Issue: 82
The International Day of Peace was an important day to express our intellectual and moral solidarity and articulate our voice with millions around the world who yearn for peace.
We pledged ourselves to be a part of the collective reflection on the unconscionable toll- moral, physical, material- which the conflicts and wars inflict upon the societies and equally importantly, we desired to join in an appeal to the people throughout the world to strife for sustainable peace for all.
"Sustainable Peace for a Sustainable Future"
This year’s theme of the International Day of Peace was “Sustainable Peace for a Sustainable Future.”
It highlights the fact that we cannot possibly think about building a sustainable future if there is no sustainable peace.
It emphasizes that world’s resources must be used for the benefit of society, not to finance wars; to fight poverty; to reduce the risk from disasters; and to advance social equity.
Children should be in school, not recruited into armies; people must be provided with the opportunity to develop and be gainfully employed; the environment must be safeguarded; rights of people must be respected to ensure a better world for all.
Global military spending exceeded 1.7 trillion
Last year, global military spending reportedly exceeded 1.7 trillion US Dollars – more than 4.6 billion US Dollars a day, which alone is almost twice the UN’s budget for an entire year.
This level of military spending is hard to explain in a post-Cold War world and amidst a global financial crisis.
Post 2015 development framework
For sustainable peace, we must address basic human needs and achieve the Millennium Development Goals.
Beyond the MDGs, we need to develop post 2015 development framework based on equity, justice and inclusive green growth and fully integrating the troika of social, economic and environmental dimensions.
The Rio+20 UN Conference on Sustainable Development in June this year, provided the world with a historic opportunity.
Let us join hands, with passion and commitment, to ensure that the Rio consensus leads us to sustainable development, sustainable peace, and a secure and peaceful world for the present and posterity.
* Shahid Najam, UNDP Resident Representative in Turkey and UN Resident Coordinator in Turkey
Much of these successes are based on innovative new social policies addressing the needs of that region’s chronically poor and marginalized, including the Roma, youth, the long-term unemployed and people with disabilities.
The publication provides vivid examples of “triple-win” strategies that aim to advance social, economic and environmental objectives simultaneously.
As a result of these often innovative strategies, UNDP – always in partnership with governments, the private sector and civil society – has helped to create jobs, meet the needs of the most vulnerable, manage the environment responsibly and provide for the prevention of and recovery from crisis and disaster.
“There are common qualities to transformational change, regardless of the context or country in which it takes place,” said Helen Clark, who heads UNDP. “Some critical characteristics of successful transformational change include measurable results, strong partnerships with governments and civil society and improved national capacity to manage development projects autonomously.”
Road to solution: Growing inequalities and environmental degradation in the region
Despite the relatively high average income in many of the region’s countries, large numbers of people are poor or at the risk of falling into poverty.
Growing inequalities, due to social, economic and political exclusion, remain a challenge.
Environmental degradation, especially the high rates of greenhouse gas emissions in some countries of Eastern Europe and Central Asia, poses additional threats to development.
“Each story documents how UNDP responds to the demands of governments in Europe and Central Asia, delivering sophisticated policy support that mitigates the impact of economic and environmental shocks that have the potential to push populations back into poverty,” said Cihan Sultanoglu, Director of UNDP’s Bureau for Europe and the Commonwealth Independent States.
Turkey's success story
Turkey's success story was in the Energy and Environment section of the Report.
The report told the story of the foundation of the Kure Mountains National Park and the success stories that took place afterwards within the scope of the Küre Mountains National Park project which was awarded one of the best practices to represent Turkey in Rio+20 Conference.
The report emphasized that the process have not only achieved to protect the biodiversity in Küre Mountains, which is the first Pan Park certified protected area in Turkey, also have led to greater local democracy with an extensive participation of citizens, civil society groups and NGOs.
Hence the project marked the first time that ordinary citizens and Central Government worked together to protect their common environment.
For more information about the Küre Mountains National Park Project: www.kdmp.gov.tr
For more information about UNDP’s work in Europe and the CIS region, please visit http://europeandcis.undp.org/
The report warns that despite several important global targets being met ahead of the 2015 deadline, for the first time in many years aid shows a decline that risks slowing the momentum of significant development gains.
With no apparent commitment by donor governments to reverse the trend, it is possible that fewer of the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs), the UN’s poverty reduction targets, will be reached in fewer countries by the 2015 deadline.
In the MDG Gap Task Force Report, experts from across the UN system found difficulty in identifying areas of significant new progress in the global partnership to achieve the Goals, and for the first time there are signs of backsliding.
Official Development Assistance fell by 3 percent
After reaching a peak in 2010, the volume of Official Development Assistance (ODA) fell almost 3 percent in 2011, as measured in constant prices and exchange rates.
Citing a $167 billion gap between actual aid disbursement and the amounts committed, the Report of the MDG Gap Task Force warns that a delayed impact from the economic crisis on donor country budgets between 2013 and 2015 threatens to further widen the delivery gap.
Meeting the remaining targets by 2015 is still possible
While the funding challenges are enormous, global targets on poverty, water, slums and parity between girls and boys in primary education have been met, according to this year’s UN Millennium Development Goals Report, issued in July. Also, there have been significant improvements in access to primary education and availability of HIV treatment.
The report concluded that while challenging, meeting the remaining targets by 2015 is still possible, but only if Governments do not waiver from their commitments made over a decade ago and international support is adequate.
The report offers recommendations for the global community to sustain momentum on important MDG gains.
“Climate Risk Management Conference” was organized within the scope of the Enabling Activities for the Preparation of Turkey’s Second National Communication to the UNFCCC Project in order to discuss the holistic approach of climate change adaptation.
A total of 80 participants from public institutions, non-governmental organizations and universities attended to the conference.
200 floods resulted in economic loss of 100 million per year
Deputy Resident Representative of UNDP Matilda Dimovska also delivered a speech in the conference.
She stated that economic losses caused by floods induced by climate change is nearly the same as that of earthquakes, and about 200 floods occurring each result in economic loss of 100 million USD per year.
Dimovska, expressed the necessity of holistic approach of climate change adaptation and disaster risk reduction.
Disaster and Emergency Management Presidency (AFAD) Head Dr. Fuat Oktay emphasized that they are open to collaborations to work on disaster preparedness and disaster risk reduction.
Deputy Undersecretary of Ministry of Environment and Urbanization, Sedat Kadıoğlu, stated that climate risk management is an interdisciplinary issue within the context of climate change adaptation and risk management and they are ready to collaboration with institutions.
