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1. Intercultural awareness

2. Young people's rights

3. Key initiatives to safeguard democracy and prevent radicalisation leading to violent extremism

Intercultural awareness

A number of policies and targets are determined to raise intercultural awareness against discrimination and social exclusion within the scope of the Disadvantaged Young People and Social Inclusion and Youth in the International Arena and Intercultural Dialogue main political areas of the National Youth and Sports Policy Document. Works and activities are carried out accordingly. Policies adopted within this framework and related activities are given below:

• To increase incentives enabling young people who live in rural areas and have limited financial opportunities to benefit from participation opportunities in international activities; in this respect, disadvantaged young people are involved in intercultural mobility programmes by applying disadvantage criteria in overseas culture and mobility projects carried out and supported by the Ministry of Youth and Sports.
• To produce projects in order to increase cooperation with youth and student associations active in the international area; the Ministry of Youth and Sports provides grants to project proposals aiming to raise young people’s international awareness, provided that they meet the criteria.
• To use youth exchange programmes actively to foster intercultural interaction; numerous public organisations and institutions support youth exchange programmes.
• To organise international youth camps by bringing together young people from different countries and enabling young people from different cultures to spend time together; the Ministry of Youth and Sports organises youth camps within the Youth Camps programme.
• To increase the participation of foreign young people studying in Türkiye in youth activities and thus help them to socialise with local young people; the Ministry of Youth and Sports implements the Damla Volunteering Movement, in which domestic and international students participate in volunteering-based activities and intercultural interaction.
• “We are a Team Project” is carried out by the Ministry of Youth and Sports to support young people with limited opportunities from different socio-cultural backgrounds through sports and awareness trainings, and to contribute to social trust, consensus and sports culture. More information is available on the project’s website: Biz Bir Takımız.
• International youth camps have also been organised in cooperation with the Islamic Cooperation Youth Forum (ICYF), aiming to strengthen volunteering skills and awareness (e.g., volunteering in humanitarian crises and disasters).
• Within the scope of PIKTES (Supporting Inclusive Education for Children in the Turkish Education System), informative seminars/trainings are organised for foreign nationals and Turkish students studying together in public schools affiliated to the Ministry of National Education to increase intercultural awareness and support social cohesion. Guidelines are prepared for classroom practices to contribute to teachers’ basic teaching skills and competencies, and social cohesion activities are organised for the integration of students and parents.
• Turks and Syrians participate in vocational courses through projects implemented by the Ministry of National Education General Directorate of Lifelong Learning, targeting Syrians under Temporary Protection over the age of 18 and Turkish citizens in need (e.g., programmes supporting access to Turkish language and vocational education).
• Within the framework of cooperation between the Presidency of Migration Management and the Ministry of National Education General Directorate of Lifelong Learning, an 8-hour “Social Cohesion and Life Course” programme has been developed for adult foreigners who have the right to stay in Türkiye. The programme is delivered through public education centres in a flexible model. It covers topics such as cultural structure, public life rules, rights and obligations, education and health opportunities, legal issues and access to livelihoods. As of 20.10.2021, a total of 106,476 people (53,856 women and 52,620 men) had completed the training.

Young people's rights

In the context of raising awareness of young people in relation to human rights and generalising human rights awareness among young people in Türkiye, public organisations, local administrations, universities and NGOs implement various projects, programmes and activities.

Regarding the individual application mechanism of the Constitutional Court, informative materials are publicly available (e.g., Individual Application to the Turkish Constitutional Court – guide (PDF)). Similarly, the Human Rights and Equality Institution of Türkiye provides public access to information and services related to applications. Detailed information on e-application methods is also available through the Ombudsman system (e.g., Ombudsman Institution – e-application (e-Devlet)).

Key initiatives to safeguard democracy and prevent radicalisation leading to violent extremism

The project Strengthening the Culture of Democracy in Basic Education, co-financed by the European Union and the Council of Europe, and implemented with the Ministry of National Education as partner institution, was implemented between August 2018 and November 2022. The goal of the project was to strengthen democratic school culture practices by involving school staff, families and students in basic education institutions (pre-school, primary and secondary). Within the scope of the project, education materials based on Competences for Democratic Culture were developed, and the Holistic School Model was piloted in 2021–2022. More information is available on the Council of Europe project page and the Directorate for EU Affairs project summary.

The Cooperation Council of Turkic-Speaking States (Turkic Council) and the United Nations Alliance of Civilisations (UNAOC) co-hosted an international conference on “The Role of the Youth Sector in Preventing Violent Extremism” in İstanbul on 20–21 October 2016. Information on the event is available via UNAOC’s event page and the Turkic Council/Turkic States news item.