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ASHOKA
TURKEY
(April 2005)
Ashoka is dedicated to affecting global social change by advancing the
field of social entpreneurship. Leading social entrepreneurs are practical
visionaries who possess qualities traditionally associated with business
entrepreneurs—vision, innovation, determination and commitment—but who are
devoted to systemic social change. Ashoka elects these pioneering social
entrepreneurs as Fellows into a global association of their peers and
invests in them financially and professionally to help launch their ideas.
Ashoka assists over 1,500 Ashoka Fellows in 55 countries. There are
currently 15 Ashoka Fellows positively impacting the lives of millions in
Turkey.
Ms. Hulya Denizalp, Country Representative
Tophanelioglu cad. no.70 A-4 bl
D.1 Altunizade-Istanbul
Turkey
Tel: 0216.545 26 46
Email: hdenizalp@ashoka.org
Website:
http://www.ashoka.org
Hulya is an experienced social entrepreneur who heads
Ashoka Turkey from Istanbul. Since the 1970s, she has been a champion of the
international youth movement. In 1994, Hulya founded a venture that focused
on study abroad opportunities for young people. There are now dozens
of such camps in Turkey. In 1999, Hulya joined the Turkish Education
Volunteers Foundation as their Human Resources Director and was responsible
for setting up, training and staffing 71 branch offices throughout the
country and establishing a system for recruiting, screening, placing,
managing and training 4,000 volunteers dedicated to improving children's
education. Hulya brings to Ashoka more than thirty years experience in the
international development field.
Search and Selection
The Turkish fellowship stands at 15 dynamic social
entrepreneurs and growing. With European Union membership as a critical
priority for Turkey, the government and citizen organizations are struggling
to improve the economic, political and social sectors with increasing speed.
There is much work to be done, as Turkey is currently experiencing a GDP
growth rate of 6.5% and unemployment is hovering at almost 11%. Turkish
Ashoka Fellows are well poised to help affect the necessary change, and are
working to boost economic development, improve the standard of living in
Turkey, and help move their country towards greater acceptance and
integration with their European counterparts. The newest changemakers to the
Ashoka fellowship are advancing the fields of civic participation, corporate
volunteerism, urban planning, sustainable fishing, environmental education,
and natural disaster management.
See below for a snapshot of the complete Turkish
Fellowship:
|
Ashoka Fellow |
Field of Work |
Organization: |
|
Ercan Tutal |
Health |
Alternative Life Association |
|
Yasemin Kılıç |
Economic Development |
|
|
Nevin Eraçar |
Health |
Otiştikler Derenği |
|
Guneşin Aydemir |
Human Rights |
Nature Net |
|
Yusuf Kulca |
Human Rights |
Street Children Association |
|
Nebahat Akkoç |
Economic Development |
Ka-Mer |
|
Şengül Akçar |
Environment |
Kaya- Support for Women’s Work |
|
Victor Ananias |
Environment |
Buğday |
|
Erol Scott |
Civic Participation |
|
|
Korhan Gumuş |
Environment |
Human Settlements Association |
|
Mustafa Sarı |
Civic Participation |
Fisheries |
|
Nasuh Mahruki |
Civic Participation |
Akut Search and Rescue Team |
|
Ömer Madra |
Civic Participation |
Acik Radio |
|
Zeynep Uluer |
Civic Participation |
Corporate Volunteer Association |
|
İbrahim Betil |
Civic Participation |
Community Volunteers Association |
FELLOW IMPACT
Ashoka Fellows are transforming the lives of boys and
girls who end up living on the streets of Istanbul and other major cities,
ending the discrimination against Gypsies, improving the economic situation
of women and low-income families, empowering the disabled and their
families, and creating support centers for abused women. These Fellows are
just a few examples of the work being done within the Turkish fellowship to
bring lasting social change to Turkey and beyond. Consider the following
cases:
YUSUF KULCA
| Human Rights | Elected 2003
 Begun
nearly twenty years ago, Yusuf’s pioneering work with street children has
meant that today, these children have a place to stay, food to eat,
counseling and help in returning to their families (if they have families),
as well as employment possibilities. Through his continuing efforts with
street children and his work with another ignored group, Gypsies, Yusuf is
helping marginalized groups in Turkey become productive citizens within
mainstream society.
