Hello everyone from the second issue of our News from the Ecosystem series!
If you haven’t read our first issue yet or would like to review it again, you can find it here.
In the 100th anniversary of our Republic, in the ecosystem in which we work with pride, we have accomplished many things throughout the year with the spirit of solidarity and collaboration; We overcame the difficulties together. As we leave 2023 behind in this issue, we remember that despite the many difficulties we have experienced in the world and in Turkey, we have become stronger with cooperation, solidarity and hope, together with what we have done throughout the year.
As IDEMA, Needs Map and INOGAR, we hope to continue, develop and increase the work that contributes to the social, environmental, economic and cultural development of our country and society in 2024, happy new year!
We wish you pleasant reading!
2023 of the Ecosystem
This year, we worked with a vision ranging from local to international. In 2023, we carried out a total of 78 projects, 42 in Turkey and 36 international. We have contributed to social, environmental, economic and cultural development in different geographies by establishing global collaborations.
By adopting a development perspective that touches on many different areas, we worked on 9 different main themes. This year, we focused proportionately mostly on the themes of disaster resilience, entrepreneurship, capacity building for SMEs and cooperatives, and creative industries.
We increased the sharing of knowledge and experience by organizing 517 workshops and trainings as needed within the scope of projects on different themes we focused on. Along with the differentiating themes, the target audiences of our projects also differed. This year, the target audiences for our projects included individuals and institutions, women, youth, SMEs and policy makers who were most affected by the earthquake. We reached a total of 419,885 beneficiary individuals and institutions with our projects. In this way, we touched the lives of many individuals and institutions.
We prepared 141 reports and analyzes by compiling the data we obtained from the projects we carried out during the year. These reports helped us evaluate the impacts of our work and guide our future projects. During this process of carrying out our projects, we were actively in the field for 30,000 hours to directly understand the needs of individuals and institutions and produce solutions.
Together, we increased our impact and voice in the field of development this year. We redesigned idemahaber in line with our development communication approach and shared approximately 200 news content. Our newsletter reached approximately 4000 subscribers with the 12 issues we published on LinkedIn. Our content reached a total of 284 thousand reads.
This year, we were deemed worthy of many awards that crowned our impact and we increased our representation power before institutions. Our Founding Partner Guler Altinsoy and our Cooperative Partner Esra Arslan were among the Top 100 Women in Social Entrepreneurship across Europe.
INOGAR Board Member and Partner Prof. Dr. Itir Erhart was elected to the World Fair Trade Organization Africa and Middle East Region Board of Directors; She was also deemed worthy of the MediaCat Women Making a Difference Award.
‘Solidarity Stage’, organized in collaboration with Needs Map, DasDas, Zorlu Performing Arts Center and HeyMo ® The Experience Design Company, won the first prize at the 18th Felis Awards in the ‘Social Responsibility and Sustainability‘ category and the gold award at the Stevie®️ 20th Annual International Business Awards® won. The Team Paribu project, carried out jointly by Needs Map and Paribu, won an award in the field of ‘Communication through Opinion Leaders‘.
Throughout the year, we have produced fast and effective solutions to the needs of our country and society in the context of social, economic and cultural development. We will continue to produce and cultivate hope together in 2024.
Disaster preparedness and post-disaster reconstruction
Humanitarian Aid Efforts
We started our work in the field from the first hours of the February 6 Kahramanmaraş earthquake. Our first list of needs we published included blankets, sanitary pads, heaters, wet wipes, diapers, baby food, sleeping bags, winter boots and empty parcels. DasDas served as a warehouse where many volunteers brought the materials on the need list, sorted them, boxed them and loaded them onto trucks. With the support of Saran Holding, we delivered the needs by helicopter to villages that cannot be reached by land in Hatay and Adıyaman. With the support of the UPS Foundation and in cooperation with UNHCR and the UN Refugee Agency, we ensured that international support was delivered to the earthquake zone. With the One Rent One Home project, we reached thousands of people with 4,411 home support and 9,597 people providing rental support. We brought the Solidarity Stage to life in collaboration with Zorlu PSM, DasDas, HeyMo, Turkish Philanthropy Funds, ZENGER and the participation of 40 artists. With the support tickets received and contributions made through online publications, we supported the education of 530 students affected by the earthquake and also 65 children who were physically harmed in cooperation with the Robotel Association.
