İNGEV

Human Development Monitor: Low Confidence in Society Points to Poor Collaboration

The Human Development Monitor– conducted by INGEV and Istanbul Bilgi University’s Faculty of Communications – aimed to investigate perceptions of social cohesion and common good, the latter of which is defined as decisions, methods, measures or activities that benefit the whole community or a majority of its members.

To work towards the common good, individuals should consider not only what is good for them but about the welfare of other members of society when making decisions. The study found that the perceived common good is notably poor.

The research study revealed that the majority of the Turkish public said, “People [in our country] violate the rules when it aligns with their interests.” Another significant finding was the widespread idea that rules are not followed unless there are sanctions, with 58% of respondents reporting so. The Covid-19 pandemic exacerbated these feelings.

Authored by Professor Halil Nalcaoglu (Dean, Istanbul Bilgi University, Faculty of Communication), the white paper based on the Human Development Monitor examines the relationship between trust and understanding of common good in Turkey, and presents an assessment on how these affect the response against Covid-19.

Please click on the link below to view the report…

Young Entrepreneurs came together at Climate-oriented Start-up Weekend!

Young people from all parts of our country met at the “Young Initiatives Against Climate Crisis and Disasters” Start-up Weekend on September 25-26 to find solutions to the global climate crisis and environmental disasters.

On the first day, young entrepreneurs sought solutions to global problems together with the teams they formed under the guidance of facilitators and mentors.

On the second day, the groups appeared before the jury with their training on presentation techniques. A total of 18 groups, which made 3-minute presentations to the jury, competed to receive the grand prize.

As a result of the jury voting, the ranking was as follows:

1st Place Gel-Götür: with the idea of delivering products with an expiration date approaching, conveying the product to other people’s usage to prevent food waste.

2nd place Scavengers: with the idea of organizing science workshops using working parts of electronic waste.

3rd place “Hurmaco”: with the idea of coffee from date beans.

3rd place TOFI: with the idea of collecting ancestral seeds to support local seed and refugee employment in agriculture.

Start-up weekend was realized together with UNDP Turkey and the Ministry of Youth and Sports, attended by 100 Turkish and Syrian young people from different cities.

Learning Forward: “The Formula Lies in Correct Curricula and Content”

Organized by INGEV’s education department, an online event called “Learning Forward” was carried out to celebrate the 10,000 participant of the organization’s educational events. Capacity development and the importance of effective education in Turkey were discussed.

The event highlighted the role of digitalization in education, as well as the importance of lifelong learning, correct curricula, content and a digital footprint.

Additionally, a framework was established for comprehensive and efficient higher learning, including:

Accurate matching of participants and educator profiles;
Monitoring and evaluating in digitalization;
Educators undergo continuing training programs to keep up with new systems and methods; and
A more agile education eco-system.

If you missed the event or want to re-watch it, click here.

Digital Citizenship: Better Digital Communication for Higher Social Confidence

Carried out with the collaboration of INGEV, Facebook and Oxford University, the main purpose of Digital Citizenship Program is to understand the awareness surrounding digital citizenship in Turkey and to present solutions in this field, in accordance with digital literacy needs. The project comprises three stages, and the first stage included an extensive survey on knowledge, attitudes and perceptions surrounding digital citizenship in Turkey.

The study found that effective communication in the digital world would most help develop the Turkish public’s understanding of digital citizenship. It is possible that developments in this space will improve social confidence and the common good as well.

Preparations for a series of workshops and video content production is underway to raise the level of awareness about digital communications, including factors such as bias, disinformation and hate speech.

Two Big Barriers to SME Digitalization: Budget and Information Gaps

The period of physical distancing enforced by the Covid-19 outbreak has led to profound changes in certain aspects of business life, especially with respect to the transition from face-to-face to remote interactions as well as the increased difficulties regarding management of supply chains. Even though digitalization offers solutions to address such issues, various research studies, especially those aimed at SMEs, point out that the impact of the pandemic has varied depending on the circumstances of the company in question: while the pandemic triggered the initialization of digitalization processes in some cases, it sometimes caused the opposite effect, leading to contractions in new investments.

