Issue: 80
Nelson Mandela with his immense contribution touches lives and souls of billions as is evident from his assiduous fight against racism, disease and poverty; his enduring endeavors to promote access to education; and his unflinching faith and immeasurable love for children.
I had the rare privilege of meeting Mr. Mandela in 1995 in Tanzania where I started my UN career. This was an experience indescribable to benefit from the sagacity and wisdom of some whom I adored and admired ever since my days of youth and exuberance.
Nelson Mandela signified and continues to signify for humanity in its entirety: a living symbol of courage and integrity; of resilience and determination; of tolerance and affection; and above all of forgiveness and reconciliation.
On the canvass of life, Mandela’s indelible impressions are vividly versatile and uniquely distinct: as a freedom fighter, as a political prisoner, as a peace maker, and as a President of the newly emancipated country.
He indeed is a living hero and living monument of the highest values which the United Nations espouses and promotes. He is a great supporter of the people centered and rights based development with children’s rights being very close to his heart. That is just one reason why Nelson Mandela is such an inspiration to millions.
And on the Nelson Mandela day, like us, millions across the world inspired by Mandela’s social activism take part in Mandela Day events. Tutor a child, feed the hungry, care for environment, and volunteer at hospitals, so ordains the spirit of this day.
Indeed, the best way to pay tribute to Nelson Mandela is to join our heads and hands to make this world better and sustainable and to ensure that the world that we bequeath to our children, their children and their children is just, peaceful, prosperous and more equitable.
We can achieve this if we make everyday a Mandela Day.
* Shahid Najam, UNDP Resident Representative in Turkey and UN Resident Coordinator in Turkey
Cihan Sultanoğlu, who was appointed to this post by Helen Clark on February, first visited Ankara.
In Ankara, Sultanoğlu met with Cemil Çiçek, the Speaker of the Turkish Grand National Assembly, with Cevdet Yılmaz, the Minister of Development, with Jean-Maurice Ripert, the head of EU Delegation in Turkey, with Serdar Çam, the President of TIKA, and with Mehmet Sinan Yıldız, the Deputy Director General of AFAD.
Assistant Administrator Sultanoğlu afterwards paid a 2-days visit to Istanbul.
She met with Werner Haug, the Director of UNFPA Regional Bureau, with Simona Marinescu, Director of UNDP Istanbul International Center for Private Sector in Development, with Michael Davey, EBRD Country Director, with Berna Ülman, the Regional Director of Visa Europe, Tayfun Beyazıt, the Board Member of TUSIAD, and with Oya Ünlü Kızıl, Corporate Communications and External Affairs Director of Koç Group.
The Profile of Cihan Sultanoğlu
Sultanoğlu was appointed in February, 2012, to be UNDP Assistant Administrator and Director of the Regional Bureau for Europe and the Commonwealth of Independent States. Previously, she served as the director of human resources in the UNDP Bureau of Management.
Before that, she served as deputy assistant administrator and deputy regional director of the Regional Bureau for Europe and CIS (Commonwealth of Independent States), (2007-2010); UN resident coordinator and UNDP resident representative in Belarus (2004-2007); UN resident coordinator and UNDP resident representative in Lithuania (2000-2005); deputy resident representative in Morocco (1995-2000).
After she graduated from Robert College in Istanbul, she holds a Master’s Degree in international affairs from the School of International Affairs (SIPA) at Columbia University as well as a BA in economics from Barnard College at Columbia University, New York.
Sultanoğlu continues her career with the United Nations since 1981.
The global centre, which will be jointly resourced and established by the Government of the Republic of Singapore and UNDP, will prioritize strengthening the capacities of developing countries to design, identify and implement effective policies and processes that support the delivery of efficient public services leading to lasting, sustainable socio-economic development.
Helen Clark noted that the Centre is intended to be a leading research hub that draws upon the best quality material emanating from think-tanks and universities, and from on-going policy practice in Singapore and other countries, in order to supplement UNDP’s existing knowledge and research capability.
UNDP’s global outreach and networks are expected to help the Centre become a global hub for all knowledge sharing and policy thinking on public service capacity for sustainable development.
