2.3 National strategy on youth volunteering
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Existence of a National Strategy
While there is no direct national strategy for young volunteering in Türkiye, there is work done by different institutions and organizations.
The 12th Development Plan (2024-2028) of the history of the Republic includes important policies regarding volunteering goals, especially youth volunteering. In this context;
2.3. Qualified People, Strong Society
- 2.3.6. Child, 607. 2. “Children, families and teachers will be made aware of volunteer activities and children will be directed to these activities.”
- 2.3.7. Youth, 620. 4. “Young people will be conscious and guided within the scope of volunteering activities, and their participation in volunteer activities will be encouraged.”
- 2.3.11. Population and Aging, 658. 2. “Voluntary activities and projects that will increase intergenerational solidarity will be supported.”
2.5. Rule of Law, Democratization and Good Governance
- 2.5. 1.3. Civil Society, 776. 1. “An inclusive framework will be held to strengthen civil society and volunteering.”
- 2.5. 1.3. Civil Society, 779. 4. The provisions of “the participation of university students in voluntary and NGO activities will be encouraged to facilitate internship opportunities in NGOs” are included.
The 12th Development Plan of the Republic of Türkiye (2024-2028) contains important policies regarding volunteering goals. In this context, the goal of "Raising awareness about volunteering activities of young people and increasing their participation” is expressed in the target numbered “746.11”.
In line with the 12th Development Plan, the 2024 Presidential Annual Program outlines several targets related to volunteering:
- Measure 746.11: Awareness of volunteering among young people will be raised, and their participation in voluntary activities will be increased through the following initiatives:
- Club activities, including social, cultural and educational activities, will be carried out under the title of Volunteering Club-Youth Kindness Tree in youth centers and youth offices.
- Young volunteers will actively participate in the activities of Youth Radio.
- The Volunteer Work Course will be expanded in universities, and efforts will be made to increase awareness of the course among students.
- Through the Damla Volunteering Movement and We Are Anatolia Project, volunteering programs will be implemented in 81 provinces, promoting the culture of volunteering.
- Awareness campaigns will be carried out to increase the number of individual and institutional members of the "We Are Volunteers" Platform, which connects volunteers with organizations in need.
- Training programs on volunteering and volunteer management will be conducted for volunteers, institutions, and organizations.
- Initiatives such as the "Bond of Hearts" activities, "From Knowledge to Awareness" conferences, environmental activities, and the Neighbor Project will be implemented.
Following the transition to the new government system, the Presidential Decree No. 1 on the Presidential Organization dated 10/07/2018 that was followed by Article 1 (f) of Article 190, entitled “General Directorate of Education Research and Coordination” says:
- It is the duty of the Ministry of Youth and Sports to carry out activities that increase the awareness of volunteering and encourage young people. This legal basis has gained momentum in the work of volunteering and has been declared "Year of Volunteering" in 2019 by the Ministry of Youth and Sports.
The 2019 Volunteering Year Strategy Document has been published to maximize volunteering cooperation between civil society, private sector and public institutions and organizations, and to ensure effective use of resources. This strategy has 6 main focuses:
- Strengthening the culture of volunteerism.
- More effective use of technology for volunteering.
- Stronger regulation of volunteering and voluntary risk management.
- Strengthening volunteerism management and training.
- Strengthening inter-institutional relations.
- Recognition and evaluation of volunteerism.
The 2019 Volunteering Year Action Plan, which was prepared and put into effect within the Ministry of Youth and Sports in line with the 2019 Volunteer Year Strategy Document, was expanded in 2021 and 2022, and was prepared and published with the participation of 12 different institutions and organizations represented in the High Council for Combating Addiction.
Again, as the first activity under the title of Protection and Development of Youth's Rights in Target 8.3 article of the Human Rights Action Plan for 2021 published by the Ministry of Justice, the following provision is included: “Volunteering Studies will be included in the secondary education curriculum and will be expanded as an elective course in universities and these studies will be taken into account in evaluating the success of the students.”
Scope and contents
The Volunteering Action Plan for the Year 2022, created by the Ministry of Youth and Sports under 6 basic action titles, includes the following activities:
Action 1. Strengthening the culture of volunteerism
Activity 1.1. In order to increase the visibility and awareness of volunteering, stands will be opened in places such as exhibitions, fairs and festivals, where young people are concentrated and participate heavily.
