We are closing a very challenging year. We continue to experience the effects, pains and problems of the great disaster we experienced in February, right at the beginning of the year. Many problems are waiting to be solved in the cities affected by the earthquake. What has happened so far shows that life in the earthquake zone will not return to its normal course soon and easily.
However, civil society organizations that have been in the field since the early days of the earthquake, making tremendous efforts to heal wounds and contributing to the rehabilitation of those affected by the earthquake, are not working to return to the pre-earthquake era; instead, they continue to work to build something better. One of these organizations is ALİKEV, established in the name of Ali İsmail Kormaz, who we lost at the age of 19 during the Gezi Resistance in 2013.
Founded in the name of Ali İsmail and working in Ali İsmail's hometown of Hatay, the Foundation emerged from the Kahramanmaraş Earthquakes with great damage. As we close the year, we wanted to give the floor to ALİKEV and listen to their perspective on the past year.
Firstly, we would like to express our condolences. 2023 has been very challenging for all of us, especially for those living in disaster-stricken areas. You also lost your building in Hatay during the earthquakes on February 6th. We would like to inquire about your activities in Hatay. When will the foundation return to Hatay? How is your program structured?
This disaster, which affected 11 provinces, also deeply affected Hatay, where our foundation has been operating for 10 years. Our building, which has been hosting us since the establishment of our foundation, was completely destroyed in the earthquake.
We are emerging from this great disaster with solidarity. We set out with very important contributions for a new foundation center. We immediately started working with the support of Mor ve Ötesi, Mozaik Foundation, Sivil Toplum için Destek Vakfı (Support Foundation for Civil Society) and Herkes İçin Mimarlık Derneği (Architecture for All Association) to build a new center from scratch.
We want to offer a much more functional space to the service of young people in this new center. The project of the center, which will provide more opportunities with a library, workshop area, music studio, stage, ALİKEV products and open spaces, has been prepared. We expect the construction to start soon. We hope that we will have our center, which will host many activities, in 2024.
In the first days of the earthquake, you said "we will overcome these bad days with solidarity" and gave us all hope in that difficult time. We would like to hear from you about the Foundation's recovery process, not to bring back bad memories, but to remind us how we were able to stand side by side in difficult times. How was this one year and what happened?
ALİKEV was founded 10 years ago with the hope of realizing the dreams that Ali İsmail wrote in his diary, and to turn his scar into a scar of life. We knew that our friends from all over Turkey and even the world would not leave us alone today, just as they did not leave us alone in those days. Unfortunately, as a country, we are very accustomed to gaining hope from pain and rising from our ashes. Hands of solidarity were extended for the reconstruction of our foundation building that was destroyed in the earthquake. Thanks to this, we were able to quickly take steps for our new center in Hatay.
After the earthquake, the health and well-being of our team became our top priority. Thanks to our collaboration with the Travma Çalışmaları Derneği (Trauma Studies Association), we provided psychosocial support to our employees and board members.
On the other hand, as an organization that produces social benefits for young people, another priority was to stand by our beneficiaries in our field of work. We were not alone in the steps we took to provide one-time earthquake support scholarships to students affected by the earthquake. Thanks to our individual and institutional supporters, we reached 249 students affected by the earthquake and provided one-time scholarships.
With the "What Would Young People Say?" project, we focused on meeting young people affected by the earthquake and supporting their well-being by creating space for them. "What Would Young People Say?" is a rights-based media production project in which young people between the ages of 18-25 tell their own "invisible" agendas through participatory methods and aims to amplify the voices of young people.
Coach e.V. also pioneered the "Youth Bridge" project, which promotes international youth exchange and symbolizes our commitment to not only rebuilding but also strengthening together.
What are you doing as a foundation to lift up both Hatay and your work in Hatay?
Aware of the importance of cultural and social fabric, we have come together with regional and national civil society organizations to protect Hatay's rich heritage.
In this process, we also launched the "What Would Young People Say?" project, which we attach great importance to, so that young people in the earthquake region can make their voices heard. After the disaster, we saw that there was no mechanism that took into account the needs and demands of young people in the decisions taken on issues concerning young people, and that young people were not prioritized in times of crisis. Young people, whose existing problems were added to new ones with the earthquake, are expressing the problems they have identified by producing media content through written, visual and audio methods.
What Would Young People Say? started in September with an inaugural camp where young people also received psychosocial support. Two bulletins have been published so far. Young people work for a month and publish their bulletins at the end of that month. In November, they worked on gender equality. You can read the bulletin here. In the previous month, they talked about the difficulties of being a student in Turkey with a focus on education and housing. You can also read the October bulletin here .
In addition, in order to strengthen Hatay, we allocated this year's entire scholarship quota to high school and university students from Hatay who were affected by the earthquake. We received 2,368 applications, 505 from high school students and 1863 from university students. Interviews have been completed and this year we will be awarding scholarships to a total of 250 students, 127 of which will be new students.
You recently moved your office to Istanbul. How are things going in Istanbul, have you gotten used to the city? And of course, with this spatial change, what will happen at ALİKEV in the new period?
In fact, one of our bases has always been in Istanbul. With the decision taken by the board of directors in 2019, some positions were opened for Istanbul residents. With this decision, some of our team was carrying out activities from Istanbul. We see the Istanbul office, which became operational in October, as a collective space where we come together with young people, meet with volunteers, and open it to the use of our friends from civil society who need space. Of course, this collective space has also provided us with important opportunities. The Istanbul Team of the Dream Ambassadors Program, which had to hold its meetings and workshops in different venues since its establishment, now holds its workshops and meetings at ALİKEV Istanbul office.
Genç Sanatçı Fonu (GSF) (The Young Artist Fund) also continues to develop. On December 22, the GSF opened the exhibition of the works of 12 young artists it supported this year at Karşı Sanat Çalışmaları. GSF, which has been holding its exhibitions in Istanbul since its inception, has had the opportunity to establish a closer relationship with its stakeholders in this field and to expand this support.
Another advantage of our Istanbul Office is that it has created a space where we can come together with our adult volunteers as well as our target audience. We will be able to meet with our volunteers, most of whom live in Istanbul and have been supporting us since our establishment, in this space in line with their needs. With all these steps, we are looking forward to a period in which we come together more with young people and civil society stakeholders in Istanbul and become stronger together.