Minister Lui Tuck Yew noted that the establishment of the Global Centre reflects the further deepening of the strong and longstanding relationship between Singapore and UNDP.
This Global Centre represents a collaborative effort to assist developing and other countries across the world, including Singapore, to strengthen their public service policies, strategies and institutions.
“Küre: Respect to Nature” documentary produced for “Law of Nature” series in 2010, aired three times in June.
Since its first on air, the documentary has been aired 42 times and reached to more than 500.000 people.
“Green Küre” documentary is produced for “9 Hotspots Documentary Series” and hosted by actor Hakan Gerçek aired 4 times on İZ TV in June.
Since its first time on air, the documentary has been aired 56 times and reached to 672.000 people.
Besides these two films, “9 Hotspots Documentary Series” produced by İZ TV in collaboration with project partners of GEF supported “Enhancing Forest Protected Areas Management System in Turkey Project” has been aired on İZ TV.
Since the first episode aired on İZ TV in 2011, 9 episodes of the documentary series have been aired 491 times and reached to 5,9 million people.
Detailed information and intro about “Küre: Respect to Nature”: http://www.iztv.com.tr/program.aspx?id=1253
Detailed information and intro about “Green Küre”: http://www.iztv.com.tr/program.aspx?id=1436
Detailed information and intros about “9 Hotspots Documentary Series”: http://www.iztv.com.tr/kusak.aspx?id=75
This book is a first in terms of various aspects: It is the first publication of the IICPSD, the first research of UNDP in Turkey on social entrepreneurship in Turkey, and the first thematic research conducted through applying the case-writeshop as the method, which is another prominent characteristic of the study.
The study was conducted in scope of the Memorandum of Understanding signed in February 2011 between the Istanbul Bilgi University and Growing Inclusive Markets in South East Europe and Commonwealth of Independent States.
The book includes sections on the relation between social entrepreneurship and inclusive markets; the situation of social entrepreneurship in Turkey; case studies about KEDV (the Foundation for the Support of Women’s Work), Genctur, AYDER (Alternative Life Association), Bugday and Cop(m)adam, analysing their business models and problems, and suggesting solution strategies; and a section explaining the “case write-shop” methodology.
The aim of the book is to draw attention to the concept of social entrepreneurship, which has not yet received due recognition in Turkey, to raise awareness about it and to popularise it.
Henry Jackelen, IICPSD’s former acting Director, emphasizes the significance of the social enterprises with these words: “As we proceed through the second decade of the 21st century few topics are more important than social enterprises and entrepreneurship for a number of reasons. First of all those social enterprises which yield financial scale and impact as well are self-sufficient demonstrate an alternative (yet fully affiliated model) to classic enterprises (for profit) and entrepreneurship.”
Moreover, Professor Aydın Uğur, the former rector of Istanbul Bilgi University, states that “Growing Inclusive Markets Initiative is proposing new and innovative solutions to social problems and has set a common stage offering enthusiasm of creativity, determination and solidarity. As the name implies, in order to make the initiative of Growing Inclusive Markets successful and sustainable, and to include those who are excluded, everyone’s contribution who desires a fair world is needed.”
Click here for the PDF version of the book in Turkish.
The main goal of this cooperation between KCC and BUTGEM is to transfer the operational expertise of BUTGEM to Kosovo and bring a new model to the sphere of vocational training in Kosovo.
To be able to achieve this, a capacity building and awareness about the benefits of the school among all stakeholders is needed and as the first step, groups of 20 people (19 students and 1 trainer) from Kosovo will be having trainings in BUTGEM for three months, in areas such as engineering, mechatronics and design.
In the future, these trained people will constitute the capacity to establish the vocational training school similar to the BUTGEM in Kosovo.
The agreement came up as a result of a number of meetings in February and in the end, İlhan Parseker, the President of the Assembly of Bursa Chamber of Commerce and Industry (BCCI) and the President of the Board of Directors of BUTGEM, Safet Gerxhaliu, the president of KCC and Osnat Lubrani, UN Development Coordinator and UNDP Resident Representative in Kosovo, signed the protocol in Pristina on February 29, 2012.
