Rejuvenation in the Board of STGMD

Contracts of awarded
projects are ready
You can find the full list of grant
awardees one page 4.
1375 NGO activists took
part in STGM trainings
within one and a half year
Alevi movement activist
Attila Erden:
The STGM is planning for 24
more training until the end of
the project
“Transferring the Alevi culture was
my father’s most important
testament”
Sivil‹z
December 2006 • Issue 6
ISSN 1306-5297
Bulletin of the Strengthening Freedom of Association for Further Development of Civil Society Project implemented by STGM and supported by the European
Commission. Published every two months.
Rejuvenation in the Board of STGMD
Happy New Year and
Happy Holyday
As all associations do, the Association of Civil Society Development Centre (STGM) has to
convene its General Assembly in specific intervals and we had our second General Assembly
meeting on 26 November 2006. After informing delegates about the activities of the last
two years, discussions focused on the vision, mission, principles and values of the association.
This was necessary indeed since some definitions and frameworks drawn back in 2004 when
the association was first established were either used up or fell short of adequately covering
what the STGM had done or would like to do in near future. It was something like enlarging
a given dress.
After discussions the STGM defined its new vision as “towards a strong and democratic
civil society.” Accordingly, its mission was defined as conducting advocacy and campaigning;
research, training and lobbying activities within its priority areas for:
- promoting participation and democracy in civil society,
- strengthening organisations and their autonomy, and
- securing a better position to civil society in decision making.
Underlying principles and values were reconsidered under the new vision and mission and
some small alterations were made:
The STGM,
1. in no circumstances interferes in internal affairs of civil society organisations,
2. is impartial to and independent of third parties,
3. observes transparency and accountability in all of its activities and at all levels,
4. respects all rights and freedoms recognised by international conventions,
5. takes stand against all forms of discrimination while considering differences and diversity
as a source of richness
6. adopts the principle of positive discrimination in regard to those suffering gender
discrimination,
7. is sensitive to the integrity of life and ecosystem values in the context of production and
consumption patterns,
8. adopts participatory and pluralistic democracy as a mode of life,
9. is an organisation embedded in practical life, seeking fast and feasible solutions.
Towards the end of the General Assembly, elections were held for the members of the new
administrative board and auditing board. You can see the list of new board members in
ensuing pages. The executive board, which used to comprise 5 members, now has 7 members
and the association was rejuvenated with the membership of new and younger activists.
You can find amendments to internal regulations and the list of members under the title
“Who are we?” in our website.
“Only STGM is responsible for the content of this publication which does not necessarily reflect the views of the European Union.”
Civil Society Development Center
Sivil Toplum Gelifltirme Merkezi
From STGM
The New Board of STGMD
Festival GepGenç was lively indeed
Membership to the boards of the STGM as a result of the 2nd
Ordinary General Assembly Meeting on 26th November 2006:
STGMD Executive Board is as follows:
Chair: Levent Korkut
Deputy Chair: Serpil Sancar
Secretary General: Orhan Kemal Cengiz
Treasurer: Feray Salman
Member: fieyhmus Diken
Member: Uygar Özesmi
Member: Öyküm Ba¤c›
Alternate Members:
Ayhan Bilgen
Betül Çetgin
Ozan Çakmak
Fatma Nevin Vargün
Victor Ananias
Hülya Demiralp
Turgut Alaca
Board of Auditors:
Full Members:
Murat fiengül
Nejat Tafltan
U¤ur Zeydanl›
Alternate Members:
Umut Güner
Naz›m Özfluca
Adem Arkadafl
(Ombudsperson): Fahri Huvaj
Environment Platform of Turkey
gathered in Mersin
The STGM supports the Environment Platform of Turkey
(TÜRÇEP) in its efforts to further strengthen the platform.
Following the first meeting of the platform which took place
in Samsun, the second meeting was held in Mersin on 8-10
December. During the meeting participated by platform
representatives from the regions of eastern and western Black
Sea, eastern and western Mediterranean, Marmara and
Central Anatolia discussions focused on the institutional
identity of TÜRÇEP and ways of making the platform more
functional.
The third meeting of the platform is scheduled for 3-4 March
2007 in ‹zmir.
The STGM was in Bilgi University in ‹stanbul on 7-10
December 2006. The university was hosting the festival
GepGenç. The STGM conducted a workshop on “Youth and
Civil Society” on 7 December as a part of workshop activities
in the festival. The STGM representatives discussed with
young people issues related to NGOs, their outlook to civil
life, their suggestions for solution to problems they confronted
in getting organised and their expectations from the STGM.