UNDP Regional Office, Crisis Prevention and Recovery Unit Coordinator Michael Thurman shared UNDP’s experiences on climate risk management and provided examples from relevant projects conducted in different countries.
Prof. Mikdat Kadıoğlu, Head of İTÜ Disaster Risk Management Center, gave information on the climate change adaptation and disaster risk management issues in Turkey and he emphasized the need for assessment of natural disasters together with climate change impacts in a holistic manner.
He also expressed the need for political actions to be taken in this area. Kadıoğlu is also the national disaster expert of the Preparation of Turkey’s Second National Communication on Climate Change Project.
Panel discussion
After the opening speeches and presentations, a panel discussion on “Climate Risk Management Approach for Turkey” was held with participation of representatives from UNDP BRC, UNDP BCPR NY, İTÜ Center of Excellence for Disaster Management, AFAD, Ministry of Environment and Urbanization-Department of Climate Change, İstanbul Governorate- Project Coordination Unit and Global Balance Association.
Panelists discussed the topic with different aspects and provided comments on the future works that can be done using this holistic approach.
Conference and the panel brought up the issue that disaster risk management in Turkey should be reviewed and updated as necessary to allow integration of climate change adaptation and disaster risk reduction in a holistic approach, so called climate risk management, into all policy, plans and programs in this area.
Enabling Activities for the Preparation of Turkey’s Second National Communication to the UNFCCC Project is implemented by the UNDP, executed by The Ministry of Environment and Urbanization and funded by the Global Environment Fund (GEF). The aim of the project is preparation of the Second National Communication of Turkey and capacity building within government and society.
You may watch the video of CNN Türk broadcast for the conference below.
With the training program that was executed on the dates of 3-7 September by DHL Disaster Response Team, both the airports and the relative personnel were being prepared for the post-disaster logistics conditions.
Training aimed to prevent the problems that may arise in case that an unexpected amount of aid material arrives to airports after a natural disaster by determining the local logistics capacity and the expertise.
During the training program, which is successfully realized in Indonesia, Nepal and Bangladesh, emergency plans were made by evaluating the local authorities’ and government officials’ exclusive needs alongside with the airport personnel.
Knowledge transfer to local experts
GARD instructors were consisted of the logistics and education experts who had a specialized training voluntarily in precaution programme prepared by Deutsche Post DHL for disaster management.
GARD programme took place in two airports of Istanbul with the participation of approximately 30 employees.
Among the participants, besides the personnel members of Ataturk and Sabiha Gokcen airports, there were representatives from the airports of Izmir, Ankara, Antalya, Adana, Bodrum, Dalaman, Nevsehir and Trabzon.
With the aim of benefiting from the expertise of the related shareholders, security personnel and the public officials also participated in the training.
Stating that Turkey is a highly developed country but there is need for exclusive requirements in terms of logistics in post-disaster period, Deutchse Post DHL Corporate Communications and Corporate Responsibility Director Christof Ehrhart said; “Our GARD initiative presents the opportunity of passing our post-disaster logistics expertise to the local specialists before the disasters. GARD makes an important and efficient contribution to regular management activities in post-disaster period.”
Being located in an active tectonic region, Turkey is getting prepared for disasters
Being located in an area that is active in tectonic terms and where earthquakes happen regularly, DHL Express CEO of Turkey and France Michel Akavi stated that the GARD initiative is a highly beneficial one in terms of professionalizing the disaster management.
UNDP Environment and Sustainable Development Programme Director Dr. Katalin Zaim stated; “All kinds of efforts for getting prepared for disasters and reducing the risk of a natural disaster correspond to the empowered lives, resilient nations mission of UNDP. In this regard, the GARD training programme, which is developed by the collaboration of DPDHL and UNDP and aiming to build capacity for disaster preparedness in airports particularly prone to disaster risks. I believe that this training will contribute to better plan and deliver relief in Istanbul airports in case of a disaster.”
Between 4-6 June, UNDP İstanbul International Center for Private Sector Development (IICPSD) and UNDP Brussels Office had launched negotiations with African, Carribean and Pacific states (ACP) and the EC in Brussels for the purpose of enhancing the collaboration within the South-South cooperation and to promote the inclusive economic growth and fulfillment of the Millenium Development Goals (MDGs), .
They had agreed to resume discussions in İstanbul to streamline cooperation and to explore interest of Turkish institutions and businesses to partner for progress achieving MDGs in the ACP Least Developed Countries.
Hence, along with ACP Group of States and European Commission, IICPSD hosted a high-level delegation from Brussels and a series of representatives of Turkish institutions including the ministries of Foreign Affairs and Economy, the Turkish Agency for Cooperation and Coordination, TOBB, DEIK, and BUTGEM.
Renewed commitments of support
Discussions led to renewed commitments of support for accelerated socio-economic development in the ACP countries.
The involved parties announced their intentions to further enhance the role of private sector in sustainable development in cooperation with IICPSD for the benefit of the 40 Least Developed Countries belonging to the ACP space.
The participating Turkish institutions explicitly declared their willingness to share their experience in trade and economic cooperation with the ACP countries involving the IICPSD and in coordination with UNDP Brussels and the European Commission.
The ACP Secretariat expressed its commitment to encourage ACP countries to utilize the experience of Turkey and of the European private sector in developing inclusive value-chains and in identifying business solutions for poverty alleviation.
The European Commission stated its interest in partnering with the IICPSD towards developing institutional capacities for inclusive market building across ACP countries.
The High-Level meeting with Mr. Kadir Topbaş
There was also a high-level meeting with H.E. Dr. Kadir Topbas, Mayor of Istanbul, President of United Cities and Local Governments and Member of the UN High-Level Panel for the post 2015 Development Agenda, that took place at the Istanbul Metropolitan Municipality.
The meeting was followed by media event in which Dr. Topbas, Dr. Chambas, Ms. Mosca and Mr. Vigilante expressed confidence that the IICPSD will play a key role in establishing the institutional partnership with the private sector that could leverage businesses’ role they are capable and willing to play for a world that is less poor, less discriminating and less exposed to environmental and climate change-driven risks.
Assoc. Prof. Boğaçhan Benli and Ceyda Alpay represented “Every Drop Matters” project which is a water partnership initiative of UNDP and The Coca-Cola Company and they shared their experiences in the project with experts and participants throughout the sessions.
Assoc. Prof. Boğaçhan Benli and Ceyda Alpay also gave an interview to the Turkish edition of Deutche Welle about their remarks after the World Water Week.