The Memorandum was initiated by the Growing Inclusive Markets (GIM) Initiative Eastern Europe and the Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS), which works to promote inclusive business models in the region.
The initiative is led by the UNDP working in cooperation with the Turkish International Cooperation and Development Agency (TIKA) to be able to respond regional needs in inclusive business models.
BCCI has been supporting the initiative since August 2010 regarding its activities of inclusive markets in Bosnia and Herzegovina, Egypt, Kazakhstan, Kosovo, Turkey and Uzbekistan.
Within the scope of this project, 12 physically disabled people have completed a specific training programme in the first half of 2012 and now, they are waiting for suitable job opportunities.
The training programme was composed of personal development seminars including life and performance coaching, basic computer tutorials and an introduction course to entrepreneurship.
Companies may ask the project team to share the resumes of the project participants which are suitable to what they are looking for via sending an e-mail to ergtr.ep@hp.com and mina.ikyy@gmail.com.
Dreams Academy was once again selected as the official grantee institution of 2012 Corporate Games.
Competing in swimming, mountain bike, chess, tennis, bowling and running, Dreams Academy’s students and volunteers shared the “fair-play” spirit with their competitors. Dreams Academy teams won the 4th and 8th places in mountain bike; 1st place in swimming and 3rd place in chess.
Participating in the awards ceremony in Anjelique, Dreams Academy swimming team received their championship award.
Dreams Academy and its participants will be heading for further achievements for proving that arts and sports have no barriers.
The measures to prevent ship-based pollution were evaluated in the context of the studies have being conducted in the Fethiye-Göcek SEPA.
Among the work conducted,, the infrastructure was analyzed in the region, and the activities that need to be realized in terms of legislation and implementation were determined.
In this framework, the reception of wastes emanating from pleasure crafts and yachts which are main reason of ship-based pollution at this Project area were investigated.
Coordination problems and solution suggestions were evaluated
Within the context of the studies, the provisions related to ship waste reception were assessed and the problems regarding implementation and infrastructure were determined.
The problems on coordination and proposals for solution for reception of ship waste in the region were also evaluated.
Infrastructure requirements were determined and action plan was prepared
Under an action plan, the activities that should be conducted in terms of infrastructure requirements and coordination were listed in the context of the studies.
The responsible and the relevant bodies to fulfill these activities were determined as well as the deadlines. The report on the subject is expected to be completed in forthcoming days.
Meeting the remaining targets, while challenging, is possible ¦ but only if Governments do not waiver from their commitments made over a decade ago.
The MDG Report says that, for the first time since poverty trends began to be monitored, both the number of people living in extreme poverty and the poverty rates have fallen in every developing region—including sub-Saharan Africa, where rates are highest.
Preliminary estimates indicate that in 2010, the share of people living on less than a $1.25 a day dropped to less than half of its 1990 value.
Essentially, this means that the MDG first target—cutting the extreme poverty rate to half its 1990 level—has been achieved at the global level, well ahead of 2015.
The MDG Report also notes another success: reaching the target of halving the proportion of people without access to improved sources of drinking water by 2010.
The proportion of people using improved water sources rose from 76 per cent in 1990 to 89 per cent in 2010, translating to more than two billion people currently with access to improved sources such as piped supplies or protected wells.
And the share of urban residents in the developing world living in slums has declined from 39 per cent in 2000 to 33 per cent in 2012.
More than 200 million have gained access to either improved water sources, improved sanitation facilities, or durable or less crowded housing.
This achievement exceeds the target of significantly improving the lives of at least 100 million slum dwellers, also ahead of a 2020 deadline.
While bullish on the success recorded, the MDG Report warns that the 2015 deadline is fast approaching and in order to achieve outstanding goals, Governments, the international community, civil society and the private sector need to intensify their contributions.
The Millennium Development Goals Report, an annual assessment of regional progress towards the Goals, reflects the most comprehensive, up-to-date data compiled by over 25 UN and international agencies.
The report is produced by the UN Department of Economic and Social Affairs.
A complete set of the data used to prepare the report is available at http://mdgs.un.org.