Outcomes of this workshop are available in the STGM website.
During the Youth NGOs Fair on 8-10 December we had our
promotion stand as STGM. This fair which is organised to
bring youth together with NGOs active in the field of youth
also served to acquaint youth and their NGOs with other
stakeholders.
Capacity building work in K›z›ltepe
and Seyrek
On 25-26 December 2006 we will be delivering one and a
half day capacity building training to Mardin-K›z›ltepe
Municipality, which is one of the participants of “Local
Administration-NGO Cooperation in Participatory
Democracy”, and NGOs in the region.
Prior to this activity, we will be in ‹zmir Seyrek on 23-24
December 2006 for the “Joint Evaluation Meeting on the
Outcomes of Situation Analysis of Participatory Management
Planning and Development Potential in Seyrek Township.”
LGBTT networking is on rise
STGM’s post-grant training
For project owners awarded grant under the “Programme
for Strengthening Civil Society in Turkey: Supporting
Networks, Capacity Building and Participatory Local
Projects” a training seminar was organised in Ankara Midi
Hotel on 11-12 December 2006.
The second networking meeting of LGBTT (Lesbian, Gay,
Bisexual, Travesty and Transsexual) communities took place
in Ankara on 11-12 November 2006. In the first meeting
participants had analysed problems commonly faced by
LGBTTs. The second meeting focused on instruments to be
developed to solve these problems in particular and problems
caused by discrimination in general.
Following SWOT analysis, group work started to identify the
vision and mission of the platform. On the second day of the
meeting, participants from Positive Life Society and Helsinki
Refugee Support Programme made presentations. The third
meeting of the network will take place in ‹stanbul on 13-14
January 2007.
The training delivered by experts from the CFCU and STGM
focused on project management under the given grant
programme, monitoring and evaluation, EU visibility guides,
contractual obligations, reporting and budget management.
Trainers responded to various questions raised by project
owners.
Project visits started
Contracts of projects awarded grant
are ready
Owners of projects which were awarded grants in the context
of the “Programme on Strengthening Civil Society in Turkey:
Support to Civil Networks, Capacity Building Projects and
Participatory Local Projects” signed their contracts. The
list of projects whose contracts were signed until 30
November 2006 can be found in the Table on page 3.
The STGM will follow projects awarded grants under this
programme and be available for support in their
implementation.
As STGM we wish success to all projects.
The STGM started its project visits in the context of the
programme for Strengthening Civil Society in Turkey.
The representatives of the STGM have so far made the
following project visits: to Association for Solidarity with
Diabetes Patients for their campaign (in Sivas, 18 December
2006, for the campaign against diabetes); to Sivas
Association of Local Singers and Folk Dancers (in Sivas,
19 December 2006, for the campaign “Protection of Cultural
Heritage in Central Anatolia); and to Association for
Alignment with the EU, Development, Culture and Modern
Life (in Adana for the campaign “Call for Human Rights
and Humanity).
STRENGTHENING CIVIL SOCIETY IN TURKEY: SUPPORTING NETWORKS, CAPACITY BUILDING
AND PARTICIPATORY LOCAL PROJECTS
Beneficiary
Action Title
Action
Location
Action
Duration
(Months)
Grant
amount
(EUR)
Konya Çevre Koruma E¤itim ve
Araflt›rma Derne¤i
rainings on the Laws of Environment and the Waste
Exchange System to the Industrialists in Konya City
KONYA
7
26.507,16
Edirne Roman Kültürünü Araflt›rma,
Gelifltirme, Yard›mlaflma ve Dayan›flma
Derne¤i
Strengthening of Institutional Capacity of EDROM
