“Yuva Association was founded in 2010 to find holistic and sustainable solutions to environmental problems in Turkey and the world, as well as social issues such as poverty and education. As YUVA, we work to support the development of adults and young people through lifelong learning, raise their awareness about the environment and contribute to the eradication of poverty. Our aim is to make a sustainable life possible for all living things.
YUVA’s model is holistic, different issues are addressed together to make a sustainable life possible. Thus, a holistic change is proposed by approaching the problems from both nature and human perspectives. And YUVA realizes the change it proposes today, with young people and adults.”
Global Citizenship Trainings on Climate Justice are implemented as part of the Civil Society Exchange Program, of which YUVA became a part in 2020. This program is a collaboration between MitOst and Istanbul Bilgi University Center for Civil Society Studies and is supported by Stiftung Mercator.
The project set out with the logic of creating an exchange program for CSOs interested in working on climate justice. The main objective of the program is to provide a platform and framework for emerging and evolving partnerships between CSOs in Turkey and Europe, in partnership with the WOSDEC Global Learning Center in Glasgow, Scotland.
Living Together: Migration and Social Cohesion Trainings are carried out with the aim of ensuring that accurate information reaches the host community after the mass migration of refugees, preventing prejudices by developing empathy between the two communities and making coexistence possible.
This training program, which is open to all adults, aims to reach employees of public and non-governmental organizations that provide services to Syrians in 2019. The focus of the training program with the employees of public and non-governmental organizations is to provide them with information about the legal and social processes that Syrians are going through, to share their own difficulties and experiences as service providers, and to develop new perspectives to improve service capacity. The entire training program is designed with experiential learning methods and is participant-oriented.
Within the scope of the Erasmus+ project “STEPS Towards Ecological Planet”, we completed the Environmental Literacy Program Trainer Training for teachers from Finland, Spain and Croatia and the project coordinator teachers of Istanbul Atatürk Science High School
The first session of the Diversity Training, which aims to recognize forms of discrimination and racism and to carry out our actions with diversity awareness, started in Izmir.
In the two-part advanced training in Cologne and Izmir, we offer practical methods and approaches for diversity-sensitive and anti-discriminatory youth work.
Developed in cooperation with Yuva Association, Transfer Association and Deutch-Türkishe Jugendbrücke with the financial support of Erasmus+ program and Goethe-Institut, the training aims to present innovative concepts on justice of opportunity and sensitivity to diversity.
We held our first meeting on 19 August as part of the “Climate Justice Education: COP26 and beyond” project that we carry out with WOSDEC.
We came together with the teams of the project participant organizations, Glasgow Community Food Network, Kazdağı Doğal ve Kültürel Varlıkları Koruma Derneği, Fair Trade Nation and Sürdürülebilir Yaşam Derneği ile Dört Mevsim Ekolojik Yaşam Derneği. We got to know each other and talked about the details of the project.
Launched in 2013 in partnership with the Community Volunteers Foundation (TOG), Naturally We Are Young! was Turkey’s first ecological literacy project for young people. Thanks to the program, young people had the opportunity to get to know our planet more closely.
It has a content in which the history of life on Earth, its stages, the problems faced today and solutions are discussed. The project informed people about why we need to protect our only home, the earth, questioned the relationship between human beings and nature, and developed the importance and necessity of the human right to live in a healthy and balanced environment, and supported the participants in becoming active citizens.
Within the scope of the program, the trainers, ranging in age from 18 to 25, transferred their knowledge to their peers through a two-day training program.
The RAISE Project aimed to contribute to the prevention of natural destruction by increasing the awareness and active participation of young people in environmental issues. The project was designed for a 2-year period and was realized in partnership with Yuva Association, 6th Regional Directorate of Nature Conservation and National Parks of the Ministry of Forestry and Water Affairs, Pi Pozitif Consulting, Prisma (Gr) and Institute of Biometeorology (IBIMET, It).