For more information and press materials, see www.un.org/millenniumgoals
On July, the Band met their fans at the 19th Istanbul Jazz Festival Tünel Feast at garajistanbul and at the One Love Festival at Bilgi University.
Social Inclusion Band is one of the most important projects of Dreams Academy project which is supported by UNDP.
Dreams Academy is an important initiative of social entrepreneurship that aims the equal participation of disabled and socially disadvantaged people into the social life via bringing to life their talents in the fields of arts and sports.
Social Inclusion Band is a group that was created together by young people who had been trained in the Academy and by the professional musicians.
Group has performed in numerous festivals such as Istanbul Jazz Festival, Akbank Art Jazz Festival, Rock’n Coke, Efes One Love and popular places such as Roxy, Ghetto, Babylon, garajistanbul, and Bostancı Performance Hall since 2010.
Group shared the stage with particular musicians and groups, such as: Cahit Berkay, Babazula, Bengü, Şebnem Ferah, Hayko Cepkin, and Can Bonomo.
Küre Mountains National Park is one of the 100 forest hot spots of Europe and one of the nine hot spots of Turkey with its rich biodiversity. Küre Mountains which is the first PanPark certificiated national park of Turkey is remarkable with its natural values and sustainable tourism potential.
The activities in Küre Mountains National Park are realised within the GEF supported project on Enhancing Forest Protected Areas Management System which is executed by Ministry of Forestry and Water Works, UNDP Turkey and WWF-Turkey.
During the mission to Küre Mountains National Park, the Russian delegation was informed specifically on forest villagers, eco-tourism practices implemented together with local community, forest management plans and combating forest fires.
The Russian delegation was impressed with how Turkey addresses forest fires. The vehicles and methods used in combating forest fires were issues the delegation focused on and wish to explore further cooperation in this regard.
Alexandre Popov, Russian Federation Ministry of Natural Resources and Ecology, Federal Service (Rosprirodnadzor) of Observation and Use of Natural Resources, Head of Unit in Komi Republic stated that the eco-tourism practices within the national park is remarkable and he added that “The infrastructure and planning of the Küre Mountains National Park is a unique example and we should focus on how to adapt these practices to the Komi Republic. In the south part of Komi Republic there are communities living around forests and these tourism practices in Küre Mountains National Park can be adapted there”. Moreover cooperation between the two countries in the field of combating forest fires and preparation of forest management plans can be ensured.
A delegation from Turkey under the leadership of Ministry of Forestry and Water Works has visited Komi Republic in November 2011 in order to study an exemplary climate change and sustainable forest management model.
These two missions coordinated by UNDP Turkey have great importance in terms of sharing knowledge and experience between countries.
The campaign was started within the context of the Joint Program on Fostering and Enabling Environment for Gender Equality in Turkey, being implemented under the partnership of United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) Turkey and Turkish Grand National Assembly (TGNA) Equal Opportunities Commission for Man and Woman.
The main aim of the campaign is to internalize the concept of gender equality at local and national level and to raise awareness on this issue among public.
“Count Down Gender Equality Campaign Gümüşhane Malatya, Elazığ, Tunceli, Bingöl Regional Information and Experience Sharing Platform” started its first meeting on 6 July 2012 in Malatya Congress and Cultural Center. Then, the second meeting convened in Gümüşhane Cultural Center on 5 July 2012.
The meetings were composed of morning plenary sessions and afternoon discussion sessions.
The meetings were held with the participation of Chairperson of TGNA Equal Opportunities Commission for Man and Woman, Azize Sibel Gönül, Member of Equal Opportunities Commission, Member of Parliaments, Malatya Governor Mehmet Ulvi Saran, Malatya Municipality Mayor Ahmet Çakır, UNDP Democratic Governance Program Manager Dr. Leyla Şen, Fırat Development Agency, Eastern Black Sea Development Agency, Civil Society Organizations, Private Sector Representatives and academicians.
With these meetings, it has been seen that the Platform was an important opportunity in terms providing a stage, with the presence of representatives from civil society organizations and all concerned institutions and organizations, where the present situation, needs and activities carried out up-to-date on gender equality in Malatya, Elazığ, Tunceli, Bingöl region was discussed.