Creating Living Spaces
We took action to create sustainable container city living spaces worthy of human dignity, where we leave no one behind, with many components such as education, culture and arts, neighborhood relations, psychosocial support and sports. UNDP decided to support the container cities established by the Needs Map in Hatay, Kahramanmaraş and Adıyaman, with the aim of supporting the protection of public health and the environment in container cities with the delivery of necessary materials for sanitation and waste management. Our new living space, which we launched in Hatay and will provide temporary shelter to our citizens who lost their homes, has started to host 1500 earthquake victims. We designed it as an environmentally friendly model with drinking water, wastewater and solid waste infrastructure.
“Team Paribu Sports Field” was opened within the scope of the Disaster Area Sports Fields Project with Team Paribu With You. Approximately 400 children and young people will experience regular sports in 11 different branches with their coaches throughout the year at the Team Paribu Sports Field. We established our Psychosocial Support Centers in cooperation with Z Zurich Foundation and Zurich Türkiye. In our centers where we aim to provide a safe and supportive environment with the consultancy of psychologists who are experts in the field of trauma; We work together to contribute to the mental health and well-being of those living in the region, especially the residents in need in our living spaces.
Recovery & Sustainable Development
Regional Reconstruction and Development Center (RRDC), of which we are among the executives, was established together with Gaziantep Chamber of Commerce, Adana Chamber of Commerce, Kahramanmaraş Chamber of Commerce and Industry – KMTSO and UNDP, in order to act together and coordinate the institutions working for the disaster area. The RRDC launch of the center, which was established by UNDP Turkey, Gaziantep Chamber of Commerce, Adana Chamber of Commerce and Needs Map to contribute to the restructuring and development of 11 provinces in the earthquake zone in the economic, social, cultural and civil society fields, was held in Adana.
Technology
Geographic Information Systems (GIS) and the Digital Platforms We Create
Geographic Information Systems (GIS) and Voluntary Geographic Information (GCB) approach are among the methods we use to cope with difficulties such as personnel and resource security, political, cultural and economic obstacles, and especially communication gap between aid organizations when responding to disasters and emergencies. Many solutions to problems can be realized with tools, software and processes designed with these methods at their core. With this approach, many applications, tools and plug-ins can be developed not only for disasters and emergencies, but also for commercial purposes.
Click for the digital platformu made by Needs Map.
“Needs Map WhatsApp Chatbot”
In order to deliver verified demands to those in need more quickly, we launched the “Needs Map WhatsApp Request Center” WhatsApp message bot, which we established with Insider support for Hatay and Adıyaman during the February 6 Earthquake. With the guidance of the bot via WhatsApp +908502424384, we determined the contact information and needs and ensured that the necessary support was provided. We received more than 100,000 requests from the region. We met over 20,000 families and over 96,000 items of need in Hatay. Time, place and type-based analyzes we made following the needs requests from Hatay showed that food, water, tents and hygiene packages were needed the most. We also closely examined how post-earthquake demands changed over time.
IDEMA’s Technology Partner: CovenLabs
Founded by Mihriban Ersin Tekmen and Mert Fırat, CovenLabs aims to provide personalized solutions to brands in the physical world in the digital world and to grow the Web3 ecosystem. CovenLabs provides a wide range of customized services, from strategy development to NFT creation and tokenization, from gamification to fintech integration, content management and community development.
As IDEMA, we are happy to work with CovenLabs in our projects where we build a bridge between the physical and digital world and create new structures and communities that we need in the Web3 world.