Activity 1.2. In order to increase the visibility of volunteering, films, video editing, social media contents, etc. will be prepared and published in media channels especially popular with young people.
Activity 1.3. Simultaneous volunteering activities will be carried out in 81 provinces on 5 December World Volunteers Day communication work and on determined themes.
Activity 1.4. In order to increase the opportunities for qualified volunteering, meetings will be held with associations, foundations, federations and public institutions through on-site visits and teleconference, to inform them about the "We are Volunteers Platform" and encourage their corporate memberships.
Activity 1.5. In order to increase the participation of young people in volunteering activities, projects and activities related to volunteering will be carried out by the departments of our Ministry.
Activity 1.6. Within the scope of Youth Projects Support Program, support will be provided for projects with a volunteer theme.
Activity 1.7. The Türkiye Volunteering Survey, carried out in 2021, will be prepared as a book publication for the benefit of those working in the field.
Activity 1.8. Cooperation with sports federations will be carried out in order to spread sports volunteering in our country and to increase the visibility of volunteers in international sports organizations.
Activity 1.9. Necessary promotion, education and information activities will be carried out in order to encourage university students studying in Sports Sciences Faculties and BESYOs and students attending all schools and sports high schools participating in school sports activities to volunteer in sports organizations in line with their interests and abilities.
Activity 1.10. In order to encourage more young people to volunteer in School Sports, Universities Sports League (Ünilig) and ANALİG organizations, sports volunteering announcements will be published by the Provincial Directorates in 81 provinces through the “Young Volunteers Platform”.
Action 2. More effective use of technology for volunteering
Activity 2.1. Continuous updates will be made in line with the requests, demands and suggestions of the users in order to make the "We are Volunteers" System more user-friendly, questions will be answered as soon as possible and problems will be resolved as quickly as possible.
Activity 2.2. In addition to face-to-face trainings, effective use of distance education methods will be ensured in volunteering and volunteer management trainings to be held for volunteers and institutions.
Activity 2.3. In line with the needs and expectations of volunteers and institutions, documents and videos on different life skills such as project management, crisis management, teamwork, leadership, effective communication techniques and volunteer management will be created and made available on the web.
Activity 2.4. Within the scope of online volunteering, activities that will provide online volunteering opportunities such as translation, research, website design, text editing, graphic design, providing expert opinion, supporting promotional activities in social media, contributing to online training and online discussion groups will be carried out.
Activity 2.5. In order to ensure effective use of technology, video editing works consisting of visuals of volunteer activities carried out by our Ministry, youtube content studies, etc. will be prepared and published on social media channels.
Action 3. Stronger regulation of volunteering and voluntary risk management
Activity 3.1. It will be ensured that matters related to volunteering are included as much as possible while responding to requests for opinions from other institutions on studies such as legislative studies, action plans, upper-scale policy documents, plans and programs.
Activity 3.2. Youth Offices and Volunteering Studies Course Application Guide will be updated in the framework of volunteering activities.
Action 4. Strengthening volunteerism management and training
Activity 4.1. In order to increase and strengthen the effectiveness of volunteering, the "GönüllüyüzBİZ Platform" handbook and brochure will be prepared, published and distributed in order to inform the volunteers of the institutions on the obligations of the volunteers to the institutions and volunteer management.
Activity 4.2. Volunteering and volunteer management trainings will be held for the personnel working in the Provincial Directorates, Youth Centers and Young Offices, as well as for the students staying in the dormitories, dormitory managers, dormitory education supervisors and professional staff.
Activity 4.3. Within the scope of the protocol signed between the Council of Higher Education and our Ministry, various cooperations will be made with universities in order to effectively carry out the "Volunteer Studies Course", which was started to be taught as an elective course in universities.
Action 5. Strengthening inter-institutional relations
Activity 5.1. In order to strengthen the volunteering culture in our country, activities and themed volunteering trainings will be carried out in the Youth Offices affiliated to the Youth Centers established within the schools/institutions and universities considered appropriate by the Ministry of National Education.
Activity 5.2. Signing ceremonies will be held with the participation of written and visual media representatives by preparing cooperation protocols between public institutions and organizations and NGOs in the field of volunteering.
Activity 5.3. Joint meetings will be held and data will be shared in order to create a data set on volunteering and add it to the official statistics program of Turkish Statistical Institute.