Turkey is water poor
Assoc. Prof. Boğaçhan Benli, who is the Global Programme Manager of Every Drop Matters partnership, said that Turkey is not a rich country in its water resources as it is commonly assumed.
He stated that “As for the Middle Eastern and North African countries, Turkey is water rich because there are many rivers and freshwater bodies in the country. However, as for European and Northern American countries, Turkey is unfortunately a water poor country. There are two thousand cubic meter of water per capita in Turkey, which is under the world average.”
Water consciousness in Turkey
Ceyda Alpay, who is the Project Associate in Every Drop Matters Regional Partnership in Turkey, emphasized that because water management has been discussed in Turkey for a long time, now there is an increasing awareness among people concerning the water management in Turkey.
She also added that “People in Turkey are more aware of the depletion of resources, climate change, changes in agriculture, and effects on flora. Due to this increasing awareness in Turkey, water is used more wisely. For example, when one talks to a farmer, they can give more information about wise use and management of water resources than an expert.”
Ceyda Alpay further indicated that the biggest global problem until 2050 will be the lack of drinking water. She said that “To address this problem, we have to educate children from school aged years to teach which water is drinkable and healthy, which is not.”
You may read the entire interview in Deutsche Welle from here.
The Social Good Summit was a truly global event where many United Nations Agencies and Programmes organized local Social Good Summits around the world.
The Summit was organized in Nairobi, in Beijing and in New York simultaneously.
Throughout the Summit, the most exciting technology companies and innovators talked to people who can bring power, influence or capital to the table, and live-stream their conversations back to the main Summit in New York – and around the world.
Hence, the Summit united a dynamic community of global leaders to discuss a big idea that is the power of innovative thinking and technology to solve greatest global challenges.
The main goal of the Summit was to unlock the potential of new media and technology to make the world a better place, and then to translate that potential into action.
Helen Clark spoke of the importance of the Summit: “It was one of the largest global conversations on how to create a better world in human history. The Social Good Summit provided us with a unique opportunity to discuss how to eradicate extreme poverty.”
The job counselling services which started within İŞKUR as of June 2012 aim at providing exclusive solutions to Turkey’s employment problems with inroducing the latest and more effective approaches.
The training programme which was developed by the UN Joint Programme “Growth with Decent Work for All: National Youth Employment Program and Pilot Implementation in Antalya” aims at contributing İŞKUR’s institutional capacity building efforts.
Training programme held in two sessions
The first session of the training was held on June 18- 10 July.
Some of the titles covered at the first session of the training were “Effective Access, Matching and Job Replacement in Job Counselling”, “Activities about Rural Agriculture and Employment by FAO and international best practices”, “Basic Life Skills for Immigrant Youth”, “Service Delivery that is Sensitive to Gender and Disadvantaged Groups”.
In the second phase of the training programme, job counsellors from Antalya and Alanya İŞKUR offices also participated.
UN Joint Programme provided technical support and expertise in these trainings as it was the case during the first phase.
100 participants benefited from the trainings that were given by the Turkish and foreign experts with the coordination of the UN Joint Programme.
Some of the titles that were covered at the second session by experts included: “Basic Life Skills Trainings for the Immigrant Youth and Job Counsellors”, “Rural Employment in Antalya” and “Sectoral Growth in Antalya”
Joint Programme aims at reducing unemployment
The target of the UN Joint Programme is to increase the percentage in placements of young unemployed people into decent jobs.
The Joint Programme aims at reducing youth unemployment and increasing the participation of young women in the labour force.
It is funded by the MDG Achievement Fund entrusted to United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) by the Government of Spain, in cooperation with İŞKUR (National Employment Agency) and United Nations Organisations ILO (International Labour Organization), IOM (International Organization for Migration), FAO (Food and Agriculture Organization of United Nations) and UNDP.
The river corridor is built as a result of ‘Four Seasons of Water to Gölcihan’ project which is implemented by Nature Research Society, executed by the partnership between the Coca-Cola Life Plus Foundation, UNDP and YADA Foundation.
It is also the first project in Turkey to protect a lake basin.
The project is conducted in Yeşilköy, which is a small town in Adana, in order to restore the natural water regime in Gölcihan Lake and save the Lake from drought.
River Corridor Method for the first time in Turkey
The river corridor, which is a method applied for the first time in Turkey, will be a connection channel of 500 meters between Ceyhan River and Lake Gölcihan.
There will be a control cover to keep the water level stable throughout the year that will stabilize the water inflow to the Lake.
With the help of the water channel and the control cover, water will be supplied to the lake whenever it is necessary and therefore, the ecologic and economic value of the lake will increase.
New species of fish will be arriving to the lake with the opening of the channel and the the species of fish in the lake will be more various.
The increase in the number of fish species will lead to an increase in the income of farmers engaged in agriculture around the lake.
The opening ceremony for the channel took place on 17 September with the participation of Mithat Altunay, Yeşilköy Town Mayor, and Osman Erdem, President of Nature Research Society.
Given the changes taking place in the region, in the global agenda of UNDP and the wish to give operational answers to the different corporate challenges, the Democratic Governance (DG) practice at the Regional Centre of UNDP in Bratislava (BRC) has taken the initiative to organize a Community of Practice (CoP) meeting in Istanbul.
The meeting was held to bring together the expertise and knowledge of experts in the region in the areas of Democratic Governance and Gender.
The meeting was organized together with the Gender-practice and it was supported by other practices at BRC.
Regional Democratic Governance Analysis
The main aims of the meeting were to produce an updated regional democratic governance analysis for the Eastern Europe and the Commonwealth of Independent States (ECIS) and to further strengthen the CoP as a professional community and advance its role in democratic governance, paying special attention to a gender responsive approach.
The DG-Gender CoP gathered selected external speakers and UNDP experts guiding the discussion on emerging global trends (e.g. Rio+20) and corporate strategies connecting them to the Country Office realities.
The CoP also offered a unique opportunity to Country Offices to engage in the prospective scenario building as a tool to analyze the institutional context, to identify actors, factors, partners and chances for programming.
The meeting lasted for three days
The workshop topics moved from global priorities, to regional context analysis and country programming through three main segments, of roughly a day each over the course of three days.
The first day of the meeting was planned as setting the stage in light of the introductory discussions about democracy, governance of the private sector and democratic transition.
The second day was marked as scenario-building with the analysis of the (sub-) regional context and capitalizing on the previous days analysis.
On the last day, the discussions were revolved around operationalizing this knowledge in terms of current and prospective Country Office governance portfolios, services and products.