The project, which was implemented simultaneously in Italy, Greece and Turkey, aimed for young volunteers between the ages of 13-18 to get to know the protected areas in their region and develop 5 online mobile games on these areas together with environmental experts and teachers. The project, which aims to support volunteering services for the environment, combines non-formal education methods, especially Learning in Natural Environments and the use of computer technologies.
The project, which is taking place in Isparta, Burdur and Antalya in Turkey, is also developing a non-formal learning toolkit and learning guide and conducting dissemination activities to promote the project. The 2-year project’s Project Coordination and Management meeting was held in 2015. Together with all project partners, the project’s activity calendar was drawn up and a work plan was prepared. The project started to be implemented simultaneously with Greece and Italy in Isparta, Burdur and Antalya provinces in Turkey with high school students in protected areas in these cities.
Finished in early 2013, the project was realized by DW International together with local partners in Turkey and Armenia. As part of the project, young people from Armenia and Turkey met in two different cities 6 months apart, first in Moush, looking for traces of Armenian life. They went to the villages and talked to the people who live there today. Then in Gyumri, they talked to the descendants of the surviving Armenians who were exiled in Moush. As the young people in the group became friends, they questioned history, memory, genocide, denial and the demand for truth, as well as the concepts of friendship and trust. Our documentary team followed the project from beginning to end and captured this experience on the silver screen. Our documentary film “Yolun Başında”, which was screened in the Documentary program of the March 2013 Istanbul Film Festival, has been screened in Berlin, Cologne, Toronto, Malatya, Tehran and other cities and received great acclaim.
More than 100 forest fires that broke out in different provinces of Türkiye in July 2021, causing the destruction of 178 thousand hectares of forest area, have painfully shown us the effects of climate change.
The recent spate of forest fires and floods has shown that public awareness of what exactly climate change means and what causes it, and precisely what problems and risks it poses for the environment, including forests, and the livelihoods of future generations, is slowly improving but still remains low.
We received support from the Support Foundation for Civil Society Forest Fires Emergency Support Fund. We tried to contribute to both reducing Türkiye’s greenhouse gas emissions and adapting to the impacts of climate change by raising public awareness about natural disasters caused by climate change and the measures and methods of combating these disasters, and by enabling environmentally friendly habits.
Through the online Climate and Nature Literacy pieces of training we organized within the scope of the project, we increased the knowledge and skills of the people of the Mediterranean region, who have been or may be exposed to forest fires, about the causes of the climate crisis and its impacts on Türkiye. These natural disasters may arise from these impacts, and the precautions and combat methods for these disasters and environmentally friendly living practices.
This awareness training brought together young and adult citizens from different ethnic, social, and political groups, from every line of work, every socio-economic category, and every level of education residing in Muğla and Antalya provinces, and 244 people were reached. With the multiplier effect of the project, local community leaders such as teachers, mukhtars, imams, and NGO representatives had the opportunity to disseminate these training courses.
Thus, the participants involved in the project have gained environmentally friendly daily habits in line with the motivation to combat climate change and natural disasters caused by it, and have influenced their immediate environment who witness their daily routines in their private lives and professional backgrounds.
The International Learning Mobility in Times of Climate Change (LEMOCC) project, of which YUVA is a partner, was implemented in 2021 and 2022 with partners from the fields of international youth work and environmental education, as well as some public institutions in Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Türkiye and the United Kingdom, and coordinated by IJAB, the International Youth Service of the Federal Republic of Germany.
Within the project, a mapping exercise was conducted to get an overview of the participating countries, organizations, and critical actors active and involved in sustainable youth learning mobility ‘in times of climate change.’ The findings were reported.
The report collects good practices and aims to provide insights on policies, support mechanisms, and financing schemes to promote climate-smart youth learning mobility.
The Mediation Training Project was carried out in the first months of 2014 with the support of the Federal Republic of Germany Ministry of Foreign Affairs (AA) in partnership with the German Public Education Centers (D.V.V. International) in the province of Hatay, which is located on the Syrian border and where Syrian Refugees are densely populated.