Information and Experience Sharing Platforms will continue to be carried out in 12 Sub Regions (NUTS I), in order to ensure the introduction of the campaign at both local and national level and raise awareness on gender equality among society and concerned institutions.
The workshop, aimed to develop a management strategy on human-bear conflict solutions, was organized in Kastamonu on 27-28 June 2012. There were 50 participants from Ministry of Forestry and Water Affairs 10th Regional Directorate, and other Regional Directorates, NGO representatives and academicians.
This workshop organization was supported by World Society for the Protection of Animals (WSPA), University of Oxford, Department of Zoology, Wildlife Conservation Research Unit (WildCRU) experts under (GEF) supported “Enhancing Forest Protected Areas Management System in Turkey Project.
At the first day, experts shared their experiences on human-bear conflict management and planning by showing national and international case studies. Then experts from all over Turkey shared their regional experiences and solution methods.
Strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats analyses carried out for human-bear conflict solution methods in Küre Mountains National Park and its surroundings.
The day is concluded with identification of targets of the management strategy.
At the second day, participants worked in 4 different groups on research and monitoring; capacity building, training and public awareness; protection and wildlife management; application and support for conflict resolution methods.
As a result of these efforts, activities of Küre Mountains National Park and surroundings human-bear conflict management strategy were developed.
The objective of the draft strategy is: “Identification of problems created by coexistence of humans and bears that have to share the same environment, and finding solution for this conflict.”
This week, we ask if ecotourism is possible in Eastern Anatolia and we will hear the answer from our contributors. In fact we will witness a success story from Çoruh Valley, Erzurum.
UNDP Türkiye: New Horizons (N.H.): Hello, this is the New Horizons Podcast of the United Nations Development Programme Turkey. This week we will be asking whether ecotourism is possible in eastern Anatolia and hear the answer from our contributors. We will hear a success story of ecotourism in Çoruh Valley, Erzurum. Our contributors today are Prof. Erol Çakmak from the Department of Economics at Atatürk University, and he is also a consultant for the Development of Tourism in Eastern Anatolia Project (DTEAP), welcome!
Erol Çakmak (Er. Ç.): Hello.
UNDP Türkiye: Egemen Çakır, welcome to you as well.
Egemen Çakır (Eg. Ç.): Hello.
UNDP Türkiye: You are the Project Field Manager; you are also from Erzurum, joining our program. The DTEAP Project, the Development of Tourism in Eastern Anatolia project, Mr. Egemen. I want to start from the end of this project. The project of course has a back story, a story that goes back perhaps 10 years, but what point are we at now with the project In Eastern Anatolia, in your projects' region in Çoruh Valley in Erzurum, has ecotourism developed?
Eg.Ç.: Yes, we have created opportunities for ecotourism in Çoruh Valley. At the moment in an area that had no accommodation facilities, we take in at least 1,000 people for a night during the year. And our guests return with an almost 100% satisfaction rate.
UNDP Türkiye: They are mostly guesthouses, aren’t they?
Eg.Ç.: Exactly, in people’s guesthouses. So for example 2 rooms, 3 rooms, 5 rooms, whatever they have available, people open their homes for guests, and we think this is very important for local development. Alongside this, we also have nearly 30,000 daily visitors that come to see the Tortum Waterfall and the Tortum Lake. Because of these daily visitors we also put on education sessions for local business owners and we made efforts to help develop opportunities for local businesses.
UNDP Türkiye: The natural beauty and the cultural values are the things that attract visitors, don’t they? You mentioned the waterfall in the Tortum Valley, but the area also has cultural values that have been put on our maps now.
Eg.Ç.: Yes, we have in our inventory the Öşvank Monastery and its historical artifacts, and also the Haho Church, we have historical mosques and we have side projects that restore these historic places. These projects are ongoing. In our brochures, our inventory and in the latest phase, at fairs, we are finding ways to promote ourselves internationally and are using these opportunities to our advantage.
UNDP Türkiye: In that case, we talk about ecotourism being active in this area of Çoruh Valley. I would like to ask you now, Mr. Erol Çakmak. Let’s talk about the story behind this project. How did it come about? You produced a map, which shows your resources and what you need still. Could you talk about that for us?