The meeting discussions will be captured in the final report to be finalized by mid-October that will serve as a baseline for the ECIS DG work.
Green Business Conference is going to be held between 18-19 October for the fourth time by Sustainability Academy whose aim is to contribute economic, social and environmental sustainability.
The Conference will gather together all stakeholders who take action with the responsibility of creating a business model for a sustainable future.
The conference will be organized in Swissotel and the main theme will be “Sustainable Business for Sustainable Future”.
Throughout the conference which is regarded as the most powerful sustainability platform, managers and leaders are going to share their opinions and experiences to determine the steps to be taken by the business world in order to create a sustainable future.
As sustainability becomes the indispensible principle for the business world, Green Business Conference is going to be an important sustainability platform where the latest developments will be discussed.
Carbon footprint of the Conference will be erased
Green Business Conference, which is organized to create a new business model desires for a sustainable future, will be a Carbon Neutral Conference. All the CO2 emissions emerged throughout the conference is going to be calculated and the carbon footprint of these emissions will be erased.
Detailed information can be reached via http://www.yesiliskonferansi.com/2012/en/index.php
The trainings were held with the participation of staff of 25 Development Agencies together high level representatives of Ministry of Development and provided basic skills and knowledge on facilitation, participation and stakeholder engagement in regional governance processes.
The trainings were held in an environment where the participants addressed the main challenges and lessons learned with regards to the participatory governance processes in regional development freely with the top-notch trainers of participation.
In that respect, it also provided an important opportunity for the Ministry of Development and the Agencies to discuss the different factors effecting the participation and engagement landscape and performance of the Development Agencies, particularly the Development Councils.
The training seminars where key facilitation skills were provided with certain participation tools in different contexts is considered to be one of its kind in Turkey since it addresses specific challenges of participation and engagement in regional development.
In that sense, the results of the gap analysis study that has been realized within the scope of the project were provided the ground for the design and delivery of the trainings.
The referred study was completed in August 2012 and identified capacity gaps or policy issues related to the roles of the Development Agencies in facilitating participatory governance.
A phased training approach on stakeholder engagement and participation in regional development is being adopted in the project implementation and as a follow up of this first interaction with the staff of the Development Agencies, it is planned that additional 120 regional planning experts from different Agencies will benefit from the Basic Trainings on Participation, Facilitation and Stakeholder Engagement in October and November 2012.
In addition, among the participants of the basic trainings 75 selected staff of Development Agencies will benefit from the 3 four-day advanced trainings on participation in 2013.
Therefore, in 2011, while the share of 20 percent, which has the highest income, is 46.7 percent, the share of 20 percent which has the lowest income is calculated as 6 percent.
Annual disposable income per household
According to the survey, the average annual disposable income per household was 24 343 TL.
The average annual equivalised household disposable income, which is the total income of a household divided by the number of household members converted into equalized adults, is measured 10 744 TL.
The average annual equivalised household disposable income is an important indicator to see the individual prosperity in the household.
Among the regions, Istanbul region has the highest average annual equivalised household disposable income with 14 873 TL. South East Anatolia region has the lowest average income with 5 418 TL.
The at-persistent-risk-of-poverty-rate is 18,5 percent
According to the survey of Turkish Statistical Institute, 16,1 percent of total population was at-risk-of-poverty in 2011.
While this rate is 13,9 percent for urban areas, it is 15,7 percent for rural areas by using poverty thresholds calculated separately for urban and rural areas.
Turkish Statistical Institute also calculates at-persistent-risk-of-poverty-rate and shows the percentage of the population living in households where the equivalised disposable income was below the “at-risk-of-poverty threshold” for the current year and at least 2 out of the preceding 3 years.
In accordance with this definition, at-persistent-risk-of-poverty-rate is 18,5 percent in 2011.
Social Transfers
According to survey, in 2011 other social unrequited benefits like family-child benefits, housing benefits, poor household benefits were spend on pensions and survivor’ benefits have 92 % of social transfers.
In this episode, our topic is water, which supports our habitats and which empowers our environment. We are talking about a project called “Every drop matters”.
UNDP Turkey: Hello, this is the New Horizons Podcast of United Nations Development Programme Turkey. In this episode, our topic is the water, which supports our habitats and which empowers our environment. We are talking about a project called “Every drop matters”. Our key-note speaker is Ceyda Alpay, Every Drop Matters Regional Project Associate. Hello Ms. Alpay.
Ceyda Alpay (C.A.): Hello.
UNDP Turkey: You have been implementing this project for a long time. I would like you to introduce this project briefly. What is the aim of ‘Every Drop Matters’?
C.A.: Our project has started in 2007 with the cooperation of Coca-Cola and UNDP and our local project is still being implemented. The aim of this project is to provide safe drinking water to people and teach them how to use water efficiently within the framework of climate adaptation.
As I mentioned before, this project began in 2007 and 2012 will be the last regional phase. Having seen improvements, last year we initiated the global phase of the project. Now it is being implemented by the director of the phase in Stockholm.
UNDP Turkey: In other words, the project that started in 2007 is composed of a partnership of Coca Cola and UNDP. At the first phase, it started as a regional project but its success has made it a global one.
C.A.: Yes, exactly.
UNDP Turkey: We have already talked about how it started. How is this project being implemented in other countries? Then, let’s analyze Turkey.
C.A.: In regional phase, the first one, we included Russia, Ukraine, Kazakhstan, Croatia, Armenia and Turkey.
UNDP Turkey: I also would like to add that the countries you have mentioned are located either near Turkey or have a shore on the Black Sea. Now, let’s talk about Turkey. What have you done in Turkey so far?
C.A.: In the regional phase, we have initiated 3 projects in Turkey. We created a tap water project in Saray, Ankara. To summarize the project, there were technical problems in pipeline of the tap water and due to cemented pipelines many explosions happened in that town. We changed the pipelines and were able to save 30 thousand tonnes of water.
UNDP Turkey: So, you succeeded in saving water and having safe water.
C.A.: Saray has been provided with safe drinking water.
UNDP Turkey: After Saray, the next town is Beypazarı. I know your project implemented in Beypazarı. If possible, can you talk about that? What have you achieved so far?
C.A.: There is a little town called Kuyumcutekke in Beypazari. Its access to safe drinking water is limited due to geographical reasons. I mean, its access to water is one hour once a day, sometimes just 15 minutes during the summer. When we analyze the weather conditions, we realized that we could use the roof-rain harvest. Having provided that, we have placed water storage facilities there and provided continuous and sustainable drinking water for 12 months to local people.
