Projects

 

Exploring the Plight of Migrant and Seasonal Agricultural Workers

By Özgür Çetinkaya and Danielle Dahl

Mr. Çetinkaya and Ms. Dahl will use their professional skills to pursue a project on migrant and seasonal agricultural worker (MSAW) populations.  The pair will focus on children and adolescents. The pair will:

·         Further analyze the specific issues faced by MSAW populations in both countries and present legislators with viable solutions;

·         Help the MSAW populations establish self-sustainable health, safety and educational programs;

·         Network The Development Workshop Cooperative (Mr. Cetinkaya’s NGO) with likeminded NGOs and institutions in the United States and Europe. (Ms. Dahl’s organization has a long standing family of European collaborators who have experienced similar issues and legislative setbacks with Roma populations; the ability to learn across continents would be invaluable);

·         Use this network to apply for the EU’s Seventh Framework Programme for Research & Development, as well as other funding sources in order to establish research and programs;    

·         Share research projects within the network so they can be easily translated from country to country; and

·         Publish reports.

Social Entrepreneurship in the U.S. and Turkey

By Ahmet Batat and Saif Ishoof

Mr. Ishoof and Mr. Batat will create a linkage between social entrepreneurs in Turkey and the City of Miami.  The pair will:

·         Engage participants in structured roundtables with social entrepreneurs in each country; and

·          Build off roundtable discussions to create a sister cities program managed by social entrepreneurs.

Human Rights of Women and Youth

By Zerin Turk and Shawn Finnell

Ms. Finnell and Ms. Turk will use their joint interest in human rights to address issues relating to youth and women.  The pair will:

·         Focus on building momentum for the Kurdish women’s movement; and

·         Build partnerships and foster discussion between the U.S. and Turkey about issues facing these populations and organizations working to promote their rights.

Connection of Communities through Social Media

By Guler Altinsoy and Lindsey Thompson

Ms. Altinsoy and Ms. Thompson will use their professional experience with social media to create a project aiming at connecting people through social media tools.  The pair will: 

·         Start with a smaller field, connecting NGOs in Turkey with one another and with NGOs in America;

·         After the virtual partnership market structure is built, expand to include other countries, focusing on the Middle East;

·         Ultimately create a virtual link between NGOs all over the world to better serve their communities with the goals of:

o   Informing NGOs of possible funding opportunities;

o   Disseminating information on current activities to aide in the exchange of ideas; and

o   Support NGO searches for partners (for their projects).  In this virtual market, NGOs will be matched according to their working topics and activities. 

Electronic Media as a Tool for Diplomacy

By Evren Altinkas and Shantanu Datta

Mr. Datta and Mr. Altinkas will create and implement a project using their individual professional strengths, producing various media focused outputs to highlight the U.S-Turley relationship and become a tool for engaging NGOs in the Washington, DC area.  The pair will:

·         Utilize Mr. Datta’s skills in public diplomacy and media, to create video diaries to document the Young Turkey/Young America Fellowship 2010.  They will film, edit, and post these videos to a custom YouTube channel;

·         Utilize Mr. Altinkas’ background in History and International Relations to write articles about cultural diplomacy and the public face of US-Turkish relationship;

·          Use these tools to engage NGOs in Washington DC; and

·          Work to publish the articles to the web/electronic journals.

Linking Institutions Focusing on the Middle East

By Aytaç Kisman and Jonathan Guyer

Since Mr. Kisman is a researcher and lecturer on the history of Turkey-US relations and Mr. Guyer works at a think tank focusing on Mideast affairs, the pair will pursue a project exploring institutional linkages.  The pair will:

·         Utilize Mr. Guyer’s position as an assistant editor at Foreign Policy magazine's Middle East Channel to write a series of posts on their experiences during the program in the two countries;

·         Focus their series on the question of what it means to be a strategic partner, and find comparisons with other historical moments from the time frame of 1945 to 1980 (Note: This time period was selected because it is the period when Turkish-American relations transformed from a relationship into a strategic partnership); and

·         Utilize this historically-minded project to enable a greater, more comprehensive understanding of politics today. 

Violations of Women’s Rights in Southeast Turkey

By Omer Keskin and Rachel Yemini

Mr. Keskin and Ms. Yemini will pursue a project on women’s rights in Turkey, particularly villages located in southeast Turkey where human rights violations are more common.  The pair will:

·         Examine gender equality through the study of forced suicides and honor killings of women;

·         Meet with various NGOs in both Turkey and Washington, DC that deal with these issues;

·         Conduct interviews with young women in the region who have been directly affected by this phenomenon;

·         Holding interviews with experts in the field; and

·         Ultimately, gain a comprehensive understanding of the socio-economic, cultural, and religious factors that allow for the practice of honor killings and other human rights violations affecting women drawing attention to this unconscionable practice and creating lasting relationships between NGO's to implement programs which have proven success dealing with women's empowerment in different parts of the world.