for the Culture and Rights of Roma People
ED‹RNE, ANKARA,
‹STANBUL
6
26.249,28
Datça Çevre ve Turizm Derne¤i
"Building the Institutional and Technical Capacity of
DAÇEV for Effective Nature Conservation
in the Datça Peninsula"
DATÇA, MU⁄LA
8
26.174,34
Karadeniz Çevre Derne¤i
Ecodialogue Project
R‹ZE
7
29.808,00
Bat›kent Zihinsel Engellileri
Koruma Derne¤i
Mentally Disabled People's Rights and Their
Participation to Social Life (OZ-HAK)
ANKARA,ERZURUM,
fiANLIURFA, MERSIN
6
27.734,40
Midyatl›lar Sosyal Yard›mlaflma,
Dayan›flma, Çevre ve Kültür Derne¤i
There is not another world
D‹YARBAKIR, MARD‹N
M‹DYAT
8
23.214,60
Bursa Kafkas Derne¤i
Strong Civil Society for Strong Democracy
BURSA
8
28.437,39
Kad›n Dayan›flma Vakf›
Project of Consulting Centers and Database
for Violence Against Women
ANKARA, ‹ZMIR,
‹STANBUL, VAN,
ÇANAKKALE, ‹ZMIT,
fiANLIURFA, ADANA,
MERSIN, ANTALYA
8
36.305,10
Ulusal Sosyal ve Uygulamal›
Gerontoloji Derne¤i
Nursing Woman
ANTALYA
6
28.230,00
Yenimahalle E¤itim Kalk›nma
ve Dayan›flma Derne¤i
Enhancing Perception of Violence against Women
and Promotion of The Women's Rights at Local Scale
ANKARA
8
29.467,80
Kayseri Kafkas Derne¤i
To Make Kayseri Caucasus Association an Active Civil
Society Organization by Building its Technical and
Managerial Capacities
KAYSER‹
8
29.574,80
Yeniflehir Sanayici ve ‹fladamlar›
Dayan›flma Derne¤i
Giving Teeth To Roma Culture Helping And Mutual
Benefit Association For Rights Of Organization
Of Roma
‹ZM‹R
6
21.177,00
Gülistan Ahlak Kültür ve Çevre Derne¤i
A project in Isparta directed for collecting solid waste
after decomposing it and to make the public
conscious of the topic.
ISPARTA
6
29.090,16
Kaymakl› Güzellefltirme, Yard›mlaflma
ve Dayan›flma Derne¤i
From The Kaymakl› Districtive Units To
The Local Governance Women Altogether
NEVfiEH‹R
8
20.863,27
Avrupa Birli¤i'ne Uyum, Geliflim,
Kültür ve Ça¤dafl Yaflam Derne¤i
Respect to Human Rights, Invitation to Humanity
ADANA
6
23.596,36
Güney Marmara Do¤al Ve Kültürel Çevreyi
Koruma Derne¤i Edremit Körfez fiubesi
Interaction Project of Environmentalist
Civil Society Foundations of Marmara
EDREM‹T
8
33.768,00
Diyabet Hastalar› Yard›mlaflma ve
Dayan›flma Derne¤i
War Against Diabetics
S‹VAS
8
21.421,94
Ad›yaman Yüksek Ö¤renim Derne¤i
Not Drop Litter-Not Damage the Trees
Not Spit on the Ground
ADIYAMAN
8
19.980,00
Silvan Gönüllüleri Derne¤i
Silvan Volunteers Meet in Hasuni
S‹LVAN
8
29.999,26
Sivas Fas›l Heyeti Afl›klar
ve Halk Oyunlar› Derne¤i
Preservation of cultural heritage in Inner Anatolia
S‹VAS
8
25.867,79
Bingöl Kent Giriflim Derne¤i
Reduction of the amount of solid waste and recycle
(Let's Not Put Our Future into Dustbin)
B‹NGÖL
7
27.925,43
Yenimahalle Gençlik Merkezi Gençlik
ve Spor Kulübü
The Active Participation of Youth
to the EU Negotiation Process
ANKARA
8
28.924,33
Çatak Kalk›nma E¤itim Kültür
ve Dayan›flma Derne¤i
Project on Promoting and Strengthening of NGO's
Carrying Activity out in Van Province
VAN
8
27.000,00
Anadolu Sürdürülebilir Kalk›nma
Ajans› Derne¤i
Step by Step from Anatolian Steppes to EU:
Civil Society is Walking
KIRIKKALE, KIRfiEH‹R,
NEVfiEH‹R
6
29.997,98
Turkish Coordination of European
Women Lobby gathers
STGM Trainings
Once more year is left behind and
there is lot to do…
The Turkish Coordination of European Women Lobby had
become a full member of the European Women Lobby in
2004. After this membership, the Turkish Coordination
held its first meeting in Ankara on 18-19 November 2006
with the support of STGM and participation of 47
representatives from various organisations.
The primary agenda of the meeting was to give the Turkish
Coordination a sustainable organisational structure in a
meeting participated by the representatives of constituent
organisations. The meeting was helpful in establishing an
organisational model and working procedures of the
coordination.
