entertaining elements, workshops are being organized for children and young people to create toys and works of art from recycled materials, along with environmentally themed games, competitions, paper recycling activities, and interactive educational programs, according to CNN Turk.
The programme includes activities focused on environmental education and recycling. These are accompanied by various events dedicated to environmental protection, energy efficiency, the circular economy, recycling, climate change, and sustainable consumption.
Famous performers and musicians gave performances as part of the eco-festival, the attendance of which was free of charge.
Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, who took part in the closing ceremony of the festival, said that in an era when artificial intelligence and new technologies are accelerating production, unconscious consumption habits are harming nature, and the destructive effects of modernity are manifesting both in consciousness and behavior.
“The problem of waste also stands before us as a global threat. The data we have shows that this problem will deepen rather than decrease. The amount of solid waste, which was 2.1 billion tonnes in 2023, is expected to rise to 3.8 billion tonnes by 2050 if no measures are taken. In Türkiye, we see nature both as a trust from our God and as a heritage that must be passed on to future generations. We are carefully taking the necessary steps in the fields of environment, climate, and waste management. We act with an approach based on green transformation, circular economy, and sustainable development. We are making intensive efforts to minimize the effects of the climate crisis,” Erdogan said, quoted by Milliyet.
At the same time, he emphasized that the forum is an important part of the vision “The Road to Antalya: Zero Waste as a Climate Action” ahead of COP31, which will be hosted by Antalya in November.
Photo: Instagram