The main objectives of the project were to reduce conflicts between the local population and refugees due to the increasing Syrian Refugee population, to enable local administrators to act as mediators in their areas of responsibility, and to provide a tool for field staff of humanitarian aid organizations to reduce the conflicts they face on a daily basis due to limited resources.
In this framework, together with our trainers from Inmedio, an expert organization on mediation, we organized training programs with three different groups of participants. The first group we worked with was the Muhtars working in Kırıkhan District. The Mukhtars, who were selected from the neighborhoods where Syrian Refugees live densely, received their participation certificates at the end of the two-day training.
During the five-day training with Syrian Refugees, Syrian Refugees had the opportunity to talk about the problems they face and to find solutions to these problems together. Almost all of the participants agreed that such trainings should be organized with young people as well. The third and final group of participants were field staff from organizations operating in the region.
The participants, who work every day to resolve conflicts and disputes as part of their work, learned from our trainers how to use different tools such as active listening, mirroring and perspective sharing, as well as some basic points to be considered during negotiations.
At the end of the training activities, our trainers also prepared a ‘Mediation Handbook’ for the participants, which they can use in a very practical way. As Yuva Association, during and after these trainings, the news about the increasing tension between the local people and Syrian Refugees in the region once again showed how necessary such projects are.
The report is based on both the relevant literature depicting the functional pathways to foster social inclusion throughout the collaboration between local governance units (municipalities) and civil society organizations (CSOs) and interview data attained from the practitioners who efficiently performed to enhance social inclusion at the local level. The report also aimed to identify the good practices in the social inclusion of disadvantaged groups at several locations in Turkey, Sweden, and Germany. Its overall purpose is to provide an overview of good 6 Fostering Social Inclusion in Multicultural Regions Project practice examples gathered through interviews, an online survey, and specific information on some of the inspiring initiatives and programs carrying out this work.
The report is put together in four parts. The first part provides an overview of why the role of the local level has become more important for social inclusion policies across the world. Based on an assessment of the main challenges and opportunities for cooperation in section two, the third part provides practical ideas to improve models for cooperation among local authorities and non-state actors. The last section highlights SINC member initiatives and projects that are being implemented in close collaboration with local public actors and municipalities to meet the needs of migrants and refugees.
The SINC Project was set out to enhance the impact of social inclusion interventions by exchanging knowledge between the CSOs in Turkey and Sweden with a focus on social inclusion activities deployed in multicultural regions in cooperation with local governments i.e. municipalities. The lead- and co-applicant established a steering committee that examined recent projects implemented in the years 2021 and 2022, with a specific focus on social inclusion interventions in targeted cities to obtain a detailed understanding of the different ways of working; to raise awareness of Turkish CSOs on the social inclusion interventions undertaken by their European counterparts that fall under the EU Acquis of Social Policy and Employment (Chapter 19) in cooperation with municipalities.
The steering committee aims to share knowledge, samples of ways of working, and lessons learned with CSOs in both countries, Turkey and Sweden; and in Turkey with a specific focus on increasing awareness of Turkish CSOs concerning the EU Acquis chapter for Social Policy and Employment; to strengthen the dialogue between CSOs established under the FIER project funded by European Union (EU) by following up on the specific recommendations of the consortium for the cooperation of CSOs with municipalities in targeted locations.
The lead- and co-applicant aimed to contribute to the sustainable dialogue between CSOs by sharing their experience from the previous project (FIER) with the wider CSO community in their countries using the tools of communication i.e. panel meetings, and white papers. The following section will depict the general information regarding the lead applicant, project partners, and associates.
Our teachers working in formal and non-formal education should know and be ready for the technological requirements of the age perhaps before anyone else. In this context, we provided digital literacy trainings to teachers in 2022 with the Digital Literacy in Education Project we carried out in cooperation with Thales Solidarity.
