9.6 Intercontinental youth work and development cooperation
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Intercontinental youth work cooperation
In Turkey, the most important role in the international and intercontinental youth work is played by the Ministry of Youth and Sports and National Agency.
The National Agency is the National Agency of Erasmus+ Programme, and it supports and encourages international youth cooperation within the scope of main action areas of Learning Mobility of Individuals, Cooperation for the Change of Innovation and Good Practices, Support for Policy Reforms.
General Directorate of International Organisations and Foreign Relations within the Ministry of Youth and Sports cooperates with Council of Europe, European Union, Organisation of Islamic Cooperation and Turkic Council in the field of youth. International youth camps, Youth Exchange with the South Korea, Youth and Expert Exchanges with Germany, Turkish-German Youth Volunteering Exchange programs are the main international youth cooperation works carried out by the Ministry of Youth and Sports. The Republic of Turkiye has many cooperation agreements with other states on the subject of youth and in this scope, mutual youth exchange and joint meetings are carried out.
"Tunisia-Türkiye Brotherhood Week: As part of the mutual youth and sports cooperation agreement between the Government of the Republic of Türkiye and the Government of the Republic of Tunisia, mutual youth and expert exchange programs are being implemented between the Ministry of Youth and Sports of the Republic of Türkiye and the Ministry of Youth and Sports of the Republic of Tunusia. Within this framework, 16 young people and 3 Ministry officials visited Tunisia between February 1 and 8, 2022 to participate in "Tunisia-Türkiye Brotherhood Week" held in Tunisia to strengthen cultural and historical ties. The second phase of the program took place in Türkiye on March 23 -30, 2022. 20 young people from Tunisia visited official institutions, historical and cultural sites during their visit to Türkiye.
Türkiye-Azerbaijan Expert Exchange: Within the frame of the “cooperation agreement in the field of youth and sports” signed in 2020, Türkiye-Azerbaijan Expert Exchange was initiated. The first stage took place in Baku with our visit of 7 expert delegation on June 1-7, 2022. The second stage was implemented with hosting of a guest delegation from Azerbaijan in Türkiye from June 29th to July 5th, 2022.
The Türkiye-Palestine International Youth Exchange Program: The Türkiye-Palestine International Youth Exchange Program was carried out within the framework of the "Cooperation Agreement in the Field of Youth and Sports" signed between Türkiye and Palestine in 2018. In this context, 20 young people and 3 officials from Palestine were hosted in Türkiye on August 6-12, 2022 to enhance and strengthen relations between two countries in the youth field and to transfer knowledge, documents and experiences.
Youth and Expert Exchanges with Germany: In accordance with the “Protocol on the Cooperation in the Youth Policies” (Gençliğe Yönelik Politikalarda İşbirliği Hakkında Protokol) signed between Turkey and Germany in 1994, youth and expert exchanges carried out through youth centres and partner institutions in Germany are ongoing. The "26th Meeting of Turkish-German Joint Experts Commission" was held in Nuremberg, Germany, on November 1-2, 2022 hosted by Germany. During the meeting, activities for the year of 2023 were signed.
Turkish-German Youth Bridge Programme: The Turkish-German Youth Bridge Programme (Gençlik Köprüsü Türkiye-Almanya programı) is a youth program aimed at intensifying student and youth exchanges between Turkey and Germany and thus, strengthening relations by bringing the two countries closer. The Turkish-German Youth Bridge develops multi-dimensional project formats and supports these projects. Within the scope of the project, youth groups, non-governmental organisations in Turkey and Germany form partnerships and carry out joint youth works. The 9th Türkiye- Germany Advisory Board Meeting of Youth Bridge was held on November 8-9, 2022 in Düsseldorf.