Entrepreneurship and SME’s
Solid SME (Sağlam KOBİ)
After the Van earthquake, the Solid SME project was launched in Turkey in 2013, in cooperation with the UPS Global Foundation, the World Economic Forum, the American Chamber of Commerce Foundation, IDEMA and UPS Turkey, in order to increase the disaster awareness of SMEs throughout Turkey and strengthen their preparedness and resilience for disasters. The project, which has organized more than 100 trainings in 25 provinces since 2013, has reached more than 3,500 SMEs and more than 100,000 people across Turkey.
After the February 6 Kahramanmaraş earthquake, the Saglam SME project, under the coordination of the Regional Recovery and Development Centers (RRDC) established in partnership with the Needs Map, Adana Chamber of Commerce, Gaziantep Chamber of Commerce and UNDP, to carry out activities and projects for the reconstruction and sustainable development needs of the provinces affected by the earthquake. It continues its activities for disaster resilience, focusing on the earthquake region.
CLIP 2 – Community Based Local Initiatives for Social Enterprises
IDEMA took part as Social Enterprises Consultant in the CLIP 2 – Community-Based Local Enterprises Project organized by the German International Cooperation Agency (GIZ). In this context, he organized a workshop on social economy, social entrepreneurship and social cooperatives for seven local associations from different regions of Turkey. He also organized field visits to determine the needs of the associations more comprehensively. Following the field determinations, capacity building support was given to businesses in order to establish social impact-oriented businesses, taking into account the needs of the associations.
In-Depth Training and Consultancy Support for Growth-Oriented SMEs
The needs of 80 SMEs selected within the scope of the @spark sti SPARK – “In-Depth Training and Consultancy Support for Growth-Oriented SMEs” project, which was implemented in Adana, Gaziantep, Hatay and Şanlıurfa with the financial support of the European Union, were determined. Five-day training and consultancy services were provided according to the needs of SMEs. Financial support and consultancy services were provided to 120 Syrian employees under temporary protection from 80 selected SMEs during the process of obtaining work permits.
Gaziantep Food and Gastronomy Entrepreneurship Center
Within the scope of the project implemented by IDEMA under the leadership of ICMPD in partnership with the Gaziantep Chamber of Commerce, the “Gaziantep Food and Gastronomy Entrepreneurship Center” was established to serve start-ups and scale-ups in the food and gastronomy sector. Food entrepreneur candidates had the opportunity to receive training and consultancy tailored to their needs at the center before establishing their businesses. Within the scope of the project, 425 beneficiaries were reached and 10 trainings were carried out.
Increasing the Entrepreneurial Capacity of Uyghur Turks Living in Sefaköy
With the support of Freedom House, the entrepreneurial capacity of young people was increased through entrepreneurship training and workshops given to young Uyghur Turks living in Sefaköy, Istanbul. Within the scope of the project, trainings such as financial literacy, marketing and company formation were provided.
Capacity Building Studies for Gender Equality and Cooperatives
AHENK Women’s Cooperative and BERİ Women’s Cooperative
As IDEMA, we worked on capacity building and improvement of operational processes for the sustainability of Beri Women’s Cooperative and Ahenk Women’s Cooperative within the scope of the “Strengthening Economic Opportunities for Syrians and Turkish Citizens under Temporary Protection Living in Selected Regions Project” implemented by the World Bank with the financing of the European Union. We carried out our work throughout.
During the project we carried out with cooperatives, we worked with 31 cooperative partners. During this process, we were in the field for 171 hours with training, mentoring and events and held 12 workshops in line with the needs of the cooperatives. We developed the establishment of cooperatives’ websites and social media accounts, communication strategies, product catalogs and promotional materials. Ahenk Women’s Cooperative became the first producer of the MEZOİK brand with the slogan “Nutrition Heritage of the Future from the Past”. Under the mentorship of nutritionist Elvan Odabaşı, cooperative partners have introduced a product range containing all the nutrients needed in the first 72 hours during disasters. In addition to these products, they worked on nutritious products for all age groups.
