The International Association of Women in Sustainable Development (USKD) carried out a series of visits to the capital for projects that will develop international cooperation and strengthen the place of women in social and economic life.
The USKD delegation, led by the Chair of the Board of Directors Ayla Alkan, exchanged views with representatives of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Directorate for European Union Affairs and the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) within the scope of the Ankara program.
Stakeholder Objective in EU Projects
The USKD delegation first met with Bülent Özcan, Director General of Financial Cooperation and Project Implementation at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Directorate of European Union Affairs.
Bülent Özcan, who stated that they published projects that provide support to groups experiencing difficulties as an institution, said, “We are an institution that manages financial cooperation and project applications within the scope of Türkiye’s relations with the European Union (EU). This general directorate plays an important role in the implementation of projects aimed at strengthening Türkiye’s economic, social and institutional infrastructure in the EU accession process. We will publish a grant call that we plan to announce in the fall, which will provide grant support in two dimensions in the fields of both business and social development in our earthquake-hit provinces, such as increasing employment and professional development. Projects that provide support to groups experiencing difficulties are our priority. USKD can benefit from these grant programs by developing projects in the areas mentioned above, especially in civil society, education, human rights and development.”
CORPORATE COOPERATIONS ARE IMPORTANT
Underlining that institutional collaborations will lead to important steps for the society, USKD Board of Directors Chairwoman Ayla Alkan said the following: “Although we were established a short time ago, we are carrying out effective projects with our 45 businesswomen members, each of whom has long experience and has signed volunteer works related to women in the social field and economy. As USKD, we are implementing the “Young Women Protecting Their Cultural Heritage for Sustainable Development” project, which we started with the grant support we received from the General Directorate of Civil Society Relations of the Ministry of Interior in the first month of our establishment. In addition to providing training to young NEET women to gain competencies in creative sectors; we create an inventory that we will archive in a digital environment by revealing the tangible and intangible cultural values of İzmir, shooting videos of them, and narrating them. At the same time, we have started working to measure the social impact of all our projects with the SEİM Social Impact and Innovation Center that we established within USKD. We also attach great importance to the monitoring and reporting of the projects we carry out. In this context, we attach great importance to the support that the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Directorate General for Financial Cooperation and Project Implementation of the Presidency for the European Union will provide to our association. We hope to make this productive meeting sustainable and meet with them again.”
EMPHASIS ON COLLABORATION
Stating that they are working to protect and support refugees, asylum seekers and displaced persons worldwide, UNHCR Türkiye SözcüSelin Ünal expressed her satisfaction with the visit of the USKD delegation.
USKD Board of Directors Chairwoman Ayla Alkan, who stated that they follow UNHCR’s activities with interest, said, “We think that we can create a broader impact by ensuring the efficient use of resources together with UNHCR. We can produce and implement many projects in order to ensure equality in the international arena. We can carry out entrepreneurship projects for women who cannot access opportunities and are deprived in line with the Sustainable Development Goals. We can organize all kinds of education programs, vocational skills training, and financial literacy courses for women. As USKD, we can increase our sphere of influence by working together with UNHCR, other civil society organizations, and public and private sector stakeholders, and we can play an important role in the realization of sustainable development goals.”
USKD members show great participation in the Capital visits
Within the scope of Ankara contacts, the USKD delegation consisted of Board of Directors Chairwoman Ayla Alkan, GİFED Founding Chairwoman Huriye Serter, Serap Özöktem, Ebru Taga Tanrıöğen, Irmak Nural, Handan Kaçar, Neşe Can, Prof. Dr. Meltem Kolday, Figen Bayülken, Gamze Bilge Torun, Günnur Yağcıoğulları, Süheyla Biçer, Şenay Karasu, Ayşe Anya, Fatih Şahin and Ayşegül Doğrucan.
