“Civil Society Dialogue Between the EU and Türkiye III”, designed as part of the 2010 programming activities, was carried out under two components.
- Political Criteria
- Media
In the field of “Political Criteria”, human rights, anti-discrimination, democracy, and rule of law were determined as priority areas. With the Dialogue projects carried out in this field, CSOs in Türkiye have developed partnerships with CSOs in the EU by increasing their knowledge of the EU’s policies and practices in the field of political criteria and the contributions of civil society to the political reform process. They have undertaken different works in many fundamental rights areas, from employment rights of the disabled individuals to women’s participation in political life, from strengthening transparency and accountability to improving the rights of the elderly and improving the juvenile justice system. A grant of 4.6 million euros was provided to 36 partnership projects developed in the priority areas of human rights, anti-discrimination, democracy, and rule of law.
With the “Media” component, it was aimed to increase the professional knowledge of CSOs and media organisations operating in the field of media within the scope of the EU harmonisation process and to develop a permanent dialogue between media organisations in Türkiye and EU member states. With the projects supported in the field of “Media”, a series of creative works such as documentaries, street interviews and trainings were carried out to inform the public about EU-Türkiye relations, the steps taken in the membership process and the results obtained, and to strengthen mutual understanding between the Turkish and EU public opinion. Media actors also played a role in raising awareness through their contributions to the process. With the information campaigns organised within the scope of the projects implemented in the third phase, 400 thousand people were reached, more than 4,000 people participated in the trainings, and a total of 148 documentaries, short films and promotional films were shared. A grant of 2 million euros was provided to 15 dialogue projects developed by media organisations.
In the third phase of CSD, 51 projects were supported with 6.6 million euros between 2014 and 2016, within the scope of two grant components developed by focusing on the chapters of the acquis.
CSD III has achieved significant success beyond the grant projects it supports. During this period, Dialogue evolved into a recognisable brand, complete with its well-known logo, colours, and corporate identity. Through comprehensive communication and visibility efforts, Dialogue reached diverse audiences through various channels and facilitated new collaborations. The Civil Society Dialogue Documentary met viewers on television and social media. Two 45-minute episodes of the documentary series “My European City”, broadcast on TRT Haber, were dedicated to Dialogue projects. The stories of many individuals whose lives were changed by the Dialogue Programme were featured in another medium, in the digital photography exhibition titled “Snapshots of Dialogue”.
The CSD III compendium can be accessed here.