NGOs continue their meetings at
STGM Office
You all know that the meeting room of the STGM Office
is available for the meetings and other activities of NGOs.
Lately in December, for example, Ankara branch of KaDer realised its trainings in “Women’s Political School”
at this venue for 5 consecutive weekends. The Youth
Platform too used this room during its meeting on “Youth
Policies” on 24 December.
We have left a year behind in the training activities of STGM.
Now we are working intensively to have an overall evaluation
of trainings we have delivered in 2006.
Let’s take a look at figures for 2006:
Originally, in the context of the project for supporting civil
society, we had envisaged to respond to training needs of local
NGOs at least partly by delivering 78 trainings in total within
2 years. Within the last year we delivered 61 trainings in 21
provinces from 7 geographical regions. Their breakdown is as
follows: Capacity building (30); project cycle management (21);
training of local experts (3), information technologies (1) and
tailor made trainings for various platforms (6).
NGO representatives from all provinces of Turkey were invited
to these trainings. In total, 1,375 NGO leaders, staff or activists
took part in them. Although figures may be useful in certain
lines of reasoning quantitative data tell almost nothing in many
cases. Nevertheless, considering that there are 52 weeks in a
year we believe that we have reasonably fulfilled our commitment
to local organisations with our training activities.
We are planning to have at least 10 capacity building, 10 project
cycle management and 4 information technologies trainings
until next May.
The training programme for the next 2 months is as follows:
The members of ÖZ-GE DER (Association for Solidarity
with Children Deprived of Liberty) had an information
sharing meeting in the same venue on December 18th.
During this meeting lawyer Eylem Ümit and sociologist
P›nar Öktem repeated their presentations first made in
Brussels on 24-25 October 2006 during the conference
“Juvenile Justice in Europe: A Framework for Integration.”
8 – 12 January 2007: Capacity Building Training in ‹stanbul
19 – 21 January 2007: Project Cycle Management Training
in Adana
26 – 28 January 2007: Project Cycle Management Training
in Gaziantep
5 – 9 February 2007: Capacity Building Training in Ankara
16 – 18 February 2007: Project Cycle Management Training
in Zonguldak
23 – 25 February 2007: Project Cycle Management Training
in ‹stanbul
Civil Activists
Attila Erden (Federation of the Union of Alevi-Bektafli Organisations)
Oppression and systemic discrimination against Alevi people which continued from the Ottoman to the Republic
are still problems of our day. Despite organisations of the late 80s which raised specific demands on the name
of Alevi people, their basic problems still remain unsolved and their requests unmet. The book “Being Alevi –
Stories of Discrimination as Told by Alevis” (published in 2005 by the Life World Foundation under the ‘Gelin
Canlar Bir Olal›m’ project launched by Pir Sultan Abdal Association) is one of the rare sources giving an
account of first hand experience in discrimination faced by Alevi people. As stressed in this book, Alevi people
suffer discriminatory practices in public sphere, in social life and at individual level. It is clear that this problem
is not only related to the recognition of Alevi’s rights, it is mainly associated with deeping the modernisation
process in Turkey on the basis of democracy and equality.
In this issue we interviewed Attila Erden who has been taking actively part in organised Alevi movement since
1985. Born in 1943, Erden served as the President of Hac› Bektafl Veli Culture Association and as President
and Secretary General of the Federation of the Union of Alevi Bektafli Organisations. After graduating from
the Ethnology Department of the Faculty of Linguistics, History and Geography (Ankara University), Erden
was a faculty member of the Folklore Department of the same school during 1970-1996 until his retirement.
Erden conducted studies and researches of the ethnic and cultural makeup of Turkey and Anatolian Alevis. A
photography artist at the same time, Erden is the author of a book on “Anatolian Dressing Culture.”
had said “cem evi is nothing but a place for entertainment.”
Once we were discussing on TV with an authority from
the Religious Affairs and he asked “why do you insist
on cem houses? Why don’t you come to mosques?” I said
“I promise, we’ll come, but I will bring my wife and
daughter too for semah…” He said it was impossible.
It is impossible indeed. If so, why do you ask us to come
to mosques and pray there? I consider it a shame if I
can’t take my wife along when going to somewhere. If I
can’t take my wife and daughter to a nice meeting, I will
be labelled as either “oppressive” or “undeveloped.” We
don’t have this kind of male-female distinction in Alevi
faith.