Er.Ç.: Yes of course. These are all part of the Development of Tourism in Eastern Anatolia project. Also known as DTEAP, it is a human development project that has come about from the cooperation of UNDP and the Ministry of Culture and Tourism, with the support of Efes Pilsen. Within this project, first and foremost is the development of alternative tourism, readying Çoruh Valley for the arrival of ecotourism and raising the living standards and quality of life of the local residents. To reach this aim we had three main goals and applied ourselves to achieving these. The first of these aims was to assess the resources we had for tourism and produce an inventory of these. The second was to then use this inventory to develop tourism products. I will put it like this, because tourism is a service industry, and the service industry has a broad scale. For these tourism products to develop, we have to develop the capacity of the area, the workforce, the knowledge and skills of these people. So we have to develop the human capital there.
UNDP Türkiye: So now can see why an economist has been chosen as the consultant on this tourism project. Actually, the point of view is that tourism can be used as a way to support development.
Er.Ç.: Yes, definitely. This is a project aimed at local development. For this project to be a success we had to promote the region as well. For this, we used the inventory that we had collected and produced promotional material, and then used this to promote the region to the target markets and target audience. Of course this was not enough. For this project to succeed we needed to develop the local capacity and sense of appropriation of the local populace, and then to ready the local actors of the project in time. In this frame of the main strategy of this project we especially with the local Uzundere Municipality –
UNDP Türkiye: By the time this project ends, it’s very important for you to make sure that the resources and the local population is mobilized and they have a sense of ownership over the project. Mr. Egemen, I would like to return to you at this point. Of course this project can be seen as an extension of the Eastern Anatolia Development Program (EADP). This program also had three components: rural development, tourism and another component, and so to have such a result that comes under this tourism component we can say that this program has also been in the background of your project. We heard from the professor about the determining of resources, the drawing of a map, the analysis of resources and needs, what happened next? We are talking specifically about the district of Uzundere when we talk about Çoruh Valley. What kind of mobilization has there been in Uzundere district? Could you tell us about the training, about that period of time?
Eg.Ç.: The latest phase of education has been about gastronomy and local foods, and how the value of these can be increased.
UNDP Türkiye: For visitors to be able to try local delicacies there must be some kind of training needed?
Eg.Ç.: Yes. Eastern Anatolia has a Mediterranean climate and it is also a historical transit path, so they have a lot of different produce available. We have also been educating people on how to run a guesthouse, how to keep it clean and the importance of hygiene in restaurants. We have educated people on the importance of bird watching and raised awareness of this. We have educated people on ceramic works. There was no traditional souvenir of the area. We undertook activities to find out local motifs and using local products –
UNDP Türkiye: As motifs, if anyone listening has been to the area they will know, that the area has its native birds of prey doesn’t it? What is the most important one of these?
Eg.Ç.: The golden eagle.
UNDP Türkiye: We notice the motifs including the golden eagle, and places such as the Öşvank Monastery and Georgian churches, on souvenirs and ceramics. This is why education on ceramic production has been included in this project. Let’s talk about your collaborators apart from the UN Development Program, the Ministry of Culture and Tourism is of course involved, Efes Pilsen is involved and as the project field manager you are working with local cooperatives and associations such as Uzundere District. Let’s talk about other projects that you have going on particular to this region.
Eg.Ç: In Uzundere, we have the Uzkader association and the Uzundere Association for the Support of Women’s Work. There is also a new cooperative that has just been founded called Uzetik, it supports a model for development which combines the municipalities work and civil society organizations efforts, and also efforts to support sustainability are continuing.
UNDP Türkiye: You mentioned sustainability; I would like to ask you Prof. Erol about this.
Er.Ç.: Above all else, we had aimed to develop the local capacity and with the activities of this project encourage locals to mobilize in the area. For us, we began with civil society organizations found in Uzundere Municipality such as the Uzundere Association for the Support of Women’s Work, Uzundere Nature Sports Club Association and Uzundere Uzetik Cooperative, another important actor in development is Uzundere Prefecture, and we created further capacity in the civil society and private sectors. These organizations were able to secure financing projects with our help. Northeastern Anatolia Development Agency has presented different projects and program to the value of nearly 2 million TL, and these have been accepted. Some of them have already begun, and some of them are going to begin soon.