UNDP Turkey: You have mentioned about rainwater harvest. Can you give more detail about that? For example; I have a house in a village. Do I place storage on it? How does it work?
C.A.: There should be simple requirements to establish this system. First of all, there should be rainfall more than 300 meters, and a roof area. We enable the rainfall gathered from the roof gutters to reach the top of the roof through pipes. There we have a simple griddle that is used to prevent access of foreign material to the storage area. The sifted water is going inside of the roof and sifted out via a sand-shingle filter. Rainfall is already pure water that needs simple refinement. Afterwards, we enable that water to reach every single house with the help of a small water pump.
UNDP Turkey: Actually, you talked about this at the beginning. Everything started with the impacts of climate change. In other words, climate change is one of the main reasons causing the emergence of this project. The impacts of climate change have been felt for a while. The area that you have mentioned is one of them. We talk about the decrease in the rainfall, drought, and flood in some of the areas. Taking them into account, you have established this project. You mostly have highlighted the access to clean drinking water part. It has become so successful that it has become a global project since 2010. Now, you are adding a new aspect to your activities in Turkey. You have established a new phase that is related to the whole Black Sea region and countries surrounding the Black Sea. How did you start?
C.A.: As you have mentioned earlier, this project was established as one concerning the Black Sea region. The name of the project is Black Sea Tool Box. Since the beginning, our aim is to make them be used in countries surrounding the Black Sea. Initially, we started the first phase in Turkey. However, the project has already being implemented in Ukraine and Russia. In the following years, the project is expected to take place in Black Sea countries the latest at the end of 2013. Now, I would like to talk about Black Sea tool box. Actually, we distribute them to educators. They are prepared for primary education level. However, the content is prepared for educators to be able to let them teach the content to students. The box contains a book that has 5 chapters.
UNDP Turkey: What is the main message in these books?
C.A.: The chapters start from the geographical and hydrological features of Black Sea region. It continues with the problems that we face in the Black Sea region and how we can handle them. The lecturing part takes place at the beginning of each chapter, is written professionally and prepared for teachers. The teachers are expected to simplify the topics and teach them to the students. There are 56 activities at the end of each chapter. What I mean is there are games related to each topic. Besides that we have game cards in the boxes. Also, we have 2 posters and 1 educational DVD. With the help of the Ministry of National Education, we have been able to reach primary public schools in the Black Sea region. Many educators came and joined us during the training sessions. We handed out boxes and they took them to the schools.
UNDP Turkey: You have reached almost all the schools in the Black Sea region via the Ministry of National Education. It is essential to underline the main idea. This project is aiming at adapting to climate change and it reminds us how important the water is for our lives. I want to ask what the children will learn from the distribution of the boxes. Then we can come to the end of the program.
C.A.: With that box, we can understand the problems we face in the Black Sea region through simplifying them. For example, we can simply explain what does ‘eutrophication’ mean and how we can prevent it.
UNDP Turkey: What is eutrophication?
C.A.: An increase in the number of plants in the sea due to garbage. The number increases yet the amount of oxygen in the sea decreases and negatively affects all creatures living there.
UNDP Turkey: With this project, you will enable children to learn many things. Indeed, we also improve our knowledge through these boxes. How about the other schools those want to benefit from the boxes in other regions?
C.A.: If they contact us via everydropmatters.org. We can send them the boxes as soon as possible.
UNDP Turkey: Also, they can search for ‘Every Drop Matters’. They can contact you via both ways. Thank you so much for your contribution.
C.A.: You are welcome.
UNDP Turkey: Today’s contributor was Ceyda Alpay, Every Drop Matters Regional Project Associate. We have come to the end of this episode of the New Horizons Podcast of United Nations Development Programme Turkey. This program has been recorded at the studios of Radyo İlef of Ankara University Communications Department. You can follow our program on Açık Radyo (Open Radio) on FM frequency, on university radios in our broadcasting network, on iTunes under podcasts and on undp.org.tr. Our username for social media is undpturkiye. Hope to see you next week, goodbye!
In this episode, we will talk about protected areas.
UNDP Turkey: Hello, this is the New Horizons Podcast of United Nations Development Programme Turkey. In this episode, we will talk about protected areas. We will discuss with our contributors the meaning of protected areas, how areas can be protected and exemplary practices of protected areas from Turkey. Our contributors are Ms. Başak Avcıoğlu, WWF-Turkey Nature Protection Director, and Mr. Yıldıray Lise, biologist and Deputy Manager of Enhancing Forest Protected Areas Management System in Turkey Project. Hello and welcome to our program.
Başak Avcıoğlu (B.A.), Yıldıray Lise (Y.L.): Hello.
UNDP Turkey: Let me start with you Mr. Lise, what does a protected area mean?
Y.L.: In fact, "protected area" has many different definitions around the globe. But the important one is that of World Wildlife Fund, which is "land or marine area, managed through legal or other means, that serves to the protection and sustainability of biodiversity and its resources." There two important points here: one is that these areas serve to protect and sustain, and the other is that they are managed.
UNDP Turkey: Also, a protected are serves to the usage of cultural resources related to biodiversity. So we shouldn't regard it solely as protection of the nature but of everything related to nature.
Y.L.: In Turkey, when we say protected area, the first thing that we think of is national parks. There are many protected areas having different statuses in Turkey. But generally when we ask people, they mostly think of national parks. More than around 5% of Turkey's land is protected under different statuses.
UNDP Turkey: But of course not all of these areas are national parks.
Y.L.: No, there belong to different categories.
UNDP Turkey: How many national parks are there in Turkey?
Y.L.: We have 41 national parks.
UNDP Turkey: Can you name a few of them?
Y.L.: There is Küre Mountains where we work and Aladağlar, which is one of the first to pop into our minds. There is also Mount Ağrı, Mount Kaçkar, Bey Mountains in Antalya and Dilek Peninsula.
UNDP Turkey: So let's underline that there are national parks all around Turkey within one and a half hours' reach. We'll come back to this but now let's turn to Ms. Avcıoğlu. Your project is born out of a partnership between WWF-Turkey and UNDP. What is your perspective and reason for taking part in this project? Actually, your title answers this question but we would like to hear your contributions to the project.
B.A.: I can say that this project is ten years old. At the beginning there were our cooperative activities, which today have intensified. We are working in cooperation with many institutions and organizations at every step of the project from improving how Küre Mountains are managed, supporting the NGOs there, to capacity building and awareness raising activities. Of course, we should talk about the Ministry of Forestry and Water Affairs along with UNDP. We formed a triple partnership and I would like to stress that this project is one of the most notable ones in Turkey where NGOs and institutions come together with institutions like the Ministry of Forestry and Water Affairs or the UN. So that is how we are contributing as much as possible to the protection of nature in the local level.