Thanks to our trainings, we had the opportunity to meet many teachers from different regions of Turkey. We completed the Training on Content Development in Online Education, given by expert trainers in their fields, on February 20 with the participation of 30 people. In addition, we organized a second training on February 26 with the participation of 34 people. On March 9, we organized the training coordinated by YUVA and attended by representatives of the Global Literacy Network (ELN), which includes representatives of NGOs and local governments working on environmental education. We are proud to say that the trainings we prepared were very productive.
Within the scope of the project, we aimed to contribute to the empowerment of digital literacy in education with dissemination trainings on the basics of online learning and teaching, synchronous and asynchronous learning, facilitation in online teaching and the design process of online teaching. In addition, our digital literacy trainings were open to all educators who want to improve themselves in this field.
The project was implemented by the Individual and Community Mental Health Association in partnership with Yuva Association and supported by the European Commission Representation of the European Union, European Instrument for Democracy and Human Rights (DIHAA).
The project aimed to support the social cohesion of students under temporary protection and increase schooling and attendance rates. The first phase was implemented in Istanbul in 2017-2018 and the second phase started in December 2019. The activities of the project were implemented in 10 different cities in Turkey, namely Adana, Bursa, Gaziantep, Hatay, Istanbul, Izmir, Kilis, Konya, Mersin, Şanlıurfa and Mersin.
In 2020, educational tools to support social cohesion such as Psychosocial Support Programs, Box Games and Parent Support Program that can be used by classroom and guidance counselors were developed, these tools were presented to teachers and contributed to social cohesion and inclusion through public awareness raising.
As YUVA, we develop many projects on the education of children and young people in order to provide holistic solutions in the fields of combating poverty and lifelong learning, and we are constantly working to produce innovative work. In 2020, until the COVID pandemic came to the country, we continued to work with Avcılar Leyla Bayram Primary School, where we aimed to increase the success of students in the 7-14 age group both in their lessons in formal education and in the development of social skills for a good life together.
During and after the quarantine process that came with the pandemic, we continued our activities by designing remote and online tools. In this context, we distributed education kits for students in the 7-14 age group. We also created online courses for young people in the 15-19 age group. With the education kits, we tried to ensure that children between the ages of 7-14 continue their readiness for education through educational games for Turkish and Mathematics lessons, spend quality time with activity materials at home, and gain resistance to the pandemic with covid information.
We tried to support the academic success of young people in the 15-19 age group with online Turkish and Mathematics lessons designed with online learning management tools, and to convey the processes of acquiring a profession to out-of-school youth with the Vocational Training Guide video guide. In the field period of 2020, we ensured that 1102 beneficiaries in total benefited from the activities carried out within the scope of the project.
The project, which aims to provide solutions for the harmonious coexistence of children from different cultures living in Turkey and Germany, was implemented between 2017-2019. In the project; innovative content was prepared to support refugee children to develop their language and communication skills, designed for the common use of all children and fed by areas such as music, dance, museums, drama, fairy tales and games.
Throughout the project period, experts from the Ruhr Region and Berlin in Germany and Istanbul and Gaziantep in Turkey came together regularly to share their experiences. In the project, which has six working groups, as YUVA, we took part in the Space for Inclusion working group. In 2019, we prepared a guide to plan inclusive education and implement it in practice in learning environments by supporting the people who will carry out educational activities and aiming to help them create a safe and inclusive learning environment for children.
We carried out the Preparation for Higher Education Project in cooperation with Sultanbeyli Municipality and Refugees Association as part of the HOPES Project grant program funded by the European Union and implemented by the German Academic Exchange Service (DAAD), British Council, Campus France and Nuffic.
With the project, we aimed to ensure the transition of Syrian youth under Temporary Protection between the ages of 17-29 to higher education. In line with this goal, we aimed to contribute to the continuation of education of Syrian youth in higher education institutions in Turkey by creating the Higher Education Preparatory Education Program.
