The 10th Anniversary of the Civil Society Dialogue, one of the longest-running programmes in Turkey, which has provided approximately 50 million euros in grants to nearly 400 projects and over 650 partnerships for dialogue purposes carried out in six different periods since 2008 was held at online platform on 9 March 2021. The event, which was followed by beneficiary civil society organisations of the Civil Society Dialogue Programme, those who put their effort and heart into the civil society, stakeholder institutions, and the public from Turkey and the EU, started with the online exhibition titled “We Have Been Empowered Through Dialogue” 10 Years Exhibition” and images from the stories of CSOs met and worked together under the umbrella of Civil Society Dialogue were shared.
In the first session, moderated by Journalist and Presenter Mirgün Cabas, Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs and Director for EU Affairs Ambassador Faruk Kaymakcı, Head of the European Union Delegation to Turkey, Ambassador Nikolaus Meyer-Landrut, Chairman of the Global Community Participation and Resilience Fund and Former Delegation of the European Union to Turkey President (2014) Stefano Manservisi and Economic Development Foundation Brussels Representative Haluk Nuray came together and talked about the Civil Society Dialogue between Turkey and the EU.
After the piano recital staged by the famous artist Gülsin Onay, Journalist Cüneyt Özdemir and Bülent Özcan, Ministry of Foreign Affairs Directorate for EU Affairs Director-General for Financial Cooperation and Project Implementation talked about the 10 years of the Civil Society Dialogue Journey.
In the afternoon session of the event, the panel moderated by Actress and Presenter Ceyda Düvenci, representatives from TOÇEV (Tüvana Education Foundation for Children Willing to Read) and Turkish Foundation for Children in Need of Protection (KORUNCUK) shared their dialogue journeys and stories on Fundamental Rights, Education and Vulnerable Groups.
Civil Society Dialogue Stories Panel continued with the participation of TEMA Foundation and Association for the Conservation of Antalya Orchids and Biodiversity (CAOB) representatives under the moderation of Meteorology Engineer and Presenter Bünyamin Sürmeli on the subject of Environment, Nature, Biological Diversity.
After the Aqua Drum Performance by Deniz Güngör, a panel on Youth, Culture and Art was held under the moderation of Presenter Semiha Şahin with the participation of Maya Foundation and Cultural Routes Association representatives.
The last session of the Civil Society Dialogue Stories Panel series was held under the moderation of Economist, Journalist and Presenter Cem Seğmen on Business World, Entrepreneurship and Sectoral Cooperation. Representatives from the Turkish Enterprise and Business Confederation (TÜRKONFED), Southeast European Change Network Foundation and HALİÉUS-Organizzazione di Cooperazione Internazionale per La Pesca, L’Acquacultura, La Ricerca, Lo Sviluppo E L’Ambiente Association (Italy) participated in the panel and to provide information and to shared their experiences.
After the panels where valuable CSO representatives talked about their experiences from projects with different themes since 2008, the 6th term promotional film of the Civil Society Dialogue was released. The intense event was summarized at the end of the day and then the event was narrated in the language of humor with cartoons.
After the showing the animated film about the application and implementation processes of the grant supports for civil society, the event ended with the social media posts about the event displayed under the Dialogue Screen.
We would like to thank all the panellists who shared their knowledge and experiences by participating in the event, where the 10-year journey, achievements, and success stories of the Civil Society Dialogue Programme, which has become a brand, were shared, and all the participants who watched the event on their screens throughout the day.
For event programme please click here.