UNDP Turkey: World Wildlife Fund is a strong natural protection organization.
B.A.: Yes, it is one of the oldest ones.
UNDP Turkey: You are conducting this project with the United Nations Development Programme and, as you said, the Ministry of Forestry and Water Affairs. You receive financial support from Global Environment Facility and you have countless local partners. If you'd like, let's continue with Küre. Your project is a GEF-financed one on the protection of forests. What do you do on the local level?
Y.L.: Our main objective is to turn Küre Mountains into an exemplary model. We are trying to come up with a model to set an example for the remaining 40 national parks in Turkey. We are planning on strengthening its managerial infrastructure because there is the sustainable communication strategy and planning management dimension among the management of visitors and many others. Our second objective is putting up signs on the roads and pathways to better serve our visitors. Our third objective concerns a buffer zone, the only one around the national park. We are working together with the Ministry on achieving sustainable forestry there.
UNDP Turkey: Isn't there a buffer outside of the national park?
Y.L.: No, there isn't. There is one inside but none on the outside.
UNDP Turkey: It seems that you have created a model by looking at some examples around the world.
Y.L.: Yes, when it was declared a national park back in 2000, we had an exemplary practice program we built on this model for civil society projects. Also, we have different protection and sustainability practices in the local level. And in our third phase, we are trying to think of how we can contribute in a general manner to the system of protected areas in Turkey. Especially, after the project has started, it had an ever-growing financial and also technical contribution. What we are looking at is how to improve this system of protected areas, how to come up with a system of monitoring and evaluation and how to outline certain strategies.
B.A.: Perhaps, at this point we can talk about Pan Parks, which is a network of Europe's best protected areas.
UNDP Turkey: When we spoke last year, there was still a long way to go, but now I see that that distance is covered. Küre Mountains is one step closer to the network of protected areas.
B.A.: Yes, currently we are very close and hopefully we will witness its inclusion and obtain our certificate.
UNDP Turkey: According to your estimations, when will Küre Mountains be included in the Pan Parks network? Can you make out a date?
Y.L.: Based on our correspondence today, we will go through an international monitoring in the beginning of April. And by June, the process will have finalized.
UNDP Turkey: Taking part in such a prestigious network may have an effect on the number of visitors from Turkey and abroad. I would like to ask you now, Ms. Avcıoğlu, how dos this process take place in the world? In recent times, the importance of protected areas in the struggle against climate change has been gaining in importance. Why is that so and can you name some examples from Turkey?
B.A.: Improving and developing a system of protected areas is highly significant. One of the most notable conventions is the Convention on Biological Diversity. Under its protection programme on protected areas, all member states are obliged to improve their system of protected areas. Our foundation is working to align our system with this convention. One of its most important components manifested itself in climate change. We started to feel the effects due to changing climate in protected areas. For instance, we witnessed the destructive effects of floods and tsunami in Asia. Precipitation is increasing and landslides occur in the Black Sea region. Climate change is observable in America and in Europe too. Protected areas decrease such effects of climate change.
UNDP Turkey: Because it adopts a multidimensional approach. It also has a cultural aspect along with those you mentioned. You have translated a book called Natural Solutions, which is a very good publication. It can be downloaded on undp.org. Turkey's national strategy on climate change and protected areas was prepared, with the contributions of your expertise, to be the first one in Turkey and perhaps in the world. I would like to ask one final question because there might be those among our listeners who would like to make a contribution. How can they reach you?
Y.L.: As you mentioned, everyone can reach us on undp.org. They can also reach all the information we provided here and the digital versions of the documents we talked about on www.kdmp.gov.tr, the official website of Küre Mountains National Park, which is the only national park in Turkey to have a website.
B.A.: World Wildlife Fund also has a website. All our activities and information regarding climate change is available onwwf.org.tr. We work a lot with volunteers on protected areas and protection activities and anybody can support us as a volunteer.
UNDP Turkey: I can see that your project has good relations with institutions and has a strong presence on social media. Therefore it is possible to follow your activities on Facebook and Twitter to get information. Thank you very much for your contributions, biologist and Deputy Manager of Enhancing Forest Protected Areas Management System in Turkey Project, Mr. Lise, and WWF-Turkey Nature Protection Director, Ms. Avcıoğlu. We have come to the end of this episode of the New Horizons Podcast of United Nations Development Programme Turkey. This program has been recorded at the studio of Radyo İlef of Ankara University Communications Department. You can follow our program on Açık Radyo (Open Radio) on FM frequency, on university radios in our broadcasting network, on iTunes under podcasts and on undp.org.tr. Our username for social media is undpturkiye. Hope to see you next week, good-bye!
In this episode, we will talk about a campaign called Countdown for Gender Equality Has Started. We will discuss with our contributor the progress of the project, which was initiated in November 2011, and its future prospects.
UNDP Turkey: Hello, this is the New Horizons Podcast of United Nations Development Programme Turkey. In this episode, we will talk about a campaign called Countdown for Gender Equality Has Started. We will discuss with our contributor the progress of the project which has been initiated in November 2011, and its future prospects. Our contributor today is an MP from Kocaeli, Chairman of Equal Opportunities Commission for Woman and Man of Turkish Grand National Assembly, Ms. Azize Sibel Gönül. Welcome, Ms. Gönül.
Azize Sibel Gönül (S.G.): Hello, thank you for inviting me.
UNDP Turkey: You have come to join us from an ongoing meeting in Istanbul, namely the Information and Experience Sharing Platform of Istanbul Regional meeting. You initiated the Countdown for Gender Equality Has Started campaign at the Turkish Grand National Assembly in November 2011. Perhaps it will be better to start our conversation with the campaign. What does the title of the campaign signify?
S.G.: As you know the Millennium Development Goals target the year 2015. The Countdown for Gender Equality Has Started campaign is jointly led by the Committee on Equal Opportunities for Women and Men. It is a one-year campaign with a one million dollar budget. Under the coordination of TGNA Committee on Equal Opportunities for Women and Men, UNDP, UN Women, Ministry of the Interior General Directorate on the Status of Women, Union of Municipalities and, lastly, related development agencies are our contributing partners. Particularly, UNDP is an important partner as it provides us with technical support.