What do you think about giving Alevis the status of
minority?
When people from the European Union visited us we said,
“Don’t call us as ‘non-Moslem minority’ or things like
that. We are no minority. We are the citizens of this land
for centuries.” There is a distinct legal system and status for minorities. We
don’t favour such a distinct system. 90 % of us share the same opinion. The
word “minority” refers to the excluded groups from the power. There have been
discussions on this issue in our Federation. Some younger friends said, “We are
a minority.” This term “minority” is already negatively perceived in our society.
We are all aware of the implications of this term in the context of legal
arrangements and Treaties of Lausanne and Sevres. But there is no significant
number of people or organisations who accept to be treated as a minority. A
handful of people and that’s all.
When did you first join the Alevi movement as an activist? What are the
actions, initiatives or campaigns you worked with and which reached
success?
What is up in the agenda of Alevi organisations in Turkey nowadays?
First of all there is the issue of getting Alevi meeting rooms (cem evi) officially
recognised as temples. The second item in the agenda is stopping the assimilation
of Alevi youth and community. Thirdly, there are efforts to strengthen Alevi
organisations to resist against pressures from ruling governments. Finally there
are some initiatives to take part in some political organisations. There are 20
million Alevis in Turkey and the remaining population have no idea about the
authentic stance of Alevilik. In a secular society, the State cannot be a
representative or take sides with any specific religion or faith. Yet the State still
acts as the founder, promoter and protector of the Hanefi sect of Islam. The
Head Office of Religious Affairs enjoys a budget larger than that of some
government ministries. Our religious faith does not coincide with others such
as Islam and Christianity. We are out of church, mosque or synagogue. We have
our cem houses. It is there we gather, practice our rituals, pray, sacrifice, judge
and dance (semah). The state provides free electricity and water to churches,
but not to cem houses.
What is the legal barrier in considering cem house as a temple?
The old legislation provided for allocating spaces to churches and mosques, but
there was no provision for cem houses and so we were out of scope. Now the
new legislation uses the term “temple” instead of referring specifically to
churches or mosques. The Alevi is working hard to have cem houses included
in the new legislation as well. The former Deputy President of Religious Affairs
Personally I am a part of an organised movement since 1985. I am in this
movement to penetrate deeper in this culture and transfer it to coming generations
in a healthy manner. In my initial years in organised movement, I noticed that
there were many problems and this increased my commitment. The number of
our organisations and their branches increased. Earlier, the foundations of
Hac›bektafl and Tunceli could not come together. But we later saw that we had
a common denominator and we raised the same requests. So organisations came
together to establish the Alevi Bektafli Federation. Younger people started to
come in and we started to give courses. We started symposium type activities
in various associations and foundations. We started to run specific ceremonies
like Hamza Baba and Hac› Bektafl in which people came together. Now there
are organisations each with 30-40 branches and 30 to 40,000 members. In
coming years, we will form groups to influence the social makeup of Turkey,
guide governments and to further raise our demands.
What did you personally gain from being in this movement as an activist?
Or did it have some negative repercussions in your private life?
This is my responsibility and the most important testament of my deceased
father. He used to say, “Unless you commit yourself to this culture and struggle
for it, I will follow and question you even on the Judgement Day, if there is such
thing.” It is indeed a fine culture based on love and equality devoid of any
discrimination on the basis of faith, language or gender. I have suffered no harm
from my activism. It doesn’t bother me if some vested interests call me atheist
or communist.
Alevi Bektafli Federation
Sokullu Mehmet Pafla Cad. ‹¤de sok. No:24
06450 Dikmen Ankara TURKEY
Tel: +90 312 480 15 55
Fax: +90 312 480 15 75
e-mail: [email protected]
89. Sok. 14/9
06550 Y›ld›z Çankaya ANKARA TURKEY
Phone: +90 312 442 42 62 (pbx)
Fax: +90 312 442 57 55
e-mail: [email protected]
www.stgm.org.tr
Owned by on Behalf of Civil Society
Development Centre Association: Levent Korkut
Responsible Editor in-Chief: Gamze Göker
Graphic Design: M. Cem Kocatafl
Illustrations: Ferit Avc›
ISSN: 1306-5297
STGMD Executive Board
Chair: Levent Korkut
Vice Chair: Serpil Sancar
Secretary General: Orhan Kemal Cengiz
Treasurer: : Feray Salman
Members: fieyhmus Diken, Uygar Özesmi, Öyküm Ba¤c›