Turkish First Lady Emine Erdogan has been honored with the Mediterranean Parliamentary Assembly (AKDENİZ-PA) award for the Zero Waste project, recognizing its contributions to peace and prosperity in the European-Mediterranean and Gulf regions.
The award was accepted on behalf of President Recep Tayyip Erdogan and First Lady Emine Erdogan by Mehmet Ozhaseki, the Minister of Environment, Urbanization, and Climate Change, at a ceremony held in Braga, Portugal, on May 15.
“I was happy to accept the AKDENİZ-PA award on behalf of all the friends of nature who have adopted the project, developed it with voluntary contributions, and carried it into the future,” said the First Lady.
Emine Erdogan emphasized that it is a source of pride for Türkiye that the Zero Waste project was selected as the best project in the Green Transformation category among many nominated projects and was deemed worthy of an international award.
“I see this award not only as a certificate of achievement but also as a sign of Türkiye’s deep commitment to environmental awareness and its decisive steps towards a sustainable future,” she added.
Awards Won by the ‘Zero Waste’ Project
Launched in 2017 under the auspices of First Lady Emine Erdogan, the Zero Waste project has received numerous accolades:
- 2018: “Zero Waste, Zero Hunger” award from the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO).
- 2021: “UNDP Sustainable Development Goals Award” by the United Nations Development Program and the “Waste Wise Cities Global Champion Award” by the United Nations Human Settlements Programme (UN-Habitat).
- 2022: “Mediterranean Parliamentary Assembly Award (PAW Awards)” and the “Climate and Development Leadership Award” presented by the World Bank.
The “Türkiye Zero Waste” project, which aims to make Türkiye a clean, developed, and sustainable country by reducing waste generation, recycling, and protecting resources, has become a global model. It was nominated on behalf of Türkiye and honored with an award at the 16th General Assembly Meeting held in Dubai in 2022.