UNDP Turkey: So this is a general framework of the campaign. Indeed the countdown for gender equality has started. By countdown, you mean 2015, I suppose.
S.G.: Yes we target 2015 and we hope to establish a favorable environment for gender equality. We have come up with a motto: “For a More Just World, Stand by Me.” We set out with this motto, prepared all the posters, brochures, CDs and website of our campaign, thanks to the contributions of UNDP. And we announced the start of our campaign to the press in the presence of the members of the TGNA Committee on Equal Opportunities for Women and Men and our honorable president of the Assembly. We said to everyone, “For a more just world, stand by me.” After the introduction, we have received some very positive outputs. After a brief period, institutions willing to support our campaign emerged. I would like to talk about one of them. This year PTT (Post, Telegraph and Telephone Service) will use our motto on all their postal stamps. So Turkey will see our motto on all kinds of postal services. Also the seals on the envelopes will carry the same motto. PTT will display our campaign’s posters and brochures in all its branches and distribute informative flyers to homes for free. Our activities continue since the campaign’s initiation on November 25. We think that development agencies might also support us because they have key roles in those regions.
UNDP Turkey: You are operating in 26 different regions.
S.G.: Yes, in 26 regions determined by the statistical region classification. This classification into regions, prepared for the national development plan, outlined 12 sub-regions in fact. But since there can be two agencies in one region, we will have the opportunity to operate in both. Therefore, this meeting we held at the assembly with the participation of 26 development agency secretary-generals has been very fruitful. Following this meeting, we, as the commission members and MPs, decided to take to the field for performing fieldwork in these 12 sub-regions. For example, Istanbul province constitutes a single region.
UNDP Turkey: Meaning that Istanbul is a development region on its own.
S.G.: But my region encompasses five provinces, namely Kocaeli, Sakarya, Düzce, Bolu and Yalova, under the East Marmara Development Agency (MARKA). We will hold the meeting I mentioned in one of these five provinces and invite all the others within this development region. We will gather the MPs, elected personalities, appointed personalities, academics, as well as people from NGOs and development agencies of that region. All organizations, decision-makers and executives will talk about the coordination of the issue, as well as the steps taken and to be taken. Thus, these meetings are significant for the promotion of the campaign, raising social awareness on the issue and also questioning the activities under the campaign.
UNDP Turkey: Actually, you started off quite fast. By the second half of 2011, you took over the presidency of the TGNA Committee on Equal Opportunities for Women and Men from Ms. Güldal Akşit. And with this campaign at hand, you are moving with great pace. At the beginning of this episode, we talked about the operation aspect of the campaign. Perhaps it will be better to talk a little bit about its background. What kind of problems are you faced with and how do you detect them? Consequently, where do you think this process will lead you?
S.G.: When we look into the process, equality between men and women is a long process requiring a lot of work and effort in the whole world, not just in our country. Therefore, it is a field that requires continuous work. Sexist values and customs in a society may pose an obstacle for women in benefiting from present laws in social and everyday life. So, we get the chance to observe this in practice when we go to the field. On the other hand, no matter how much we strengthen the legal ground, it is not possible to extend the practice of these laws as long as they are not carried into effect, that is, as long as there are problems in their implementation. For this reason, we need to look into the problems faced in the field to come up with solutions. At this point, we believe the fieldwork we carry out under the campaign will contribute to raising awareness in the local, regional and national level. And our friends at the commission and at UNDP are all working in a very self-less manner and, at the same time, putting a lot of effort into this. I especially think that the data we received in the meeting in Istanbul today is very significant. So the format and output of our following meetings are very important. There will be main policies formed at the top level but in our opinion, ensuring their expansion to the base level and conjuring something at the base level and making sure that it makes its way to the top will leave a more permanent mark.
UNDP Turkey: You talked about including the outcome into the policies in the local, regional and national levels. Let us emphasize that we are recording this episode on January 27. You are starting with the Istanbul region and you will be visiting many provinces and regions based on the 12-province framework. You will be moving on to Mardin and Malatya provinces in February and March. And of course, the outcomes you get there will be transmitted to Ankara where another outcome is due to follow.
S.G.: We will transmit the outcomes to the ministries and institutions. This campaign will continue for a year and during this year we definitely want to visit at least 12 provinces. So this tour will go on until the beginning of 2013. As you mentioned, we will be visiting Mardin in February, Malatya in March and then Tokat from where we will continue with provinces in the west. After these visits, perhaps we might organize a meeting in the Anatolian side of Istanbul. Since we held our first meeting there, we might as well hold the last one there too. So that’s basically how the process will take place.
UNDP Turkey: You can find information on the objectives of the campaign on its official site by typing “Countdown for Gender Equality Has Started” on the internet. Distinguished MP, Ms. Gönül informed us about how this campaign started and what is being done within its scope of work. MP from Kocaeli and Chairman of Equal Opportunities Commission for Woman and Man of Turkish Grand National Assembly Ms. Azize Sibel Gönül, thank you very much for joining us to talk about the Countdown for Gender Equality Has Started campaign, which was initiated in November 2011 and will continue until the beginning of 2013. Those whore are interested in the topic can get more information on its website. We have come to the end of this episode of the New Horizons Podcast of United Nations Development Programme Turkey. This program has been recorded at the studio of Radyo İlef of Ankara University Communications Department. You can follow our program on Açık Radyo (Open Radio) on FM frequency, on university radios in our broadcasting network, on iTunes under podcasts and on undp.org.tr. Our username for social media is undpturkiye. Hope to see you next week, good-bye!
This week, we will talk about UNDP’s Istanbul International Centre for Private Sector in Development which has been inaugurated exactly one year ago. Why this centre has been formed in Istanbul, what the targets are, which works are carried out, we discuss these issues with our contributor.
UNDP Turkey: Hello, this is New Horizons Podcast of the United Nations Development Programme Turkey. This week we will be talking about UNDP Istanbul International Centre for Private Sector in Development. Why was it founded in Istanbul, what are its aims and what progress has it made? We will discuss these questions and more with our contributor. Our contributor today is Hansın Doğan, the Deputy Director (a.i.) of UNDP Istanbul International Centre for Private Sector in Development and also the program manager of the UNDP Private Sector Program. Welcome.
Hansın Doğan (H.D.): Hello.
UNDP Turkey: Now before we start talking about this new centre, which just celebrated its first year anniversary last week, let’s talk about what came before that. This centre has been created as a result of something else. We are referring to a story that began with the UN Global Compact and ended in Istanbul. Could you start by explaining the story of the UN Global Compact itself and how it has been reflected in Turkey?
