Governorship of Istanbul (İstanbul Valiliği-GOI) is the highest administrative public authority in the city with a population of over 16 million. Approximately 2050 civil servants give service in 16 departments from various fields in GOI. 

The main duties of Governorship of Istanbul are; 

– Managing, regulating and supervising general administration in Istanbul. 

– Coordinating all activities in the province, such as education, health, security, environment, public works, culture, tourism, migration etc.

– Implementing instructions, orders, laws and regulations  from the government

– Determining and carrying out works to meet the needs of the people in the city by supervising all institutions in the province.

As the highest authority, GOI has the responsibility of 39 District Governorships and 24 Provincial Directorates such as;  

– Provincial Directorates of;

– National Education (Including Vocational and Adult Education) istanbul.meb.gov.tr 

– Youth Services and Sports istanbul.gsb.gov.tr

– Health istanbul.saglik.gov.tr

– Culture and Tourism istanbul.kulturturizm.gov.tr

– Civil Registry and Citizenship istanbul.nvi.gov.tr

– Social Security istanbul.sgk.gov.tr

– Family and Social Policies istanbul.aile.gov.tr

– Science, Industry and Technology istanbul.sanayi.gov.tr

– Associations and Foundations istanbul.dernekler.gov.tr 

– Infrastructure, Environment and Urbanisation istanbul.csb.gov.tr

– Disaster and Emergency Directorate istanbul.afad.gov.tr

– Migration Management istanbul.goc.gov.tr

– Food, Agriculture and Livestock istanbul.tarim.gov.tr

Including; 

– Provincial Police Department istanbul.pol.tr 

– Office of Provincial Mufti istanbulmuftulugu.gov.tr 

– Department of Monitoring and Coordination of Investments istanbul.gov.tr/yikob 

– Public Health Directorate istanbul.halksagligi.gov.tr 

Moreover, GOI governs The Board of European Union Compliance, Counselling and Guidance which has been founded by the Ministry of the Internal Affairs in order to;  

• Ensure active participation of the governorships in the EU accession process. 

• Follow full implementations of Administrative and legal reforms carried out within this framework. 

• Enable a better understanding of the EU accession process among the public.

• Identify the problems and legislative changes and determine the solution offers then report them to Foreign Relations and EU Department of Ministry of Interior and the Turkish General Secretary of the European Union. 

• Utilize EU funds and financial resources to the maximum extent 

• Back up the project activities of the institutions and encourage them and provide necessary support and provide in-service training for the EU project of these institutions regarding the coordination, promotion and publicity of the projects.

Governorship of İstanbul has had significant experience in national and international projects, especially in EU Projects (KA1, KA2, KA3 and Sport). The “EU and Foreign Relations Office” is the department responsible for coordinating and conducting projects at each level. The office submits and manages many projects on adult, youth VET and school fields as well as different projects for various funds. It has protocols with different institutions for the projects in İstanbul such as Universities, Municipalities, NGOs from various fields, Training institutions, Chambers of commerce and industry and SMEs. As the highest administrative body in the province, GOI has a significant impact on institutions in İstanbul, and it can easily include experts and academicians or researchers in different fields when needed.

As a principle, priority is given to projects addressing disadvantaged groups such as the unemployed (youth and adults) people, people with migrant backgrounds, people with physical/mental disabilities, and people with limited access to education and training.

So far, GOI has implemented over 90 EU-funded projects and over 100 local projects including development agency projects. GoI Staff has provided Project Cycle Management Training to over 10.000 people from various occupations such as Teachers, Trainers, Academicians, Youth workers and administrative staff. GOI has excellent national and international collaboration and worked over 250 organizations including Universities, Schools, VET Schools, Adult Education Centers,  Youth Centers, Migration Offices Training centres, NGOs from various fields, SMEs, Chambers of Commerce and industry, etc.