As Ecosystem, we were at the 18th SECoP meeting, called “Towards Development: Creating Opportunities for a Developing Labor Market”, which was also the closing meeting of the project. At the meeting, IDEMA, Needs Map and INOGAR Founding Partner Dr. Ali Ercan Özgür took part as a speaker in the “Creating Employment for Women through Social Entrepreneurship” session.
Brothers Platform for Women Involved in Life
The Women Involved in Life Platform, which was implemented by BROTHERS under the consultancy of IDEMA under the main sponsorship of Pernod Ricard Turkey in order to increase the representation of women in the professions of the future, is mentored by Arda Yalkin, Ata Uzunhasan, Dilara Koçak, Hande Şekerciler, Mert Fırat, M. Serdar Kuzuloğlu, Prof. Dr. We worked with Itir Erhart and Simay Dinç. We carried out 22 asynchronous training content, 16 online courses, 6 face-to-face meetings and 48 face-to-face mentoring sessions under 4 main headings: “Culture, Art and Entertainment, Sustainability and Climate Change, New Business Life and Digitalization and New Media”. During the program, which we carried out in two phases, we received more than 6000 applications and completed a long-term entrepreneurship journey with 950 women participants.
KAİ (Women’s Footprint Platform), a social initiative working in line with the Sustainable Development goals to change gender inequality in the global entrepreneurship ecosystem, became the winning group of the first phase of the Brothers Women Involved in Life Platform. You can visit www.kadinayakizi.org to access the KAI Fund Search Engine and its many different tools, which make it easier to access funds and grants suitable for women’s entrepreneurial ideas developed by KAI.
We Are All Nature, the winner of the second phase of the project, set out to increase the number of children who aim to learn together in nature, including children from disadvantaged groups, who connect with, protect and love nature. Thanks to the seed investment they received, they continue on their way as the We Are All Nature Women’s Cooperative in the 100th anniversary of our Republic. The group, which started organizing forest workshops in which children with autism and down syndrome also participate, continues to work to continue its projects on both national and international platforms.
Climate Crisis and Green Transformation
Enerjisa Platform for a Better Future
Enerjisa Enerji for the establishment of a Better Future Platform in order to contribute to Turkey’s economic efficiency, to implement concrete projects on Turkey’s economic efficiency, and to leave a better, cleaner and more efficient future in Turkey for future generations. As Enerjisa, TBWA and IDEMA, we have embarked on a long-term journey.
With the work of the “Better Future Platform”, which we have implemented in line with the principles of solidarity, expertise and inclusiveness, we aimed to focus primarily on the perception, acceptance and productivity-enhancing practices of businesses in the field of productivity in our country. In this context, we put forward the “Turkey Efficiency Research Report” and “Turkey Efficiency Map” as the first concrete outputs.
Enerjisa Enerji announced that it is providing support to the earthquake zone with the ‘A Better Future Platform’ as of December 2023. Enerjisa is the sole private sector stakeholder of the “Regional Reconstruction and Development Center”, which was implemented by UNDP Turkey, Gaziantep Chamber of Commerce, Adana Chamber of Commerce and Needs Map to contribute to the restructuring and development of 11 provinces in the earthquake zone in economic, social, cultural and civil society areas.
Gaziantep Chamber of Commerce Green Transformation Center & Green Transformation Report Card
As IDEMA, we undertook the execution of the “Gaziantep Chamber of Commerce Green Transformation Center” project, which was established at the Gaziantep Chamber of Commerce with the support of the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD). Within the scope of the project, we created the “Green Transformation Report Card” obtained through the “Green Transformation Online Diagnostic Tool”, where businesses can identify deficiencies in their green transformation processes and areas they can improve and get suggestions and support for their needs.
Within the scope of the project, we held 4 seminars under the titles “Implementation of Borderline Carbon Regulation Mechanism in the Industrial Sector”, “Resource Efficiency in Industry and Transition to Circular Economy”, “Green Transformation for SMEs”, “Access to Financial Resources of SMEs in Green Transformation”. We held 2 training sessions: “Green Transformation Training Program for SMEs” and “Green Transformation Training Program for the Industrial Sector and Large-Scale Enterprises”. We reached 100 beneficiaries within the scope of the project, where SMEs are our target audience. We produced 5 reports in the process. We held a total of 6 seminars and training events with a field time of 60 hours.
