26ALTI26 YOUNG CREATORS PROGRAM LAUNCH EVENT HELD IN ESKİŞEHİR

The Grand Launch and Award Ceremony of the 26ALTI26 Young Creators Program, implemented by the Youth Centers of Eskişehir Metropolitan Municipality in cooperation with X Design Factory and Eskişehir Halk Okulu as part of the "Eskişehir 2026" vision, was held at Haller Youth Center with broad participation.

The ceremony was attended by Mayor of Eskişehir Metropolitan Municipality Ayşe Ünlüce, CHP Eskişehir Provincial Chair Talat Yalaz, President of the Union of Eskişehir Chambers of Tradesmen and Craftsmen Adnan Karamanlı, President of the Eskişehir Bar Association Attorney Barış Günaydın, municipal council members, bureaucrats, trainers, and numerous young participants. Jury members, including Prof. Dr. Kerim Banar, Chairman of the Board of Belkent Inc.; Prof. Dr. Ahmet Çabuk, advisor to the Metropolitan Municipality; Çağrı Özeçoğlu, Council Member of Eskişehir Metropolitan Municipality and Odunpazarı Municipality; and Güler Ezgi Doğan Turan, Council Member of Tepebaşı Municipality, also took part in the programme.

At the end of an intensive ten-week training and project development process, ideas that have the potential to shape Eskişehir's future were presented by young participants. Young people under the age of 26, selected to develop innovative, sustainable, and practical solutions to the city's needs, refined their ideas throughout the programme and transformed them into projects.

As part of the programme, participants received training in project development, design thinking, presentation techniques, and creative idea generation from Attorney Ayşe Demirdöver, Aysel Pilav, Emre Bayraktar, Prof. Dr. Gülbin Özdamar Akarçay, Özgür Can Akdağ, Özlem Yalım, Prof. Dr. Suzan Duygu Erişti, and Umut Rallas.

"WE WANTED TO LISTEN TO OUR YOUNG PEOPLE'S DREAMS AND IDEAS"

Speaking at the ceremony, Mayor Ayşe Ünlüce stated that when declaring 2026 as the "Year of Eskişehir 2026," they placed young people's thoughts, dreams, and expectations at the centre of their vision. She said:

"With this understanding, we wanted to come together with our young people, listen to their perspectives, and create together. We viewed this programme not merely as a project development initiative, but also as an important learning and growth experience for our youth. We successfully completed an intensive and disciplined ten-week programme. The young people selected for the programme worked with great dedication and developed truly valuable projects."

Mayor Ünlüce noted that the jury members had difficulty selecting among the projects, emphasizing that each initiative contained important ideas regarding the future of Eskişehir. She added that the municipality intends to re-evaluate the projects and integrate those with implementation potential into municipal services.

Highlighting the commitment demonstrated by the participants, Mayor Ünlüce said: "Despite having many alternative opportunities available to them, these young people attended the training sessions regularly for ten weeks, invested in their personal development, and prepared their projects with a strong sense of responsibility towards the city in which they live. I wholeheartedly congratulate all the young people who took part in this programme."

YOUNG PEOPLE'S PROJECTS RECEIVE AWARDS

Following her speech, Mayor Ünlüce announced the winning projects and presented awards to the young participants in three different categories. The Best Social Impact Award was presented to Uğur Zaimoğlu, the Best Feasible Idea Award to Asyacan Ertürk, and the Most Creative Solution Award to Tunar Guluyev.

The winners in each category received a 20,000 TL prize sponsored by Eskişehir Halk Okulu.