As part of the TÜBİTAK 1001 project titled “Cultural Heritage, Economic Development, and the Status of Women”, project coordinator Assoc. Prof. Dr. Esra Bayhantopçu from Kadir Has University and project team member Assoc. Prof. Dr. Çiğdem Gürsoy, Head of the Department of Economics at Istinye University, held a series of meetings in Edirne.
The meetings were attended by Edirne Mayor Av. Filiz Gencan Akın, heads of village mukhtar associations, directors responsible for women and family affairs, and women neighborhood mukhtars across the city. Discussions focused on the role of women in local development, preserving cultural heritage through women’s labor, and the structural challenges faced by women in local governance.
The project aims to transform women’s labor in rural areas into economic value, strengthen women’s participation in local administration, and contribute to the sustainability of cultural heritage.