UNDP Türkiye: So as this project of the DTEAP comes to an end, the funds given by the Development Agency will ensure that other projects continue. When you visit the region now, you can participate in trekking, rafting and bird watching. You mentioned a lot of different elements in the beginning as well: reducing poverty, to eliminate differences between regions, and we have been talking about this project that does this by utilizing tourism. The DTEAP project, datur.com, coruhvadisi.com you can find more info here. Erzurum may be far away, you may not have heard of Uzundere District, but everyone knows about this project when you mention Çoruh Valley. We spoke to the champions of this project today. My contributors today were Prof. Erol Çakmak from the Department of Economics at Atatürk University, and a consultant for the Development of Tourism in Eastern Anatolia Project (DTEAP), and also Egemen Çakır who is the field project coordinator. We have come to the end of this episode of the New Horizons Podcast of the 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, 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!
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!
In this episode, our subject is women-friendly cities. We will discuss the meaning of the concept of women-friendly cities and which cities in Turkey are women-friendly.
UNDP Turkey: Hello, this is the New Horizons Podcast of United Nations Development Programme Turkey. In this episode, our subject is women-friendly cities. We will discuss the meaning of the concept of women-friendly cities and which cities in Turkey are women-friendly. Our contributor is the Coordinator of Women Friendly Cities Project, Ms. Zeynep Başarankut. Hello and welcome, Ms. Başarankut.
Zeynep Başarankut (Z.B.): Hello.
UNDP Turkey: Let’s start with the first item I mentioned. What does a women-friendly city mean?
Z.B.: It means that women participate in the decision-making process regarding the services provided by the municipality in a city, such as transportation and security. The cities that aim to ensure that women benefit from these services as much as men are “women-friendly.”
UNDP Turkey: Indeed, it aims to ensure the application of concepts in a manner that they impact our daily lives on the local level, and also that women and men benefit from these equally.
Z.B.: Yes, I think so too.
N.H.: My notes tell me that the project started in 2006 and finished in 2010. That was the first phase of the project and now you are starting the second phase. It has been 8-9 months since April 2011 and now we have entered 2012. Your project will continue until 2013. Which cities have been included in your project so far?
Z.B.: We conducted this project in İzmir, Kars, Nevşehir, Şanlıurfa, Trabzon and Van between 2006 and 2010, as you have pointed out. As 2010 arrived, there were many other cities in line that wanted to be listed under Women-Friendly Cities.
UNDP Turkey: How did they express their wish to be listed? By becoming aware of the project and the results it yielded?
Z.B.: Besides enabling women and men to equally take advantage of the services we just mentioned, this project is the first of its kind to implement a number of nationwide projects on the local level. Seeing that our project partner is the Ministry of the Interior and that the project is successful, many governorates and municipalities wanted a share of this success for their own provinces. Therefore, when we completed the project in 6 provinces, we ended up with a list of 15-20 more cities. In 2011, together with the Ministry of Interior we decided to restart the project. We are conducting it with two specialized UN agencies, while the Govenrment of Sweden and Swedish International Development Cooperation Agency provide financial aid.
UNDP Turkey: To summarize, the Ministry of the Interior General Directorate of Local Authorities, United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA), United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) and, on the financing side, Swedish International Development Cooperation Agency are involved in the project. These partners have been conducting the project since Phase 1. So which provinces are the newcomers?
Z.B.: After the first 6, Antalya, Bursa, Gaziantep, Malatya, Mardin and Samsun have joined the project. As for how we select provinces, the enthusiasm of the local institutions, governorates and municipalities of the province play a key role. But it is very important that women’s organizations are also enthusiastic and that they have a certain capacity. Women's organizations, which represent the local women’s needs, are significant actors within the project.
UNDP Turkey: We should perhaps include local administrations besides these four partners we listed. With the participation of the local NGOs, the project has become multi-partner and multi-dimensional. It aims to create a women-friendly city where everyone can equally benefit from the economic and political opportunities provided. Let’s dig a little deeper into this. How do we create women-friendly cities? Where do we start and how do we conclude the process?
