Dear Participants,

Universities are important actors in developing societies. In addition to being a global norm university by following the developments in the world, universities have missions such as focusing on regional problems and being a part of the solution by collaborating with the region.

In the 100th anniversary of the Republic of Turkey, the role played by our universities from past to present is one of the cornerstones of the success story of our Republic. As our Republic leaves one hundred years behind, we need to further strengthen the leadership of our universities in regional development processes.

Thrace Universities Association was established in 2012 with the participation of 4 universities in order to strengthen cooperation between universities in the Thrace region. The Union currently continues its existence with 5 reputable universities. The main purpose of the Trakya Universities Association is to make academic and administrative collaborations among member universities to contribute to education-training, research-development and regional development, and to carry public-university-industry cooperation and university-city integration to advanced levels. It has also undertaken the mission of being a pioneer in the establishment of joint master's, doctoral and distance education protocols among its universities, the joint use of research laboratories and other social, cultural and sports activities.

Tekirdağ is one of the favorite regions of Turkey with its rich agricultural areas, strong industry and historical heritage. We organized this symposium in order to contribute to our region's future breakthroughs and to play an active role in regional development. We believe that scientific activities have become even more important in the 100th anniversary of the Republic of Turkey, and we strive to make Tekirdağ's future brighter by acting together.

In our symposium "The Role of Universities in Regional Development: The Future of Tekirdağ", we came together to evaluate the critical importance of universities in regional development processes, on the 100th anniversary of the Republic of Turkey.

We would like to invite you to the "6. We invite you to participate in the "Role of Universities in International Regional Development: Tekirdağ's Future Symposium". The symposium will include the work of Non-Governmental Organizations (NGOs), Private Sector, Public Sector and Entrepreneurs.

All abstracts sent to the symposium will go through referee processes and will be accepted or rejected as oral presentations in line with the referee evaluations. Papers presented at the symposium will be published in the congress abstract booklet. In addition, in full-text papers submitted to the symposium, authors will be offered the option of publishing them in a proceedings book with an ISBN number or as an article. The language of the symposium is English and Turkish. Posts and presentations can be made in both languages.

We will be honored by your participation in our symposium. I would like to thank our valuable speakers who participated in the symposium and hope that this event will make a contribution worthy of the 100th anniversary of the Republic of Turkey for our region.

Kind regards.

Prof. Dr. Ertuğrul Recep ERBAY

Chairman of the Organizing Board