H.D.: UN Global Compact is a strategic approach that encompasses all private sector work. It has a structure that connects all of the organizations of the United Nations. Its seeds were first sown in 1999; we could say that it was Kofi Annan’s personal enterprise. He made the first announcement about it himself at Davos and highlighted that the UN needs to cooperate with the private sector more. He then made the necessary arrangements and announced it formally in 2000.
UNDP Turkey: The groundwork and the background of this cooperation is actually the basis of this principles contract. If a firm or an organization adheres to these principles, then they will find it easier to work with the United Nations.
H.D: There are certain components of the mission of the UN that need to be adhered to as well. The Millennium Development Goals of 2000 are made up of 8 goals. These principles are very close to the ones that are listed as one of the 8 Millennium Development Goals, and so they are thus linked. The purpose of this is to encourage everyone on this earth involved with development to come together and look for a solution and spring into action.
UNDP Turkey: For cooperation between international private sector organizations and for cooperation between states and governments we are talking about the eighth aim of the Millennium Development Goals. It’s helpful to note that UN Global Compact sits right underneath this and supports this. It includes human rights, working standards and fighting against malpractice. After 1999, how was this reflected in Turkey?
H.D.: After the preparations were announced in Turkey, in 2002 the there was a cooperative publicity campaign with the Confederation of Turkish Trade Unions and with this we managed to share the UN Global Compact with the Turkish business world. After this publicity campaign in 2002, fifty businesses committed to signing the contract. It was a fast start. With the fifty businesses commitments to sign up to the Compact, we started to work towards increasing understanding of it. Because of this, in 2005 UNDP Turkey made a decision. To make our work faster and to make them richer in content, they decided to open an office in Istanbul. This office opened in 2005 to manage our dealings with the private sector only. Since 2005, our operations have been continuing from our office in Ulus.
UNDP Turkey: How far has the UN Global Compact come in Turkey? How far has a firm come that has signed up to the compact now that we are in 2012?
H.D.: UN Global Compact is first and foremost a platform. It is a platform that brings together different firms and different sectors and also brings them together with universities, public and civil society organizations. So from this we can see that there are many national meetings being held every year, and also workshops that are being held within sectors. Especially in the automotive and pharmaceutical industries we have seen several results from these kinds of efforts. The textile industry likewise. We need to point out that some of these have now become projects of their own. The cooperation between public and private sectors, civil society organizations and other running operations have begun to fill up our portfolio. At the moment there are about thirty active projects going on. We can talk about there being thirty projects that combine with the public sector to find solutions to development issues. One of the results of this platform therefore is to oversee the implementation of these projects.
UNDP Turkey: Tens of businesses have signed this Compact and many companies you have counted have started to be involved in development projects with the United Nations, so much so that the role of the private sector in development work cannot be denied. In fact international organizations have begun to adapt to this reality. We talked about the private sector working with UNDP. This probably occupied you until March of 2011. UNDP Turkey then opened an international centre. What are the aims of this centre, and what is its purpose?
H.D.: We opened this centre in March in Eminönü. The purpose of this centre is to share the successes of the last ten years, to form a pool of experts and to break away from the UNDP private sector work in New York and form an independent centre, to be able to implement our actions with better momentum. There were certain headings that we identified and that we decided to work under. These are headings that were chosen to run alongside the UNDP’s strategies for the private sector chosen in 2007. One was to do with general markets. These are a number of strategies that target the approach that companies have to their customers and help to develop and enrich these relationships. For example, the section of our public that is in poverty, that is disabled, that is at a disadvantage should be able to have to same access to products and to be able to benefit from them in the same way as others. These people should also be able to contribute to our production and gain employment.
UNDP Turkey: The International Centre in Istanbul is continuing its work under these headings and also concentrates on its main endeavour, working to build bridges between development and the private sector. I had a question at the very beginning: why was the centre founded in Istanbul? You can perhaps guess a part of this answer. You want to host many of the international organizations that come to Turkey and be able to gain access to funds for this. These are probably some of the reasons. But the UN had certain reasons to open the centre in Istanbul. What were those reasons?
H.D.: There are a few reasons for founding the centre in Istanbul. I mentioned one of them already, the fact that there was such an accumulation of experience there and the need to share this experience. Before we were doing this through other channels. But now we have named this as a strategic approach. And we have in the past years done this with many other countries. Apart from this, there is of course the fact that, Istanbul is Istanbul. There is an atmosphere of being a bridge between two cultures, it has a fast moving and developing economy and it has many activities that other countries are looking to as examples for themselves. Developed countries were sharing their activities with developing nations. Now Turkey is at this point. There are many countries that accept this. We wanted to take advantage of this environment, ensured that the centre was opened in Istanbul and are giving a good service to meet the demand.
UNDP Turkey: We have returned to the concept of the ‘bridge’. Your work forms a kind of bridge between the private sector and development work, and it is also seen as a bridge between eastern and western cultures. You even have a bridge in your centre’s logo. You can find the purpose and the goals of the centre at iicpsd.org. One year has gone by. This is of course a short amount of time to get the name of your centre out. You have some projects that are just starting. You can tell us a bit about these new projects.
H.D.: Along with founding the centre we had a very important item on our agenda. We had a side project to do with the private sector and the Conference of Least Developed Countries. We had a lot of activities to do with this and put on some side activities. We talked about an international meeting about conditional money transfers. We put on a meeting to coordinate with donors. We are following all of the results of these. We started a nice project with Rotary. At the first phase we started to put together the implementation of these principles. All of the Rotary Clubs in Turkey signed up to the UN Global Compact. They committed to being loyal to all of the ten principles, as well as offering to promote knowledge about this through their own communication arms. And we also started an educational program. About 30 experienced people were chosen from Rotary to give seminars about our work on a voluntary basis, and these people have committed to carry these on in their cities, we started this kind of system.
UNDP Turkey: This is an important project you have told us about, in the term before us you will set up a project entitled the Entrepreneurship Academy to give technical support and spread education. We thank our contributor, Hansın Doğan, the Deputy Director (a.i.) of the UNDP Istanbul International Centre for Private Sector in Development. We have come to the end of this episode of New Horizons Podcast of the United Nations Development Programme Turkey. This program has been recorded at the studio of Radyo İlef of Ankara University Communications Department. You can follow our program on Açık Radyo (Open Radio) on FM frequency, on university radios in our broadcasting network, on iTunes under podcasts and on undp.org.tr. Our username for social media is undpturkiye. Hope to see you next week, goodbye!
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