All posts by : İNGEV

We shared the findings of our “Hand in Hand” project, which has been ongoing since November 2022 for young women aged 18-29 who are not in education nor employment (NEET) living in Gaziantep, Şanlıurfa and Mardin, at the Minerva Han, hosted by the Istanbul Policy Center (IPC) on February 12th.

We listened to young women participants from the three provinces and other experts who have conducted successful projects in the NEET area.

In the program implementation, we discussed the importance of localization, the necessity of correct NEET segmentation for a proper beneficiary definition, thinking outside of traditional job patterns for women’s employment, the importance of the private sector’s involvement at the local level in all stages from needs assessment to implementation, and establishing a correct balance between home care economy and wage.

In the “Hand in Hand” project, various economic empowerment activities were offered to 110 NEET women in Mardin, Şanlıurfa, and Gaziantep to access the labor force, employment, and livelihoods.

The project included activities such as career webinars, employment counseling, and vocational training certificates approved by e-Devlet (e-Government), and the employment conversion rate was promising.

As of February 2024, within the scope of the project:

• It was revealed that 372 women living in Gaziantep, Mardin, and Şanlıurfa need support for access to the labor force, employment, and livelihoods.
• 62 partnership meetings were organized with representatives from relevant public institutions, municipalities, the private sector, and NGOs.
• 971 women applied for the project to benefit from the offered services; 349 women were selected to participate, and 260 women joined the project’s online platform.
• 77 NEET women gained knowledge about job searching and applications by participating in various career webinars.
• 110 NEET women received certificates by completing vocational training courses in Basic Accounting and Digital Marketing, Social Media in October and November 2023.
• 103 women accessed mentor support through 201 career planning sessions.
• 97 women aged 18-29 increased their employment participation capacity with career roadmaps prepared together with their mentors.
• 14 NEET women accessed permanent employment opportunities using the knowledge and skills they acquired.

The “Hand in Hand” project is implemented within the framework of the “Strong Civil Space for Gender Equality” project by UN Women with the financial support of the European Union.

We continue to work to spread “Hand in Hand” throughout Turkiye and to create collaborations in this field with our stakeholders.

“Hand in Hand” Project’s Press Reflections:

• Oksijen: https://gazeteoksijen.com/turkiye/el-ele-deprem-bolgesindeki-kadinlara-destek-veriyorlar-198980

• Milliyet: https://www.milliyet.com.tr/ekonomi/depremzede-kadinlara-el-ele-istihdam-7063987

• Duvar: https://www.gazeteduvar.com.tr/eleleyiz-projesi-depremden-etkilenen-kadinlari-is-hayatina-kazandiriyor-haber-1658579

Entrepreneurship plays a critical role in increasing employment. Especially in Southeastern Anatolia region, entrepreneurship is becoming more meaningful with small-scale businesses allowing women to choose their own working hours and places.

Under the “Incubation and Small Grant” Program carried out by INGEV in Şanlıurfa, those who want to become entrepreneurs have continued to receive basic and advanced entrepreneurship training for the last four years.

INGEV, in collaboration with DRC (Danish Refugee Council), provides partial grant support covering the establishment costs for the businesses of entrepreneurs who complete these trainings. Additionally, the project supports new businesses to be more sustainable by providing financial, legal, and business development consultancy services to fresh entrepreneurs.

The Bridges project continues to contribute significantly to the development and social cohesion of Şanlıurfa in its fifth year.

In the field of municipal administration, social inclusion is vitally important for enabling individuals from all segments of the community to actively participate in city life. Through inclusive municipal practices, many communities are able to benefit more from urban planning and services, and their quality of life can improve in social harmony.

INGEV has recently started the “Local Impact” (Yerel Etki) project aiming to ensure more comprehensive inclusion of vulnerable groups in both metropolitan and district municipalities without leaving anyone behind.

In the scope of the project, it aims to increase the awareness of social inclusion among mayors and civil society representatives in Bakırköy, Beşiktaş, Eyüpsultan, Sarıyer, Ataşehir, Fatih, Sultanbeyli, Kağıthane, Beykoz, Sultangazi districts and to strengthen the capacities of local governments and non-governmental organizations in this context.

With the “Local Impact” project, a social inclusion mapping website will also be established, creating a website that locates institutions serving in the area of social inclusion across Istanbul. Additionally, training in the area of social inclusion will be video graphed, and a social inclusion guidebook will be prepared and shared with local governments as an e-book in September 2024.

The “Local Impact” project, conducted with the support of the Matra Fund of the Kingdom of the Netherlands, will play a critical role in understanding the situation of various sensitive groups living within the boundaries of different local governments and taking appropriate actions accordingly.

The views expressed here are solely those of INGEV and therefore do not in any way represent the views of the Embassy of the Kingdom of the Netherlands.

The “Future in Kars” (Kars’ta Gelecek Var) project continues, aiming to enable young people living in Kars, especially in rural areas, to access high value-added dairy products production and food entrepreneurship training.

The project offers technical training in “Basic Cheesemaking,” “Gravyer Expertise,” and “Cheese Maturation Methods,” while comprehensive food Entrepreneurship training aims to bring out the entrepreneurial aspects of young people living in Kars.

Supported by the Turkish Ministry of Youth and Sports and conducted by INGEV under the Rural Area Youth Empowerment Program, the project aims to support young people on their path to becoming entrepreneurs by providing business establishment support to successful participants.

We at INGEV supported the campaign for the improvement of Turkiye’s 2030 climate goal, conducted by civil society organizations and think tanks operating in the climate field.

Our main demand in the campaign, led by CAN Europe (Climate Action Network Europe), was to update Turkiye’s climate target to “35% absolute emission reduction by 2030.” By taking action to reduce our emissions, we can contribute to global efforts and see the economic benefits of climate action such as fighting inflation, energy independence, and new employment opportunities.

The scientific and main basis for the demand of “35% absolute emission reduction by 2030” was the “Turkiye’s Decarbonization Roadmap: Net Zero by 2050” study prepared by the Istanbul Policy Center in 2021.

In the communication activities of the campaign, we focused on the economic benefits of climate action in both our published videos and social media posts.

https://birbucukderece.com/guclu-bir-iklim-hedefinin-turkiye-ye-faydalari

Highlighted videos from the campaign:

INGEV TAM (Social Research Center), in collaboration with its partners in southeastern Turkiye, particularly KAMER, addresses violence against women as an urgent issue. This work is conducted under CARE International Turkiye’s program to combat violence against women, financed by ECHO. The aim is to comprehensively identify the patterns of violence against women in the Southeast of Turkiye.

The research highlights the seriousness of the situation by identifying barriers to reporting instances of violence and seeking support, as well as the root causes of the violence. This provides the necessary insights and recommendations for developing effective intervention strategies.

Some striking findings from the research include:

• Violence against women is triggered by patriarchal power imbalances. Including men and boys in gender-transformative programs is critical. Additionally, programs promoting “responsible fatherhood” support healthier lifestyles.
• Community-focused interventions contribute more meaningfully to effective intervention strategies by strengthening community ties beyond individual assistance.
• Psychosocial support groups promote a sense of safety and empowerment among women by providing a platform for daily interaction, problem sharing, and the exchange of current information.
• The changing nature of social perceptions underscores the importance of long-term support services.