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Project Activities

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NGOs from France and Turkey Meeting

Civil Society Workshop Series

organized by the European Institute of the İstanbul Bilgi University, in partnership with Institut d’Etudes Politiques de Paris (Sciences Po) and Institut Français d’Etudes Anatoliennes (IFEA)

Call for participants

16-17 May 2009

1. Contents

1. Contents
2. Background of the program
3. Objectives
4. Target groups
5. Methodology
6. Program structure
7. Commitments
8. Conditions and application procedure
9. Application 

2. Background of the program

In June 2008, İstanbul Bilgi University, together with partner organizations Institut d’Etudes Politiques de Paris (Sciences PO) and Institut Français d’Etudes Anatoliennes (IFEA), has undertaken the project titled “INTERACT – EU, France, Turkey University Dialogue” funded by European Commission’s “EU – Turkey Civil Society Dialogue Program”.

For more information on the project, please visit the project website at www.interactproject.org.

As NGOs constitute the fundamental elements of civil society and the catalysts of social change, a program for NGOs from France and Turkey constitute an important aspect of this framework. The program involves two workshop meetings, one in Turkey and one in France, and an internet based process of interactive learning prior to and in between the meetings. You will find a more detailed description of the program structure below.

3. Aim of the program

The main goal of this program is that the NGOs working on the basis of advocacy with a rights based agenda in different fields in France and Turkey discover ways of collaboration on various levels with each other. During the workshops, strategic mapping exercise will be used as the methodological tool to display the network of relations that the NGOs work within. At the end of this program, participants will be expected to be able to offer concrete suggestions on the ways their organizations could collaborate/work together with the counterpart organization in Turkey/France.

More concretely, this program aims that at the end of this program the corresponding NGOs will;

• Share information and knowledge on the civil society of Turkey, France and Europe,
• Build bridges of network and communication,
• Increase the capacity of working with each other,
• Strengthen the already existent relations,
• Use ‘strategic mapping’ as a method for building strategies

4. Target Groups

The program targets mainly those civil society organizations that work on the basis of advocacy with a rights based agenda, on themes such as environment, human rights, migration, development, women, social exclusion, poverty, children, elderly and other related fields.

It is intended for a maximum of 30 participants, 15 from France and 15 from Turkey. Neither country of residence, nor nationalities are the sole variables for determining the location of the participant. The determinant of location is therefore the living of the person either in France or Turkey. For instance, a Moroccan national studying in France will be considered as a participant from France, despite not having French nationality.

There is no age limitation for the participants.

Gender balance is taken serious consideration, and female participants are strongly encouraged to apply.

The participants should be those practitioners

• That are nominated by a non-governmental organization with which they have relevant civil society work experience,
• with keen interest in building international cooperation,
• committed to transferring the training knowledge to their organization,
• committed to participate actively in all elements of the program, 
• with no problem in communicating in English

5. Methodological Elements

Spaces of work:

i) The Residential Workshops: There will be two residential workshops through which the participants will come together in Turkey and in France. These workshops will be facilitated by trainers, where participants will at the same time have a lot of room to experiment, share and feedback on each other. 

ii) Internet: Both prior to, and in between the residential workshops, internet will be used as a platform of learning and communication. Before the first workshop, participants will be required to do preparatory readings that will help them finding the common language during the upcoming meeting. After the workshop, a dialogical process with peers established during the workshop will be sustained through an interactive use of a blog website.   

Tools of learning:

i) Strategic Mapping will constitute a central place in the program as being the main exercise of the first workshop. Strategic mapping has recently become an emerging method, utilized for identifying, analyzing and working on the relations and interactions among the actors, spaces and concepts within the societies. In the context of this program, strategic mapping will be used for identifying the relations that fall within the working fields of the participants' organisations. By this methodology, we expect to spot and analyze the current and potential areas of interaction among the diverse NGOs, geographically (Turkey, France, Europe)  and thematically (e.g. water, rural development, women, human rights).

ii) Active production and sharing through a blog website of the program: In between the two residential workshops, the process of information production and sharing will be carried out through a blog website. Participants will be able to upload and download documents and post comments on this blog.

The trainer team will periodically guide the participants, demanding them to produce outputs of 3 types. Overall, these outputs will be on the analysis and suggestions for the prospects of collaborations/alliances/partnerships between the French and Turkish NGOs. The outputs will be posted on the blog website, where the information and knowledge will be open to comment and discussion.