In this context, the activities and services of the project included conducting higher education preparation training programs in accessible and safe learning spaces created for young people, paying exam entrance fees, providing counseling services and organizing career days. A training program focusing on the development of young people’s Turkish language skills and preparation for the foreign student exam (YÖS), active participation and achieving together was implemented. We implemented the project at the Sultanbeyli Child and Youth Education Center (ÇOGEM) in Sultanbeyli, Istanbul.
Over a period of more than one and a half years, we provided information, referral to trainings and relevant institutions and organizations, and follow-up services to young people in the region on the processes of completing their high school education, obtaining equivalence for their diplomas from their schools in Syria or Temporary Education Centers in Turkey, and improving their Turkish language skills and academic competencies for university entrance.
In addition, we held a workshop to identify the obstacles faced in high school schooling and transition to higher education and developed solutions together with the workshop participants. During the 2019 field implementation process of our project, which we started at the end of 2017, 142 young people benefited from the Higher Education Preparatory Program training and services. We also provided counseling services to 1680 young people about higher education processes.
With the funding of the European Commission – Individual Protection and Humanitarian Aid Operation (ECHO) and as an implementing partner of Save the Children, an international non-governmental organization, activities were carried out in Avcılar and Ümraniye districts to “Meet the Protection Needs and Strengthen the Wellbeing of Refugee Children, Youth and Adults in Istanbul”.
Within the scope of the project, counseling, referral, case follow-up and psycho-social support activities were carried out for Syrians under temporary protection and refugees and asylum seekers under international protection. At the same time, information and referral activities were also carried out for local people in need.
The aim of the project is to facilitate and ensure access to existing rights and services in the areas they need through community-based protection activities and to support their empowerment in this way. In addition to these, awareness-raising activities, information meetings and structured psychosocial support programs aimed at increasing the resilience of children and youth were implemented for the beneficiaries and a total of 2500 beneficiaries were served.
With the support of Malala Foundation and in partnership with Yuva Association and Hacettepe University, the program aimed to increase the schooling and attendance rates of Syrian children.
With a 3-year projection, the program completed its second year in 2021. The program, which took place in 6 different primary schools in Ankara and was also open to classroom teachers in Istanbul, served a total of 225 teachers and 903 students directly benefited from the program at the end of the second year. The program developed two guidebooks for teachers on inclusive education and Turkish as a second language education, diversified the tools they can use in classrooms, and aims to increase children’s attendance to education at the end of 3 years.
Another capacity building activity within the program involves Hacettepe University Faculty of Education final year students. After putting students through a training program on education in a multicultural environment, the program prepares students for their professions by providing them with the opportunity to observe teachers in the profession and acting as an internship.
With the Flying Library Project, we aimed to transform the time spent on the streets into a qualified and sustainable practice of living together for children and young people exposed to internal and external migration living in environments with limited access to public services.
In 2016, in collaboration with the Goethe Institute, our library flew from one stop to another in the neighborhoods of Istanbul. We came together with children between the ages of 7-14 through our programmed workshops and with young people between the ages of 18-27 through our volunteering activities.
The Ideas Box project, carried out in cooperation with the Goethe Institute, supported children, youth and adults in Kırıkhan who have difficulty accessing libraries or other non-formal education resources.
The Cash-for-Labor Support Project is a livelihoods project that aims to increase the employment of the host community and Syrians, implemented in cooperation with our project partner GIZ (German International Cooperation Agency) and public institutions (municipalities, district governorships, etc.) in the local areas where it is implemented.
In 2017, we continued our efforts to increase employment in six different districts in Turkey: Kırıkhan in Hatay; Nizip, Şehitkâmil and Şahinbey in Gaziantep; Tarsus and Toroslar in Mersin; and Avcılar in Istanbul.
Within the Protection Department, the On-site Access Project was carried out in two phases in Avcılar and Ümraniye districts of Istanbul. The first phase of the project was carried out between January-June 2017 with the financial support of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) and the technical cooperation of International Medical Corps (IMC).
