Issue: 132
The first phase of the GAP Organic Value Chain Pilot Projects Financial Support Program was implemented in Gaziantep, Kilis, Adıyaman, Diyarbakır and Şanlıurfa Provinces. Totally 17 pilot projects were implemented in the context of Financial Support Program, which was executed by GAP Regional Development Administration in partnership with İpekyolu Development Agency and Karacadağ Development Agency and the technical assistance of United Nations Development Programme (UNDP). GAPOrganic Value Chain Pilot Projects Financial Support Program, first of its kind in Turkey, was designed to appeal to all circles of organic sector value chain in Southeast Anatolia Region.
GAP Organic Agriculture Value Chain Pilot Projects Financial Support Program priorities are;
- Encouraging organization for organic agriculture production and supporting the foundation and institutionalization of these organizations.
- Increasing the added value and quality of products that are produced/processed in the region,
- Ensuring sustainable market access for organic products that are produced and processed in the region via development of regional, national and international cooperation.
Pilot projects were consist of activities on organic production, promotion, marketing and cooperation that were strongly contributed to development of the organic value chain. Through Financial Support Program 4.5 Billion TL was allocated to the GAP Region.
The key stakeholders of organic sector such as governmental institutions, municipalities, NGOs, private sector and universities were benefited from the first phase of the program. The second phase of the program is currently being implemented. It is foreseen that with the completion of the Financial Support Programs and by taking into consideration the co-financing of stakeholders, nearly 12 Billion TL will have allocated for the pilot projects.
For more information please watch the film on GAP Organic Value Chain Pilot Projects Financial Support Program: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Sf1PCL4Hn8U
What is #GivingTuesday?
#GivingTuesday is the annual global celebration of generosity. On Tuesday, November 29, 2016, charities, families, businesses, community centers, and students around the world will come together for one common purpose: to celebrate generosity, and to give back to their community.
It’s a simple idea. Just think of a way for your family, your friends, your company or your organization to come together to give something more: it can be time, knowledge, love, or donations of food, clothes, or money.
UNDP Turkey country office contributed in two different ways to the globally organized #GivingTuesday event
Inspiring the Musicians of Tomorrow
The first even was an educational concert given to two groups of primary school students in different schools by a troupe composed of volunteer musicians.
The concerts drew a huge turnout from the students and school faculty. During the concert, the volunteer musicians answered questions from the students.
The first educational concert was held at the METU Development Foundation Schools with participation of 450 students.
During the educational concerts, the students were told about the Sustainable Development Goals.
The students were given copies of the UNDP produced comic titled “The Planet and 17 Goals.”
The second concert was held at the Dr. Nusret Arsel Education Park in partnership with The Educational Volunteers Foundation of Turkey.
Students from various schools in Ankara bombarded the volunteer musicians with questions.
The most striking question asked by the students was, “how many years do we need to study in order to play the way you do?” When asked by the UNDP team if any of them wanted to be musicians, all the hands at the auditorium were raised.
At the end of the event, the students surprised the UNDP team by giving them a short concert with their flutes.
The refugees aren’t as far away as you think: making sure your neighbors spend the winter comfortably.
The UNDP Turkey Country Office, as a part of #GivingTuesday, gathered winter clothes for 10 days for the benefit of Syrian refugees residing in the same neighborhood. The campaign drew heavy participation from UNDP staff. For this campaign that aims to ensure that especially the Syrian children spent the winter comfortably, dozens of items were collected in the given time. UNDP volunteers sorted these items according to the type of needs. The collected donations were delivered to the Association for Solidarity with Asylum Seekers and Immigrants one of UNDP partner organizations.
The GAP Organic Agriculture Portal is launched with its new design and content to contribute to the aim of creating scalable and replicable success stories, developing production and marketing infrastructure and enhancing the cooperation among the actors within the context of the GAP Organic Agriculture Cluster Project.
With its new content, structure and technical specifications the GAP Organic Agriculture Portal is now more user friendly, accessible, functional and simple. The Portal is mainly composed of Menu Items including core content and News, Activity Calendar, Multimedia and Product Platform including dynamic content. The GAP Organic Portal is aiming at:
v Transferring knowledge and raising awareness on Organic Agriculture and Organic Food by reviewing and interpreting global, national and regional objectives, priorities and trends
v Acting as a platform and archive for sharing the publications and documents on Organic Agriculture
v Transferring knowledge and providing guidance for the Organic Producers in the beginning and during the journey of organic production
v Providing guidance for organic consumers on Organic Food
v Introducing the GAP Organic Agriculture Cluster Project and Cluster Working Groups and providing a platform for institutionalization of the cluster
v Presenting the organic agriculture potential, updated information, products and enterprises, investment and support mechanisms in the GAP Region
v Acting as a platform through creating a digital map of the pilot projects already implemented and being implemented in the GAP Region and presenting success stories
v Providing a tool to share the activities and news on the organic agriculture especially from the GAP Region, creating a sharing network and catalyzing the cooperation among the actors
v Providing a product platform where the producers can enter data of their entities and products and also update the data by this way bringing together the organic agriculture produces in the region and the consumers
The GAP Organic Agriculture Portal can be reached at http://www.gaporganik.org/.
