05/08/2023 - 16:13
The implementation period for the Haklara Destek Program has taken off with an opening meeting held in Istanbul between January 12 and 14, 2023. Representatives from 41 beneficiary human-rights organisations met in person as well as virtually. The three-day meeting consisted of technical information sessions, solidarity network sessions and a forum. Tuğçe Bahadır and Aysun Koca from the Civil Society Development Center (STGM) and Özge Konuralp, from EU TASCO, were among the participants.
During the first session, speakers included Alexander Fricke, Head of the Civil Society, Fundamental Rights, Judiciary and Home Affairs Section of the Delegation of the European Union to Turkey, Semahat Sevim, Haklara Destek Project Coordinator at Heinrich Böll Stiftung Foundation, and Murat Çelikkan, Haklara Destek Project Coordinator and Co-Director at Hafıza Merkezi. Speakers offered words of encouragement for the next two years of the collaboration between Haklara Destek and its beneficiaries.
During the technical information sessions, which were spread over a course of two days, the Haklara Destek team shared important information for the beneficiaries to use during the implementation period. The first day focused on the project plans, reporting, budget amendments and other discussions on financial issues. The second day, January 13, was dedicated to learning more about the BELLEK Grant Management System, capacity development, solidarity networks and visibility. A help desk for finance-related questions was also set up for two days to give the beneficiaries the chance to directly ask any questions they may have on budgeting and finances.
In the last session, on January 12, the beneficiaries met with field workers, got to know each other better and discussed the next two years in more detail.
In this second round of Haklara Destek Program, we have prioritized helping small- and medium-scale human rights organisations increase their capacity for solidarity and join solidarity networks where they can find strength in each other in their fight against human rights abuses. For this purpose, we included two sessions to discuss solidarity networks.
With regards to the solidarity networks, Mario Mazic (PeaceNexus Foundation) presented his keynote speech on “Solidarity Opportunities through Networking for Human Rights Organisations”. Mazic talked about what motivated organisations to come together and support each other, and how organisations produced and transformed together and made their voices heard and how they became a part of a bigger community. He also shared his ideas and experiences on the conditions required to set up and maintain a solidarity network.
Following Mazic’s speech, a panel titled, “Strengthening Human Rights Organizations in the Civic Space: Solidarity Network’’ took place, was moderated by Balacan Ayar from Haklara Destek. Panelists included Burcu Ballıklıtaş Bingöllü from the Solidarity Network for Human Rights Defenders, Dejan Markovic from ERGO Network, İlknur Üstün from the Women’s Coalition, as well as Isabelle Boittin and Gülşah Kurt from Protect Defenders. Using their own experiences, panelists talked about the importance of solidarity, ways to render solidarity networks sustainable, professional and/or volunteer involvement in solidarity networks, as well as the effects of the nature of this involvement on the network. Additionally, they discussed the power solidarity networks possess against authoritarian and oppressive regime and the limitations and contributions of these networks.
At the end of the second day, beneficiary organisations and our team played a box game titled “Play for Change”, developed by Anadolu Kültür, as part of the Hep Beraber (All Together) Project. The themes of this game were inclusion and fighting discrimination, selected by organizations from Turkey and Germany. We were joined by Beril Sönmez, Ekin Su Birinci from Anadolu Kültür, as well as game facilitator, Esin Epli.
On the last day, we organised a forum facilitated by Olcay Özer from Haklara Destek, to receive feedback from the beneficiary organisations and learn more about their expectations from the two-year program. This concluded our opening meeting. While organising this meeting, we always kept in mind our motto, “We Need Each Other”. Thanks to the Haklara Destek Program, together with the beneficiary organisations, we were able to experience solidarity and empowerment to take action during these hard times.
Once again, we would like to wish all the beneficiary organisations a productive implementation period, one that is full of solidarity.