Türkiye-Kazakhstan Youth Bridge: In 2022, the "Turkey-Kazakhstan Youth Bridge" project was put into practice within the scope of the Protocol and Action Plan signed within the scope of the 12th Term Meeting of the Turkey-Kazakhstan Intergovernmental Joint Economic Commission (JEC) held in Nur-Sultan. The project aims to introduce the cultural and historical values of the two countries to young people coming from the Republic of Kazakhstan and going to Kazakhstan from our country and to strengthen their ties. In this context, young people from both countries visited the historical and important places of the countries and actively participated in the historical and important days of the countries. The project has been actively implemented since 2022.
Kardeş Kömeği (Brotherly Aid): In 2022, according to the Action Plan annexed to the Protocol signed at the end of the 10th Meeting of the Turkey-Azerbaijan Joint Economic Commission (JEC) held in Baku, Kardeş Kömeği (Brotherly Aid) project was put into practice. The project aims to introduce the cultural and historical values of the two countries to young people coming from the Republic of Azerbaijan to our country and from our country to the Republic of Azerbaijan and to strengthen their ties. In this context, young people from both countries visited the historical and important places of the countries and actively participated in the historical and important days of the countries. The project has been actively implemented since 2023.
Another opportunity enabling international mobility of the youth, however, are the student exchange programs carried out through offices of the big international networks in Turkey. In this scope, supports for the youth to study in other countries in the world are provided with scholarship support. Without limited to international mobility, youth organisations with wide networks like Community Volunteers Foundation (TOG) and Habitat Centre for Development and Governance also support the youth to enable them to volunteer in non-profit social projects and participate in decision-making mechanisms by ensuring their mobility inside and outside the country. While TOG provides that mostly through university clubs, Habitat supports youth assemblies and local youth organisations (some NGOs, Youth Culture Houses etc.)
Development cooperation activities
Established in 1992, TIKA is tasked with implementing development cooperation policies of Türkiye. It coordinates development cooperation of Türkiye not only with national actors but also with international organizations and bilateral donors. Additionally, TIKA is responsible for collecting and reporting statistics on Official Development Assistance of Türkiye.
Hardware Material Support for the Center of Mostar Education, Robotics, Invention and Technology (CERIT): The Center of Mostar Education, Robotics, Invention, and Technology (CERIT) organizes basic-level robotics education, robotics coding training, robot building workshops and computer coding education for children and young people. 400 children and young people have participated in these education and workshop activities so far. The center which conducts activities to introduce children and young people to new technologies and provide them with current education for free of charge has been provided with 3 computers, a 3D printer, a smart board, 20 sets of programming kits, microcontroller cards and basic level STEAM education robots by TIKA.
Establishment of Cartagena Carpentry and Welding Workshop: In Cartagena, one of the five biggest cities of Colombia, vocational training opportunities in traditional crafts such as carpentry and welding are quite limited. Therefore, workshops where young people aged between 16-29 can receive vocational training and become qualified in their profession have been established by TIKA and made available to young people of Cartagena. The workshops aim to enable young people to earn sustainable incomes and stay away from prevalent illegal activities throughout Colombia. The project is implemented in collaboration with Cartagena Municipality and Cartagena Workshop School.
Software Developer Training Program: Tajikistan Software Development Program, initiated in 2020 to address the shortage of qualified human resources in the emerging information technology sector in Tajikistan, a second training center was opened in Dushanbe in 2022. Additionally, a new classroom was established in the previously operational training center. Within the program, free coding and software training ranging from 3 to 6 months are provided to young people aged 16-30 in three information technology training centers located in Dushanbe, the capital of the country and in Khujand, the second-largest city of the country. Approximately 5,700 young people have received training in these centers so far and over 150 graduates have found employment in the IT sector and they are currently working.
Training for Female Entrepreneurs in South Africa: The proposal for organizing a joint international development cooperation program in a third country was proposed by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Türkiye as part of cross-continental informal consultation and coordination platform, MIKTA (Mexico, Indonesia, South Korea, Türkiye and Australia). In this context, Young Business Women's Empowerment Project (YBWEP) was implemented and entrepreneurship training to 20 South African young women was provided.