“Civil Society Dialogue Between the EU and Türkiye I” was supported within the scope of the 2006 National Programme and was implemented in 2008-2009. The main objectives of the Programme and the newly-initiated Dialogue were defined as strengthening the relations between civil societies in the EU and Türkiye, increasing mutual experience sharing, and contributing to the recognition and understanding of the EU in Türkiye, and Türkiye in the EU.

Based on Commission Communiqué No. 290, four target groups that will benefit from the Programme were determined: i. Cities and Municipalities, ii. Universities, iii. Professional Organizations, iv. Youth Initiatives.

These groups were chosen as the first representatives of the Dialogue because of the importance of their role in the accession process, their strong capacity to mobilise more resources and because they had not fully used their potential to contribute to the Dialogue.

During the implementation period of the Programme, 118 projects were supported with approximately 19 million euros within the scope of four separate grant components, and a total of 153 civil society partnerships were established between Türkiye and 21 EU countries with these projects.

Looking at the Programme in general, it was observed that municipalities focused on community-based waste management, professional organisations focused on capacity building, universities developed joint programmes, and young people focused on establishing CSO networks.

Within the scope of the Civil Society Dialogue projects, the biggest number of mobility was realised in the Civil Society Dialogue I Programme. There were 179 mobilities from the European Union to Türkiye with the participation of 967 people. There were 199 mobilities from Türkiye to the EU with the participation of 1514 people.

The language barrier, which can be considered one of the biggest obstacles in inter-institutional collaborations, was largely overcome with the support of the “Written and Oral Translation Service” created under the technical assistance component of the Dialogue project. With this support structure created under the technical support project, with a different method than grant programmes, oral and written translation support was provided for CSOs’ activities such as meetings, conferences, seminars, workshops, meetings and networking events, study tours and joint evaluation meetings. The beginning of the Programme marked the beginning of communication with the EU for many organisations. 57 percent of the organisations receiving support had the opportunity to work collaboratively with partners from the EU and Türkiye for the first time through Dialogue projects.

The CSD I compendium can be accessed here.