Z.B.: We developed and tried to implement a model at the first phase of the project to create women-friendly cities and it succeeded. It has 3 pillars. One of them is the Women’s Rights Coordination Council. This Council gathers all the decision makers, the group in demand of service, meaning the women, via the women’s organizations and firstly determines what is needed in the city. Following that, an equal action plan is developed using the city’s resources.
UNDP Turkey: So we are talking about developing an action plan by ascertaining the problems beforehand, and then prioritizing them.
Z.B.: Of course what is particular to this action plan is that it is a reflection of the General Directorate on the Status of Women and CEDAW, this being the National Action Plan on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women, on the local level. The action plan is comprised of seven main targets including security and combat against violence. And the application of this action plan is evidently carried out depending on the needs on the local level.
UNDP Turkey: How will the body of the General Directorate on the Status of Women and the implementation of UN conventions, such as CEDAW, on the local level affect our lives? What challenges do women face in Trabzon, Kars, İzmir and Gaziantep? All these will be ascertained and put into practice. You started the second phase in the first half of 2011. The first phase was about developing a certain action plan as we discussed. What will happen in 2012 and which resolutions will be put into practice?
Z.B.: Let me talk about 2011 very briefly. After these provinces became a part of the project, the councils I just mentioned were established. And equality supervisors were assigned among these organizations, institutions and all the members. Apart from that, we have two general provincial councils, like the provincial assembly and municipal council, in which we established equality commissions. This structure, as I just said, determines needs and implements the action plan. But each one of these bodies are assigned to outline the challenges and to create budget. So once you get all the official institutions that can carry out tasks on the local level to commit, you can make progress with the support of women’s organizations. If a plan of action on transportation is developed, they will know whether women will have access to it or not before a local action plan is devised. So they will improve it beforehand. Aside from that, if there are employment-related challenges persisting, they can ascertain the obstacles, provide vocational training and give incentives to establishing new firms. If there is a rising security and violence issue, providing women’s shelters and emergency services are some other examples we can give.
UNDP Turkey: So we are talking about concentrating on the increase of violence against women, if there exists a tendency towards it, or a security problem in a province. The issue of children and other important topics such as communications and transportation, and any kind of representation, employment and other challenges concerning the administration fall under the category of your field. So it is a multi-dimensional but locally implemented project. Now let’s talk about the UN’s role in this, as you represent that party of the project. UNFPA and UNDP are partners of the project. Judging from this perspective, can you explain the UN’s point of view and reason for being involved in the project?
Z.B.: As you know, the UN has been working on the elimination of gender inequality in Turkey for many years. It is working with both central institutions and national women’s organizations. Also it conducts works on the local level. We wanted to shift the experience we have accumulated so far into the local level together with the UN and two experts. And promoting gender equality is already among the Millennium Development Goals.
UNDP Turkey: When will these six provinces become women-friendly?
Z.B.: We hope that we will have included 12 new provinces into this group by mid-2013.
UNDP Turkey: Following İzmir, Kars, Nevşehir, Şanlıurfa, Trabzon and Van, thanks to your project, Antalya, Bursa, Gaziantep, Malatya, Mardin and Samsun will become women-friendly as well. Thank you very much, Ms. Zeynep Başarankut, Coordinator of Women Friendly Cities Project, for your contribution. 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!
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Editor: Faik Uyanık
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Contributors to this issue: Deniz Tapan, Neşe Çakır, Yıldıray Lise
© 2012 UNDP Turkey
All rights of New Horizons are reserved to UNDP Turkey. Any use of information should be accompanied by an acknowledgment of New Horizons as the source citing the URL of the article.
Editor: Faik Uyanık
Assistant: Nazife Ece
Intern: Duygu Demirdöven
Contributors to this issue: Deniz Tapan, Neşe Çakır, Yıldıray Lise
© 2012 UNDP Turkey
All rights of New Horizons are reserved to UNDP Turkey. Any use of information should be accompanied by an acknowledgment of New Horizons as the source citing the URL of the article.