Ethnic Minority Issues in the U.S. and Turkey

By Suna Gulfer Ihlamur and LaNitra Berger

Dr. Gulfer and Dr. Berger will develop a greater awareness of ethnic/minority issues in Turkey and the United States.  The pair will:

·         Create a partnership between Marmara University in Turkey and one or more historically black colleges or universities in the United States;

·         Each give lectures in the other grantee’s country, followed up by discussions on additional ways to work together.  Dr. Suna Ihlamur’s lecture will be about international migration patterns and policies in Turkey.  Dr. LaNitra Berger will speak about the role of historically black colleges and universities in providing equal access to higher education and their contributions to the struggle for equal civil rights in the United States; and

·         Leverage these partnerships to create a study abroad program. 

Strengthening Youth Entrepreneurship

By Ilhan Ozturk and Brent Ruth

Mr. Ozturk and Mr. Ruth will combine their expertise on project development, drawing from Mr. Ruth’s donor perspective and Mr. Ozturk’s grantee perspective, to create a project that seeks to strengthen youth entrepreneurship in Turkey. The pair will:

·         Create linkages between the Turkish private sector and Turkish youth (primarily university students), generating opportunities for youth to develop and implement their own business ideas;   

·         Build the program using examples from the United States – identifying private companies active in entrepreneurship development and young entrepreneurs themselves;

·         Increase the Turkish private sector role in fomenting a new generation of businessmen and women; and

·         Create linkages between companies and entrepreneurs in the US and Turkey. 

Network of Women in International Business

By Meriç Yegenaga and Morgan Roach

Ms. Roach and Ms. Yegenaga propose that relations between the United States and Turkey can be deepened through the creation of an international business network for women.  The pair will:

·         Facilitate dialogue between international female business leaders in the U.S. and Turkey, contributing feedback and consulting with one another on issues that affect businesswomen in today’s society;

·         Attend local meetings with relevant organizations, concentrating on NGOs specializing in promoting the interests of women in the business world; and

·         Focus on what these groups are doing and what can be done to improve upon these efforts. 

Youth Collaboration in Professional Development

By Tugba Cansali and Brett Stanley

Ms. Cansali and Ms. Stanley have created a twofold project based on their similarities; being professionally employed by their respective cities and interest in local youth development.  The pair will:

·         Focus on intern programs for students in both Antalya and Dallas, and how such programs can benefit by sharing knowledge and cultural exchange; and

·          Ultimately end the project by facilitating a teleconference with interns from both cities discussing lessons learned and goals for future collaboration.  

Civil Rights Advocacy in Secular Government

By Hilal Kaplan Ogut and Rebecca Gasca

Given the pair’s mutual interest in advocating for civil liberties, Ms. Kaplan and Ms. Gasca will explore the process by which leaders and members of minority groups, particularly religious minorities, and advocate for social justice and change in public policy within a secular government. The pair will:

·         Research inter-community and faith efforts addressing social goals by meeting with representatives of religious groups and other minorities in Nevada and Turkey;

·         Document and publish the above situations; and

·         Connect these populations so that they can learn from each other's experiences. 

Clean Energy, Conservation, and Sustainability in Turkey

By Mustafa Oguz and Michael Ciftci

Mr. Oguz and Mr. Ciftci will utilize their professional skill sets to aide Turkish leadership in sustainability, specifically pushing clean energy, energy conservation, and water conservation, in the region.  The pair will:

·         Organize an “Istanbul Green Business Summit” to be held in November of 2010. Mr. Mustafa will introduce this event to the Turkish Business Community, and Mr. Ciftci will bring the expertise and experience of organizing past green business summits; and

·         Facilitate business and relationships, culminating in this grand measurable event in November.

Cross-Atlantic Business Partnerships

By Idris Kardas and John Baum

Mr. Baum and Mr. Kardas will create economic and cultural linkages between Southeast Turkey and the Chicago Metropolitan Region.  The pair will:

·         Work with Turkish organizations in Chicago and actors in the public and private sector in the Chicago Metropolitan area to create partnerships between businesses in Southeast Turkey and business in Chicago.