CLIMB (Climate-Induced Migration: Big Data and Predictive Analysis) Project
The CLIMB Project aims to better model and predict climate-induced migration in Africa and beyond by leveraging “big data” and “machine learning”. The CLIMB Project brings together ecologically focused approaches with a multidisciplinary consortium (Data-Pop Alliance, Harvard University, IDEMA, Initiative Prospective Agricole Rurale, Malmö University, Paris Lodron Universität Salzburg, Vrije Universiteit Brussel) to make sense of and model the complex process of climate-induced migration.
Within the scope of the project, IDEMA offers its wide network to ensure the participation of international stakeholders such as the International Center for Migration (IOM), Global Migration Data Analysis Center (GMDAC), Internal Displacement Monitoring Center (IDMC), Save the Children. He also contributes to the project with machine learning, data science and mapping studies. He continues to produce the project’s communication strategy, digital platform and content.
Click for more information about the CLIMB Project.
Education
Happiness Classes from Heart to Heart
As IDEMA, we undertook the monitoring, evaluation and impact measurement studies of the Heart to Heart Happiness Classes project carried out by the Teacher Academy Foundation in cooperation with Algida Academy, which aims to bring behavioral and attitude change to teachers and students regarding the concepts of happiness and subjective well-being. During the project process, in which 3321 beneficiaries were reached, we carried out needs analysis and focus group discussions in the field for 28 hours and produced 2 reports regarding the results.
Insurance of Education: Our Teachers
Within the scope of the Insurance of Education: Our Teachers Project, which was implemented in partnership with the Ministry of National Education and the Turkish Education Association, with the contributions of Z Zurich Foundation, and aims to improve the quality of the professional lives of female teachers assigned to villages in the first years of their careers and to raise hope for the village people as role models for their students. As IDEMA, We worked with 850 teachers throughout the year in the “Teachers Creating Social Impact Module”. During this process, we carried out 8 asynchronous training content, 6 webinars, 3 speeches, 30 sessions of online mentoring, 10 face-to-face training + 44 face-to-face mentoring sessions.
Youth
Uludağ Economy Summit Youth Representation in the New Century of the Republic
We undertook the design and video production of 13 video contents with 13 young people on 13 themes in the “Youth Representation Project in the New Century of the Republic”, which we carried out with Doğan Holding within the scope of the Uludağ Economy Summit organized this year with the theme “One World, Common Future”. Videos of the speeches of 13 young people from different backgrounds were published throughout the day during the panel breaks, in the foyer area and then on Doğan Holding’s social media accounts. Thus, young people had the chance to share their comments, requests and evaluations with the opinion leaders and leaders of the business world.
We are side by side with young people
The online psychological support platform “Yan Yanayiz,” developed in cooperation with Needs Map, Z Zurich Foundation, Zurich Insurance, HeyMo® The Experience Design Company and Turkish Psychologists Association, has now started to provide services for young people. On October 10, World Mental Health Day, the “We Are Side by Side with Young People” campaign was launched on the platform.
Fair Future Project for Youth
In Esenyurt and nearby districts through protection and livelihood services within the scope of the Fair Future for Young People Project (YFF), which will be carried out between 2022-2024, with the BMZ Bengo fund and in partnership with Esenyurt Municipality, Save the Children International-Turkey Country Office, INOGAR. We aimed to strengthen the socio-economic participation of refugee and host youth between the ages of 15-35. In this regard, we support our participants on the following issues:
1) Providing protection and psychosocial support services,
2) Increasing employment-related knowledge and skills to increase livelihoods,
3) Supporting business plans as a result of competitions,
4) Establishing a sustainable cooperative under the leadership of young people. The project primarily aims to strengthen the mutual interaction and solidarity between host communities and refugee groups. In the project where we carried out more than 150 hours of field work, we reached 610 people, prepared 34 reports with the data we obtained as a result of needs analysis, and conducted 62 trainings, workshops and seminars.
