Highlights from the Grant Projects Completed in 2023

We Are in School, Too!

Black Sea New Horizons Association

The goal was to host role model/mentor meetings in Vezirköprü and Alaçam, two disadvantaged districts of Samsun, aiming to introduce young girls at risk of dropping out from middle and high school to successful female role models, thereby exposing them to diverse career paths.

• Sixty girls, aged 12–18, at risk of dropping out of school due to socio-economic factors, along with their families, were identified through surveys. They were paired with 60 role models who have achieved success in the fields of science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM). A mentoring program comprising 602 hours was then implemented.
• With the “Journey to Self” training program, girls were encouraged to enhance their individual motivations and supported in their career planning processes.
• Family training sessions were organized to emphasize the importance of girls’ school attendance, promote gender equality in education, and raise awareness about children’s rights.
• Activities and events carried out as part of the project were covered at ebvap.com.tr with 27 blog posts.

Accessible Tourism

Fethiye Tourism, Promotion, Education, Culture and Environment Foundation

The goal was to enable accessibility in tourism for people with disabilities by raising awareness among tourism students and professionals and by contributing to the accumulation of knowledge.

• Trainer training on accessible tourism was provided to eight individuals from non-governmental organizations working in the fields of culture, tourism, and disability across Istanbul, Muğla, Samsun, and Şanlıurfa.
• Training sessions were conducted for 283 tourism employees from 13 hotels in Istanbul, Muğla, Samsun, and Şanlıurfa, aimed at raising awareness about disability and promoting accessible tourism.
• Twenty university students from the Boğaziçi University Department of Tourism Administration in Istanbul, and 87 tourism vocational high school students in Fethiye, received training on disability awareness and accessible tourism.
• The Accessible Tourism Training Program was shared as an open-source resource on the website.
• The documentation included the “Accessible Tourism in Türkiye, Status and Opportunities Report,” which includes information on the current accessibility of digital travel portals, practices set forth in the current laws and legislation and the best practices abroad, and the “Accessible Tourism Guide.”
• An “Accessible Tourism Summit” was organized in Istanbul.

Change Starts in Our Neighborhood

Housewives Solidarity and Development Association

The goal was to contribute to the gradual increase of women’s participation in the democratic decision-making mechanisms, starting from the local neighborhood.

• Twenty volunteer ‘women leaders’ with the potential to influence their communities from the Yeşilyurt and Gürselpaşa neighborhoods of the Seyhan district in Adana, participated in 50-day training sessions covering 10 modules.
• The training modules, delivered by domain experts, covered a range of topics from gender equality to the right to education, women’s health, legal rights, employment, media literacy, and democratic decision-making mechanisms.
• Throughout the project, women underwent numerous personal transformations, such as returning to education, joining cooperatives, assuming roles as apartment building managers, participating in parent-teacher associations, becoming active members of non-governmental organizations, launching businesses, and establishing their own brands.
• The workshop held at the end of the project brought the women together to discuss the problems in their neighborhoods and come up with solutions.
• Seven videos were created with accessible versions to ensure that the training content could be used by everyone involved.

Participatory and Safe Youth Activism

Roots & Shoots Türkiye

The goal was to enable activist children with an interest in climate and ecology to protect themselves based on their rights and ensuring their active participation in social processes, as well as equipping the adults working with the activist children to better manage the children’s rights-oriented approach.

• The basic principles regarding the active participation of young activists in social processes and similar studies in the field were researched, the literature was examined, and a workshop was organized.
• Furthermore, a Participatory and Safe Youth Activism Camp was organized, welcoming 16 children and young individuals aged 15–25 who expressed an interest in climate activism.
• The suggestions received from young people and the research conducted during the camp and throughout the process were used to design a game of case cards and a rights video for training purposes.
• A training of trainers was organised where applications were accepted through an open call. 16 young individuals conducted 10 trainings and reached out to 83 participants.
• The “Working with Children and Youth Activists 101 Handbook” was developed as an open-source guide for adults.
• Workshops on the Principles of Engaging with Children and Youth Activists were conducted.