Activity 5.4. "Youth Volunteering Training Program" will be organized in Istanbul in cooperation with the Turkic Council in July-August 2022, and it will be ensured that the participating countries share their experiences on volunteering.
Activity 5.5. In cooperation protocols to be signed with foreign countries, especially Germany and Tunisia, and with the international organizations UN, EC, OIC, Turkic Council, etc. studies will be carried out to include the theme of volunteering, activities and events.
Activity 5.6. In order to increase the visibility of Volunteering in international youth and sports organizations, a logo and slogan work will be carried out that will provide a univocal communication.
Action 6. Recognition and evaluation of volunteerism
Activity 6.1. While the young people who will participate in national and international projects and activities and exchange programs to be carried out by our Ministry are selected, priority will be given to those who have been actively involved in volunteering activities before.
Activity 6.2. Within the scope of 2021 Konya 5th Islamic Solidarity Games and 2021 Konya Islamic Countries Sports Capital Programme, it will be encouraged to organize activities in the field of volunteering and the volunteers will be encouraged to take part in these activities by using the Young Volunteers Platform.
Activity 6.3. A volunteer committee will be established within the scope of the 4th World Nomad Games and volunteers will be encouraged to take part in the events to be organized by using the Young Volunteers Platform.
Responsible authority
- The Ministry of Youth and Sports,
- Ministry of National Education,
- High Education Board (YÖK),
- Universities,
- All Sports Federations,
- Ministry of Family and Social Services,
- Ministry of Culture and Tourism,
- Ministry of Health,
- Ministry of Environment, Urbanization and Climate Change,
- Disaster and Emergency Management Presidency (AFAD),
- Union of Municipalities of Türkiye,
- Local Authorities,
- Turkish Statistical Institute
- Supreme Council of Radio and Television,
- Media Companies,
- Non-Governmental Organizations.
- International Organizations
Revisions/ Updates
After the "2019 Year of Volunteering" was announced by the Ministry of Youth and Sports in order to initiate a volunteering campaign with the full participation of all stakeholders in our country and the 2019 Volunteering Year Strategy Document was shared with the public, the 2019 Volunteer Year Action Plan was prepared and entered into force for the first time in this direction. At the end of 2019, the Volunteerism Action Plan was implemented with approximately 90% realization. The action plan could not be renewed in 2020 due to the Covid-19 pandemic conditions, and its scope was expanded in 2021 and 2022, and it was prepared and put into practise with the participation of 12 different institutions and organizations represented in the High Council for Combating Addiction.
It is aimed that the Volunteering Action Plan will be updated every year to guide the volunteering activities.
The Project for Strengthening Civil Participation for the Development of Democratic Local Governance in Turkey (Civil Participation Project) is financed by the EU under the Instrument for Pre-Accession Assistance II (IPA II) and implemented by UNDP. The lead institution of the project is the Ministry of Foreign Affairs - Directorate for EU Affairs, while the main beneficiary is the Union of Municipalities of Turkey (TBB), and the co-beneficiary is the Ministry of Interior - Directorate General for Relations with Civil Society (STİGM).
The Civil Participation Project consists of four main components, one of which is the development of legislative proposals related to volunteering in Turkey under Component 3. Within this framework, efforts are being made to institutionalize volunteering further through the development of volunteering legislation. To achieve this, a Working Group on Volunteering has been established within this component and has commenced its activities. Additionally, field visits will be conducted by the project team and beneficiaries to the pilot provinces and other selected provinces. Within Component 3, first, a Green Paper and later a White Paper will be prepared to support studies in the field of volunteering.
The activities carried out within the project in 2024 are as follows:
Within the Volunteering Component of the Civil Participation Project, desk research and survey studies were conducted to evaluate the current needs for the development of volunteering in Turkey and to examine the best practices in selected EU countries. Meetings were held with representatives of relevant ministries and public institutions, and the Working Group on Volunteering was established with the participation of representatives from public institutions, academics, and civil society organizations (CSOs) to draft legal regulations.
Additionally, Volunteering Workshops were organized in Istanbul, Ankara, Izmir, Gaziantep, and Mersin, with the participation of 937 representatives from public institutions, academia, and CSOs.
Based on the feedback and results obtained from these activities, the Green Paper and White Paper, which include policy recommendations and draft legal regulations on volunteering, were prepared.