Mert Turkben serves as an International Relations Specialist in the Izmir Metropolitan Municipality. For the past five years, Mert has worked directly with the Counsellor to the Mayor of Izmir and the Secretary-General of SODEM – the Social Democratic Municipalities Association. Involved in numerous city diplomacy initiatives, he has contributed to building greater cooperation and dialogue between Izmir as well as SODEM member cities and their counterparts in the EU and globally. He has facilitated city-level engagements with the international organizations, the institutions from the EU and the UN system, the global city networks, and the international financial institutions. Having a multidisciplinary background, Mert holds a Master’s degree in Global Business & Society from Yale School of Management, and a Master’s degree in International Management combined with a double major in Sociology and Mechanical Engineering from Koc University.