Culture, Arts and Creative Industries
After the Scene: Post-Production Training Project
Post-Scene: Post-Production Training Project, supported by the EU and carried out in partnership with GSM- Youth Services Center Association (GSM), Flying Broom Foundation and State Theaters Opera and Ballet Employees Assistance Foundation (TOBAV) “Dialogue for Change through Culture and Art” We realized it in 2023 within the scope of the Elele Destek sub-grant program within the scope of the “Project”.
“Post-Scene: Post-Production Training Project”, an online training and mentoring program for completing a shot video content with professional post-production work, was launched with the participation of 30 people between the ages of 18 and 40 who are interested in post-production practices across Turkey. Within the scope of the project, we conducted 20 hours of online training and 10 hours of mentoring meetings with the participants.
TwinHubs – Tartu Creative Industries Center – Knowledge Transfer Project
As INOGAR, we matched with the Tartu Creative Industries Center in Estonia within the scope of the Twin Hubs program developed by the European Creative Network, which covers information transfer studies and exchange meetings between creative centers. 15 people benefited from the project with 4-day mutual travels, knowledge transfers, 10 online meetings, 2 meetings and closing events.
Research Project on Social and Economic Impacts of Performing Arts Activities
The project to investigate the economic and social impact of performing arts cultural institutions in the regions where they are located and to prepare a report. It was implemented under the consultancy of Funda Lena, with a grant from the Ministry of Culture and Tourism, General Directorate of Copyright. We designed a survey, focus group studies and workshops for the report prepared for academies, research-centered researchers and cultural institutions providing education in the field of Culture and Arts. Within the scope of the project, we carried out 2 trainings, 1 stakeholder meeting, 45 field interviews, 4 case studies and 1 report launch. The project contributed to a total of 50 people and institutions.
“It’s Time to Think About Circular Fashion”
Within the scope of the “Fashion Revolution – Smart But Perfect” project, we held 2 panels and roundtable meetings with the participation of the pioneers of circular fashion in Turkey and leading names on the subject. In this process, 30 participants benefited from the project. We signed a network agreement with the participants at the end of the event to ensure the sustainability of the kick-off event, which aims to popularize circular fashion in Turkey.
“Technical Support Project for the Development of Digitalization and Creativity Ecosystem in Kütahya”
The partners of the project, which is financed by the European Union and the Republic of Turkey, implemented within the scope of the Competitive Sectors Program of the Ministry of Industry and Technology, of which Kütahya Municipality is the beneficiary, started in June 2023 and is planned to last 24 months, include Zafer Development Agency, Kütahya Dumlupınar University, Kütahya Trade and There is the Chamber of Industry, Kütahya Chamber of Photographers, Tile Makers and Handicrafts Tradesmen. Through a creativity center to be established within the scope of the project, it is aimed to increase the production, design and branding capacities and national and international market shares of creative industry stakeholders, especially SMEs and entrepreneurs operating in the field of tiles and ceramics in Kütahya. In the project managed by WYG Turkey, IDEMA is a part of the project consortium and contributes to the process with its work on the experts who will take part in the project.
International Events We Attended
- 16-18 May, “European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD), 32nd Annual Meeting”, Uzbekistan
- 22-24 September, “International Fair Trade Cities Conference”, Switzerland
- 4-5 October 2023, “Asian Development Bank Business Opportunities Fair”, Philippines
- 9-12 October 2023, “Creative Skills Week”, Austria
- 13-14 November 2023, “European Social Economy Conference”, Spain
- 16 November 2023, “Towards a Green Future: The European Green Deal”, Brussels
- 21 November 2023, “Open Source Observatory of the European Commission”, Brussels
- 30 November – 2 December 2023, “Roots of Resilience: Building Platform Cooperatives for Sustainable and Local Economies”, India
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