6. Concept Note on Strategic Mapping

Strategic Mapping is a method of first visualizing the relationships and institutions which surround, receive benefit, and sustain the issue we are dealing with. The emphasis is on relationships between people and/or institutions (rather than concepts or “causes” of  let’s say human rights violations) as it is through these relationships that decisions are made, incentives are given or taken away, and actions are taken. The relationships are carefully diagrammed to create a picture that represents a social space.

When this diagram is sketched out, it then becomes possible to use it to select appropriate targets for intervention for actors who can initiate forms of pressure or change, and to map the tactics that actors could choose to influence selected targets. In this way, a process flow can be created to plan and monitor more precisely how the tactic might function and which relationships it should alter or affect in order to create an effective intervention. As multiple groups can use the same diagram to map their respective targets and interventions, the tactical map converts into a coordinating tool to create a more comprehensive and useful strategy than obtained from groups acting independently and without coordination.

This concept note is taken from the article “An Overview of Tactical Mapping” (http://www.newtactics.org/sites/newtactics.org/files/resources/8-page_TacticalMapArticle_2008.pdf ) at the webpage of “New Tactics in Human Rights” webpage (http://www.newtactics.org/main.php/TrainingTools) of Center for Victims of Torture.

7. Program Structure

The program will broadly be composed of 4 phases. Firstly, the participants will be assigned to do selected readings before their arrival to the first workshop. Secondly, the residential workshop in Istanbul will take place. Third will be the process of internet based interaction and learning. Finally, the second residential workshop in Paris will take place.

PHASE 1: Preparatory Reading
There will be a number of selected readings to be assigned to participants in preparation for the first residential workshop. This exercise will provide for the creation of a common understanding of the concepts that will constitute the content of this workshop.

PHASE 2: Residential Workshop 1

May 16-17, 2009: The first workshop meeting will take place in Istanbul with the title “Strategic Mapping of Relations for European Citizenship”. First will be the strategic mapping exercise, in which the participants will be asked to draw with markers the diagram maps of the relations of the actors that constitute their areas of struggle. To do this, group will be divided into smaller working groups, mostly according to their similar areas of work. Following the exercise, groups will reflect upon their experiences by way of presenting, sharing and giving feed back on the outcomes of their maps. Thirdly, there will be a seminar speak on the issue of ‘European Citizenship’ by a notable expert on the topic. Based on the lessons learned from the discussions and presentation, a final exercise will aim to connect the maps created by the different working groups. 

PHASE 3: Internet based learning
During the third phase, participants will be expected to dwell upon deeper on the issues discussed during the first workshop. There will be a platform of blog website, where users will be able to upload and download documents. In between the two residential workshops between April and September, three major outputs will be expected from the participants to be uploaded on this blog website. Based on their smaller working groups established during the workshop, participants will read and comment on these outputs.

May 24 – July 1: As the first output, participants will be required to investigate and report on the previous experiences of collaborations/alliances/partnerships between the respective civil initiatives of France and Turkey, primarily of those working in related fields.

July 1 – August 1: Second, an output on the analysis of the current state of collaborations/alliances/partnerships will be required. The analysis will describe what is on the ground, and shed light on its current state (non-existent, weak, strong).

August 1 – September 1: Based on the previous two exercises, the final output will include suggestions on the ways of promoting and developing future collaborations/alliances/partnerships.

PHASE 4: Residential Workshop 2
September, 2009: The second workshop will take place in Paris. It will be a process of deriving evaluations and conclusions. The content of this workshop will be developed on the way to it. The outputs created during the first workshop and in between will constitute the materials of its content.

8. Expected Commitments

1. Doing the preparatory readings and assignments,
2. Availability for the two residential workshops (2 days each),
3. Participation on the internet based communication,
4. Doing the 3 output assignments during the internet based learning.

9. Conditions & Application Procedure

Conditions:

The working language of the program will be English, due to both budgetary and practical working limitation with regards to the cost of simultaneous translation.

Travel, visa and living expenses of participants coming from outside the hosting city will be covered by the program. The cost of passport will be under the responsibility of the participant.   

At the end of the second meeting, a certificate will be given to those participants who successfully fulfill the requirements of the program. 

Application Procedure:

Deadline for applications is 20 April 2009, 17:00pm

Please provide the following documents to the following email address; keremc@bilgi.edu.tr

• Application form
• Curriculum Vitae
• Reference letter from the affiliated NGO.

 

Click here to download the Meeting Information Note

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