 | Yusuf currently works with over 200 Gypsy families and has made over
2,000 appearances to increase awareness and lobby for the rights of street
children and Gypsies. |
| He has won notable gains for street children including: a national
child protection unit specifically for street children, free hospital care
to kids living on the streets, an emergency hotline for children in
distress, and residential facilities for runaways. |
| In order to generate income for his association and also to increase
social awareness on the issue, Yusuf’s organization, Street Children
Association, published a book consisting of paintings and poems of street
children. He also served as a consultant to a Turkish fi lm on street
children named "Children of Secret". |
| Yusuf has recently launched the “Mustafa Demircioğlu Life School”
project that will be built on a field of 27.000 m2 in Çatalca, a district
close to İstanbul. This project will focus on providing skills,
experience, and exposure to street children and Gypsies in the areas of
greenhouse work, stockbreeding, fruit and vegetable growing, hotel
management, indoor palm growing, sapling producing, and education. The
school will provide literacy classes, computer skills, and primary school
education for those in need. |
| Yusuf was recognized as a "World-Wide Leader" by the World Bank and is
one of the "Project Profiles" currently featured on their website. |
ŞENGÜL AKCAR
| Economic Development | Elected
2003
Şengül has designed a unique, community-based foundation
that educates and empowers poor women and families. By working at the
community level, Sengül’s programs are increasing women’s financial
capacities, political visibility, and democratic participation.
| Recently Şengül has organized a number of workshops focused on
building women’s leadership potential. Approximately 50 women in Kocasinan,
Esenyurt, Gazi and Sultanbeyli completed their leadership trainings, and
another 16 attended a workshop for children to develop their artistic
creativity. |
| Through her women’s centers, Şengül runs one of the first micro-credit
programs where women are taught financial management skills traditionally
reserved for men, and assists them in developing their own businesses by
providing them with credit. This year credit was given to 440 women who
started their own businesses in Kocaeli. KAYA now has 712 active members
and has provided credit over 1,350 times. |
| In the last six months, approximately 1,000 children and women have
taken advantage of the 15 Women and Children Center’s Şengül has
established. One ongoing project at these centers involves neighborhood
mothers working to solve child care problems of women who want to work.
Groups of 10 volunteer women have been organized and work to address
employment and child care needs for other poor women in their area. |
| Şengül has also opened Nahil Restaurant to contribute economic
enhancement of women and genuine handicrafts made by the female
participants of Şengül’s programs are sold here. |
ERCAN TUTAL
| Learning/Youth
Development | Elected 2003
 Ercan
offers disabled people of all ages an opportunity to confront and overcome
challenges through sports--especially swimming and scuba diving. In doing
so, they show themselves, their families and neighbors, and the public more
broadly what they can achieve---the first step in changing oppressive
attitudes and securing greater freedom of opportunity. Ercan stresses that
Alternative Camp is not only a project but also an institution. Alternative
Life Association (AYDER) has already started to develop and implement many
social projects for people with disabilities and different needs. His latest
achievements are highlighted below:
|
|
This year over 700 handicapped people have benefited from his sports
camps. |
|
|
Ercan and his team recently expanded Alternative Camp to a second
facility in Antalya region on May 1, 2004. This camp is also focused on
providing recreational programs for the disabled, and already has enlisted
over 400 disabled participants and 100 volunteers working to ensure its
success. This Alternative Camp 2 was created in partnership with the
Turkish Spastic Children Foundation. |
|
|
|A project entitled "Barrier-Free
Social Life," has been implemented in numerous towns and helps local
authorities re-configure their social services taking into account the
needs and rights of the disabled. Ercan also has worked with
universities and the media to help disseminate his advocacy campaigns for
the rights of the disabled. |
|
|
Alternative Camp sponsored and coordinated an annual sports fair
called REHA 2004 Fair. This unique fair conducted workshops on wall
climbing, scuba diving, and held a seminar on sports for the disabled.
|
|
|
The "Life School for Disadvantaged Women" project is in its final
planning stages with the co-operation of Turkish Disability Association
and the official support of the Istanbul Governorship. The aim of the
project is to gather 60 disabled women and give them specific courses in
English, handicraft design, and small business development for 6 months to
increase their productivity in mainstream society. |
NEBAHAT AKKOÇ
| Human Rights/Civic Engagement | Elected
2001
 Nebahat
has launched a uniquely comprehensive support center for women in
southeastern Anatolia, the poorest and most conservative region of Turkey.