The second phase of the project was carried out in partnership with UNHCR between September and December 2017. Within the scope of the On-Site Access Project, teams working in Avcılar and Ümraniye identified neighborhoods where Syrians live densely and reached the relevant individuals through home visits in these neighborhoods. During the home visits conducted by field workers, needs were identified. In addition, individuals were provided with counseling on basic rights and services, and those in need were directed to relevant public institutions.
In 2015, together with the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA) and the Community Volunteers Foundation (TOG), we realized the Supporting Young Refugees Project.
The project aimed to empower young refugees between the ages of 18-30 from Syria and local youth through their participation in social responsibility activities and to create social impact in the youth field.
With the Supporting Young Refugees Project, it was aimed to empower young people by providing them with access to health services and accurate information in various fields, especially sexual and reproductive health.
The Improving Access to Education for Syrian Youth Living in Urban Areas Project started in November 2017 in cooperation with Sultanbeyli Municipality and Refugees Association. In the project, we provided a safe, participatory, and inclusive learning space for 400 Turkish and Syrian youth between the ages of 17-25, supporting their preparation for higher education.
We created learning spaces within the project’s scope with our trainers at the Children and Youth Center of the Refugee Association. We met with more than 3 thousand young people. We informed them about our Turkish as a Second Language Preparation for Higher Education (TÖMER) and Foreign Student Examination (YÖS) Preparation training, our higher education preparation counseling services, and our career days events.
We conducted a Placement Test (STS) for 110 young people between 17 and 25 who wanted to participate in our TÖMER training. As a result of the STS, we formed learning groups in accordance with the learning levels of our participants. We conducted an “Educational Tendency and Expectation Questionnaire” to learn about the tendencies and expectations of young people regarding higher education and thus to create our one-to-one educational counseling service program for each young person, and then we started the training.
Within the Syrian Refugees Program framework, by the end of 2015, we launched two community centers in Kırıkhan, Hatay, and Nizip, Gaziantep. In our centers, we provided education and social protection services to Syrian refugees and participants from all segments of the local community. Through non-formal education and social activities, we helped Syrian individuals to become self-sufficient. At the same time, we mediated the development of solidarity and dialogue between the two communities.
The main objectives of the program were:
Supporting Syrian refugees and locals in Turkey with adult education and making them self-sufficient.
Developing psychosocial support activities specifically targeting Syrian refugees’ emotional and mental well-being.
Supporting Syrian refugees with language training, professional skills, vocational training, and income-generating activities.
Facilitate solidarity and dialogue between the two communities through social activities.
Removing the language barrier is crucial in increasing job opportunities for refugees and facilitating communication in public institutions and access to services such as health.
Therefore, we pay attention to providing Turkish language training in all areas and at all levels in all our community centers. The leading target group of the program consists of Syrian adults and youth, but the doors of YUVA centers remained open to everyone to promote intercultural dialogue and social cohesion.
This approach has been one of the most essential elements that set us apart from similar initiatives in Turkey. In addition, all our centers are staffed by Syrians and locals to strengthen cooperation and improve communication between the two communities.
The Support to Disadvantaged Communities Program also supported Syrian refugees to learn Turkish as a second language.
The program, which aims to strengthen the Turkish language skills and social cohesion of Syrian refugees in Turkey, is designed as a holistic process that is appropriate to the cultural life of Syrians, addresses their practical needs, and takes into account the different learning styles of individuals. While this program uses non-formal education theories and methods, the multicultural element was effectively incorporated into the program content through various methods, even in training attended only by Syrians.
The program’s main objective was to facilitate the participants’ lives in daily life and professional activities and to strengthen social cohesion by ensuring effective learning of Turkish.
While offering different content at different levels for children, youth, and adults, the program focused on the different needs of each group and each individual in the field of learning. On this basis, while realizing a dialogue-based learning approach based on the equal relationship between the learner and the teacher, it aimed to develop this solidarity relationship with every individual we come into contact with.
