Gizem Ölmez Saylam

She works as a Coordinator Responsible for Participation Studies at the Istanbul Citizens’ Assembly. She completed her undergraduate education at Istanbul Technical University (ITU), Department of Urban and Regional Planning. At the Istanbul Citizens’ Assembly, she is responsible for such activities as planning capacity-building activities related to the concept of governance for both citizens and local government with the Participation School project and developing tools that increase the opportunities for citizens to have a say in governance within the framework of the understanding of local democracy with the Participation Cafe project. In addition, she supports the Participatory Budget studies of Istanbul, which were implemented for the first time on the scale of Istanbul with the cooperation of the Istanbul City Council. Her main areas of study are participation and governance, public space management, local democracy, participatory budgeting, local government, and civil society.