The self-supporting center, financed by an on-site restaurant and daycare
center, provides a range of services to women in need, including legal and
psychological counseling, human rights education, and child-care. To date,
420 women have participated in group sessions that meet for ten weeks to
discuss a range of topics - human rights, democratic participation,
leadership, education, and domestic violence prevention. She is helping
hundreds of victimized women:
| Approximately 600 women access Nebahat’s emergency hot-line service
annually. |
| Over 500 women have sought refuge at her sites and she has prevented
53 honor killings this year alone. |
| Nebahat was awarded the prestigious Ginetta Sagan award given by
Amnesty International in New York in April 2004 for her work to empower
women in Turkey. |
| She was also recognized as one "38 Heroes of the Modern Age" by Time
magazine in 2003 for her outstanding efforts to advance women’s rights in
the region. |
| In 2004, Nebahat’s organization, KA-MER, expanded into 5 different
cities throughout Turkey: Bingöl, Batman, Kızıltepe, Mardin and Diyarbakır. |
| Nebahat has taken great strides to build the capacity of her
organization. In May 2004, she launched restructuring efforts in order to
unite and build synergies between her various empowerment programs. In
order to facilitate this change, Nebahat’s staff and volunteers were
trained for adaptation to the new institutional on the following human
rights topics: job performance, staff placement, relations within the
organization, voluntary management, and staff / volunteers relations. |
| Through positive support from Hulya Denizalp and Susan Davis, Nebahat
has successfully negotiated a $100,000 grant from a US funder to expand
her economic activities for poor women. |
FELLOWSHIP BUILDING
Ashoka serves as the professional association for social
entrepreneurs and their institutions. In an effort to effectively harness
the energy and best practices of Fellows, Ashoka Turkey has encouraged
Turkish Fellows to work collectively and supported Fellow-initiated
professional development activities.
The 2004 Orientation and Induction of
New Fellows
Ashoka Turkey held its most recent Orientation and
Induction Ceremony on May 15, 2004 where 12 Turkish Fellows were officially
inducted into the Ashoka Fellowship in a highly publicized event in
Istanbul. The event consisted of a day-long orientation workshop attended by
new Fellows, veteran Fellows and Ashoka staff.
STRATEGIC PARTNERSHIPS
In FY04, Ashoka Turkey has developed and maintained
relationships with numerous organizations whose objectives and constituents
overlap with our own. Ashoka has partners like Arkadaslar,
as well as numerous other private and public sector organizations including:
|
| AIESEC in Turkey -- AIESEC stands out as the
world’s leading global network of young people dedicated to developing
socially responsible citizens who are proactive agents of change. AIESEC
sponsors an exchange program, which provides students and young
professionals quality internships to challenge their skills, values and
knowledge. The aim of Ashoka’s partnership with AISEC is two fold. First,
it provides Fellows with access to a vast supply of high quality,
innovative interns from all over the world who can offer new insights and
ideas to the Fellows’ work. Second, Fellows will furnish AIESEC students
with opportunities to learn our unique approach both to international
development and to social entrepreneurship. |
|
| Acik Radio -- Senior Ashoka Fellow Omer
Madra is Director General of the independent media channel focused on
social affairs, Acik Radio. His radio station features Ashoka’s Turkey
Representative Hulya Denizalp as the program producer for a show entitled
"Voluntarism and Social Responsibility" which reaches an audience of over
500,000 listeners. |
|
| Bilgi University in Istanbul – Hulya
conducted numerous lectures on human resources and volunteer management
for NGO’s last year. Through her lectures, Turkey’s mainstream academic
circles are being introduced to the concept of social entrepreneurship and
Ashoka Fellows. |
|
| Pfizer, Adidas, a partner of White & Case
law firm, and TELPA
(a Turkish Telecommunication Company) provided
all the office furniture and equipment for Ashoka’s new office in Istanbul |
Ashoka Turkey is forging relationships with a number of
national and multi-national, private companies in Turkey, and will continue
to build upon our existing network of partners.
Marketing and Communication
Ashoka’s role as a pioneer in creating and promoting
social entrepreneurship in Eurasia and the Middle East gives us a unique
responsibility to develop a public understanding of the profession. Ashoka
Turkey has been working to increase the visibility of Ashoka, our Fellows
and their work, as well as the profession of social entrepreneurship through
a Fellow-focused media strategy:
| Ashoka made its debut appearance on Turkish TV as the 2004 Induction
ceremony was lengthily featured on Turkey’s largest national TV channel,
and the broadcast throughout Europe and Central Asia. |
| Articles featuring Ashoka Turkey’s Orientation and Induction appeared
in major Turkish newspapers, magazines, radio programs and TV news shows. |
| Ashoka marketing pamphlets in Turkish, videos highlighting Fellows,
and a Turkish Ashoka website were created-
http://www.ashoka.org |
| A TV journalist volunteered to produce a CD ROM highlighting TV
footage of Ashoka Fellows and Hulya’s featured appearances on national
television. |
| A well known Turkish magazine, ‘Aktüel’, published a piece on Ashoka
featuring three Fellows and an interview with Hulya. |
***********************************************************************************************
To contribute to Ashoka in the name of Arkadaslar, but to
receive 501(c) 3 credit for income tax purposes, you may donate directly to:
Ashoka U.S.A.
1700 North Moore Street, Suite 2000 (20th Floor)
Arlington, VA 22209
T: 703-527-8300
F: 703-527-8383
www.ashoka.org
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