With this study on the private sector, INGEV assessed the digitalization level and needs of small- and medium-sized enterprises (“SMEs”) in Turkey. The study aimed to reveal the extent to which companies can access the benefits of digitalization, especially during the ongoing pandemic period. The findings on possible gaps and areas of improvement are discussed in the study report.

While the study showed that tools such as e-mail usage, corporate social media account ownership, and internet banking, which might be called “basic-level” tools, are prevalent among the host community SMEs in general, more advanced elements of digitalization such as automation or virtual assistants, which offered crucial increases in productivity, had a very limited recognition and prevalence.

Furthermore, in companies founded by Syrians, even the use of basic level tools is limited.

The research findings not only examine the underlying causes of these findings, but also offer recommendations on possible action steps. In order to overcome these obstacles, it is recommended that the private sector, sectoral associations, civil society organizations, and public institutions take joint action. You can access the reports on the research findings by clicking on the links below:

Click to For Host Community Enterprises
Click to For Enterprises Established by Syrians in Turkey

Labor Market Assessment for Istanbul_thum

Istanbul Labor Market Research: Changes Caused by the Pandemic

The social, economic and political consequences of the COVID-19 pandemic have profoundly altered the society both the macro- and micro-economic levels:

Inequalities have deepened and the economic downturn has been experienced especially harshly by disadvantaged groups who were already economically vulnerable even before the pandemic.

Based on the unexpected and profound economic changes brought on by the pandemic, Save the Children Turkey and INGEV decided to update the 2019 Gender-Sensitive Labor Market Assessment for Istanbul.

Access to the labor market and job opportunities in Istanbul by economically vulnerable youth from among the Syrian and Host communities have been re-examined in light of the changes created by the pandemic. This updated study was conducted from February to April 2021.

Access the report by clicking on the link below:

https://ingev.org/reports/STC_INGEV_lma_Report.pdf

İNGEV-DRC Event Organized to Enhance Business Network Between SMEs İn Şanlıurfa

“Business Networking Event” was organized by INGEV and DRC on August 12 to enhance the business network between SMEs and entrepreneurs, promote the services of local stakeholders, and huddle SME owners and stakeholders together.

In the event, both new entrepreneurs and business owners attended, projects and support packages that entrepreneurs in Sanliurfa can benefit from to start their business and enhance their current businesses were introduced. Participants became aware of the different opportunities in the market by listening to the experience of companies that were established, improved, and continued their services for a long time by benefitting from grant support. Universities’ support mechanism for entrepreneurs to develop university and industry collaboration was shared in the event.

The university provides both field and information support to companies that want to carry out innovative studies in their area was one of the most exciting topics among the participants. The owners of successful enterprises shared their experiences about the collaboration of university, industry, and non-governmental organizations on their innovative works. They explained the curative effect of the know-how and opportunities of the university on their businesses. Entrepreneurs were encouraged to consider alternative cooperation opportunities in consideration of these narratives.

Although different stakeholders develop different business networks in each economic ecosystem, companies are either unaware of these networks or consider these associations only as registration authorities or document-providing institutions, which is a prevalent case in the market.

In this regard, associations and unions stand out as essential stakeholders in promoting the products and services of companies and developing their supplier and customer portfolios. As companies increase their knowledge of the benefits of associations and unions, they have realized that being in connection with the right business networks is essential in reaching their growth targets in fast and secure ways. It was emphasized that the widespread entrepreneurial spirit in different sectors in Sanliurfa and the development of solid cooperation between businesses would significantly contribute to both the new generation entrepreneurs and the capacity of existing companies.

The experiences of successful entrepreneurs in food and textile, their best practices, challenges, and problem-solving strategies were an essential roadmap for the companies participating in the event to find a solution when they encounter similar situations.

Women entrepreneurs explained their gender-based obstacles when they faced establishing their businesses, and they shared their struggle strategies.

The stands opened by 25 companies established with the support of INGEV and DRC working in sectors such as textile, food, wholesale trade, service, and construction to promote their products and services attracted great attention from event participants and stakeholders. Companies had a chance to explain their goods and services in detail to customers, contact representatives of associations and institutions to enhance their business network, and hare their business cards and brochures to potential customers and suppliers.

80 companies from different sectors that want to take part in Sanliurfa’s economic ecosystem were established within the project’s scope, and they participated in the event to develop their business network. In addition, the investment environment in Sanliurfa and university-industry cooperation subjects were evaluated in the event. Participants kept informed about local grants and incentives, the small tricks of developing collaboration between companies, and the company enhancement strategies.