UNDP Turkey launched a new project aiming at improving resource efficiency in agriculture and agro-based industries in the Southeast Anatolia Region (GAP Region) with a holistic and multidisciplinary approach. The project is coordinated by UNDP Turkey and GAP Regional Development Administration and supported by the RBEC Catalytic and Scaling-up Facility 2016 which is executed by UNDP Istanbul Regional Hub for Europe and the CIS. By UNDP Istanbul Regional Hub, the initiative is considered to serve as replicable and scalable model for the other countries in the region.
Efficient use of resources in economic activities is prioritized in the 10th National Development Plan as well as through the 2030 Sustainable Development Agenda. The project addresses efficient use of resources such as land, soil, water, energy, raw material, technology and human capital in the economic production processes which in hence contributes to sustainable development and competitive advantage of the GAP Region. The project will serve as a model which illustrate how environmental sustainability and socio-economic development can work hand-in-hand.
The project will develop a strategic framework on integrated resource efficiency in agriculture and agro-based industries for GAP Region. Pilot projects will be conceptualized which could be replicated in other sectors and regions as well as scaled up to national policy level. The capacity development component will also contribute to the sustainability of the project outputs at the institutional level. The project will benefit from UNDP’s vast experience on rural development, agricultural clustering, gender mainstreaming, energy efficiency and renewable energy, total factor productivity, biodiversity and ecosystem services.
The second Photo Contest on Turkey’s Forests with a theme of “Forest and Human” is ended up. The photo contest is organized during 16 June-30 October 2016 in the context of Integrated Forest Management Project implemented by General Directorate of Forestry in cooperation with UNDP Turkey with the financial support of the GEF.
1,205 people from different provinces of Turkey with 3,954 images applied for the photo contest. The jury met on 11 November 2016 and selected 58 photos among all applications as first prize, second prize, third prize, honorable mention and for exhibition.
The winners of the photo contest are as follows:
First prize Yılmaz KARACA, second prize Mahmut Serdar ALAKUŞ, third prize Erhan AYDIN.
To learn the winners of the contest and to see the photos, please see the link below:
http://fotograf-yarismalari.com/sonuc/yarisma_detay_sonuc.asp?s=239
With the establishment of GAP Organic Agriculture Cluster Association (GAP ORKÜDER), a big step is taken towards institutionalization of organic agriculture sector in GAP Region.
GAP Organic Agriculture Cluster Association brings together real persons and legal entities under the same roof who work in the field of organic agriculture and organic textile. GAP ORKÜDER aims to work on clustering and capacity development for its members to protect the environment and public health and support sustainable development through encouraging and dissemination of the production, consumption and use of organic products.
GAP ORKÜDER will reach to its aim through the protection of the joint interests of its members, enhancing the cooperation and solidarity among them, assisting them for required raw material and input, providing machinery and equipment, helping for logistics, marketing, promotion, training, research-development, reaching financial funds, development of local and national collaboration.
GAP Organic Agriculture Cluster Project is executed by GAP Regional Development Administration with the technical assistance of UNDP since 2009. Several pilot projects are being implemented in the region to contribute to the aim of creating scalable and replicable success stories.
GAP Organic Agriculture Cluster Association is founded in 3 June 2016 in order to ensure the sustainability and institutionalization of the activities realized within the context of the project.
It is very crucial that all the stakeholders working in the field of organic sector in the region should be affiliated to the Association and actively participate to the activities.
A workshop was organized in Şanlıurfa province in order to determine the subjects of the vocational training to be provided in the agriculture, industry and service sectors under the employability and livelihoods component of the Strengthening Social Stability in Southeast Anatolia Region Project which is financed by Japanese Government and co-executed by UNDP and GAP Regional Development Administration (GAP RDA). This component aims at contributing to the employability of different segments of Syrian population and host communities through provision of vocational trainings.
Totally 60 people including representatives of public institutions and organizations, NGOs comprising private sector representatives acting in agriculture, industry/manufacturing and service sectors, representatives of professional and artisan chambers, unions and cooperatives and associations participated in the workshop organized and co-hosted by UNDP and GAP RDA.
After the opening speech of Dr. Nusret Mutlu, General Coordinator of Entrepreneurship and Economic Arif Mert Öztürk, Project Manager of UNDP informed the participants about the Syrian Crisis Response Program run by UNDP Turkey, made a presentation about the project and the purpose of the workshop.
After the opening session, the participants divided into three groups based on sectors that they represent as agriculture, industry / manufacturing and service. In working groups, subjects of the vocational training for the employment of Syrians under Temporary Protection in Şanlıurfa was discussed in accordance with the sectoral labor demand and needs analysis. Vocational training needs and demands of the relevant sector and sectoral labor force needs and analysis reports prepared by various public institutions have been taken into the consideration while vocational training subjects were discussed and determined.
After the group studies which aimed to identify vocational training subjects on a sectoral basis, all participants have come together again for the final evaluation.
Internship within UNDP IRH Regional Security Office (Deadline - 2-December-2016)
Impact Measurement and Data Management Consultant (Deadline - 3-December-2016)
Business Development and Corporate Engagement Consultant (Deadline - 3-December-2016)
Official Development Assistance (ODA) Capacity Building Consultant (Deadline - 7-December-2016)
Consultant for Private Sector and Non-Governmental Organizations Partnerships (Deadline - 7-December-2016)
UNOCHA - Information Management Officer (Deadline - 9-December-2016)
UNOCHA - Syrian NGO Liaison Officer (Deadline - 9-December-2016)
Project Assistant (Deadline - 9-December-2016)
UNOCHA - Cleaner (Deadline - 15-December-2016)