“Business Development Event” organized with the contributions of Harran University, Sanliurfa Chamber of Industry and Trade, Sanliurfa Chamber of Craftsmen and Artisans, KOSGEB, Karacadag Development Agency, SURIAD, the Women Entrepreneurs Supreme Board of the Union of Chambers and Commodity Exchanges of Turkey, Cevahir Han Restaurant, Texture and Orkniza companies was held with strong participation of 60 people consisting of stakeholders and SMEs.

In the event, Turkish and Syrian companies that have just started their commercial activities in different sectors, especially in the food, textile, and wholesale trade sectors, in cooperation with INGEV & DRC, came together with business world organizations, sectoral associations, financial support organizations and Sanliurfa SME representatives.

HDI/SDG Experience Sharing Platform Held on 8-9 July

In cooperation with Sabancı University IPC, INGEV launched the HDI/SDG Metropolitan Municipalities Experience Sharing Platform on 8-9 July 2021. The platform aims to become a hub for municipalities to conceptualize the importance of localizing SDGs and implementing these SDGs according to the 2030 Agenda of the UN.

The first day of the event shed light on how significant SDGs are for the municipalities and how local governments are becoming more crucial in people’s lives.

İNGEV President Vural Çakır, in his opening speech, stated that “Turkey is the most advanced country globally in measuring SDGs at the local level. However, there is still a need to turn this into a guide to carry it to concrete targets. Voluntary SDG targeting initiated by local governments is of critical importance.”

1st panel comprises representatives from international banks such as EBRD and World Bank. The key message is that local governments have become vital players in terms of infrastructure and investment with green content.

Especially 2nd panel’s shed light on the importance of SDGs on the local level. The Lord Mayor of Mannheim, Dr. Peter Kurz, and the Director of “Agenda of 2030” Barcelona, Ramon Canal Oliveras, talked about their cities’ challenges during Covid-19 and their best practices to fight against inequalities. These two cities are also known as the first ones drafting “Voluntary Local Review” reports.

While Voluntary Local Reviews (VLRs) help local governments share about their progress, experiences and practices on the SDGs, they also help local communities engage with localization in a transparent and accountable way.

On the second day in a closed session, eleven metropolitan municipalities shared their good practices on gender equality, sustainable economy, sustainable environment, governance & transparency. These municipalities also ranked very high in the Human Development Index-Metropolitan Municipalities study by İNGEV.

Please click here to watch the first day of the event. (partially Turkish, partially English)

INGEV is creating a digital map of SMEs!

INGEV TAM (Social Research Center) has just launched a study that will regularly measure SMEs’ current digital capacities and their priority needs. The study aims to create a digital map of SMEs by including Syrian businesses and local companies.

“SME Digital Monitor” will measure the current digital capacity of SMEs in a wide range from financial applications used by companies to data storage methods, online marketing applications, to information management systems.

Within the scope of the research, the perspectives of SMEs on the digitalization process, the areas where they most need digitalization, and the supports they want to receive to accelerate their digitalization processes will also be taken into consideration.

The research, which will create a digital map of SMEs, aims to collect data regularly and transfer the results as an index and thus follow the periodic developments and trends in the digital transformation of SMEs of different sizes in Turkey.

For more detailed information on the research: merve.yagmuroglu@ingev.org

“Friend” Project by INGEV Volunteers

Friend project, “Arkadaş” in Turkish, is a social cohesion project that improves the Turkish speaking practice of Syrians who have already stepped into the business world.

Within the project framework, while bringing together those who want to improve their Turkish, we meet in online “language rooms” and talk in Turkish on various topics with volunteers from the host community. We are especially careful in highlighting business topics in our conversations.

Thus, we have the chance to practice Turkish and get to know each other better with weekly online activities, which are entirely voluntary, without a teacher-student relationship.

The project improves the Turkish speaking practice of Syrians on the one hand and enables new friendships.

To become an INGEV volunteer, “To support and benefit from the “Friend” project, all you need to do is to fill out the registration form:

https://forms.gle/wDRmWFUnNHw2azRg8 (Click on the Link)

All posts by : İNGEV