People around Turkey and beyond will share their thoughts during Social Good Summit İstanbul meet-up, on how technology and new media can help achieve equality for all by 2030 with the changing dynamics our new world.
Social Good Summit meet-ups organized all around the world are looking for answers to the question of “How can technology, innovation and new media be used for social good?”
Social Good Summit 2016 İstanbul meet-up is organized with the partnership of Türk Telekom.
In Social Good Summit İstanbul meet-up, speakers will share thoughts on how technology and new media can help achieve equality for all by 2030.
Livestream
In the meet-up which is entirely livestreamed, individuals all around Turkey and the region can share their opinions and ask questions to the speakers of the meet-up. #2030Şimdi-#2030Now hashtags are used for the discussions on social media during the event.
More information about the meet-up can be found on http://www.sgsistanbul.org/
In NYC
Global Social Good Summit 2016 is hosted by UNDP in New York organized for the seventh time this year (The first one was in 2010).
Social Good Summit is held during the United Nations Week brings a dynamic community together. The importance of innovative thinking and technology on finding solutions to the most crucial challenges we face is discussed in the summit.
In 2013 Social Good Summit was held for the first time in Turkey. During the meet-up in İstanbul, it was emphasized that we should change the point of view in solving our greatest challenges with innovative social good projects for the future we want in 2030.
Why #2030Now?
#2030Now builds on the UN-led process to craft a post-2015 development agenda that follows and accelerates progress on the Millennium Development Goals that cover the period from 2000 to 2015.
Starting from 1 January 2016, we entered a new 15 year period with a new global development agenda: Sustainable Development Goals aka Global Goals
Hence, the hashtag for this event #2030Now is extremely important. We would like to discuss the post-2015 global development priorities and use every innovative and technological tool which is available to us to take us to a better world by 2030.
More info on the Global Social Good Summit in NYC 18-19th September 2016 mashable.com/sgs
More infor on Regional SGS in Istanbul on 29th September 2016 sgsistanbul.org
Among the buildings constructed in line with the principles of Integrated Building Design Approach as a part of 'the Project on Improving Energy Efficiency in Buildings of Turkey' are a vocational high school composed of a school building, a workshop premises, a dormitory building and a gym for the Ministry of National Education and a service building for the General Directorate of Land Registry and Cadastre affiliated to the Ministry of Environment and Urbanization.
Carried out in cooperation with the General Directorate of Renewable Energy and the United Nations Development Program (UNDP), the project is also aided by the Global Environment Fund (GEF). Among the shareholders of the project are the Ministry of Environment and Urbanization and the Ministry of National Education.
In company with the project team, a site visit was paid to "Etimesgut-Eryama Cezeri Green Technology Technical and Industrial Vocational High School", one of the sites where the construction is in progress.
Featuring advanced passive characteristics in design, the school campus is projected to consume energy to a minimum extent and offer adverse environmental effects as little as possible when compared to a traditional school premises. According to the life cycle analyses, the project is now even below the level targeted for performance indicators.
Within this framework, the building orientation and window surfaces have been optimized in an attempt to make the best of daylight to an utmost extent and some daylight lighting systems and sun breakers with capability to monitor the direction of sunlight have been put to use.
A strict attention is paid to the ventilation of indoors with 100% fresh air in order to allow students to study at a comfortable and healthy setting. The natural lighting techniques have been put to use to the utmost. In addition to passive systems such as solar walls for indoor conditioning, the building is equipped with a soil-borne heat pump, trigeneration, low-speed displacement heating-cooling systems and air-to-air cross-flow heat exchangers.
The school campus features photo voltaic solar panels and a wind turbine by seizing on renewable energy sources. The campus is designed in consideration of providing students with the use of renewable energy sources since it is a vocational high school based on green technologies.
In addition, the circulation spaces are designed as exhibition halls for promotional purposes after the construction of the school is completed and an automation system is projected to be incorporated into the halls to help visitors monitor instant consumption.
To be put into practice across the campus where importance is attached to waste and water management, some innovative solutions such as a rainwater collection system and greywater use will provide major returns for water efficiency.
The school building also features a variety of external insulation practices and a green roof.
At this stage, 70% of the construction is completed. The staff of the General Directorate of Energy paid a visit to the site to observe the latest status of the building and concluded that the construction is in progress in conformity with the project content.
Projected to be completed in December 2016, the construction of Etimesgut-Eryaman Cezeri Green Technology Technical and Industrial Vocational High School moves full steam ahead. After it is completed, the true consumption rates will be monitored and some efforts will be exerted to increase the number of sustainable buildings for the entire industry including the public sector to begin with.
Held this year for the second edition as a part of the Project on the Integrated Management of Mediterranean Forests carried out by the United Nations Development Program (UNDP) in cooperation with the General Directorate of Forestry (GDF) and with the GEF's financial contribution, the "Forest and Human" themed Photography Contest is now underway.
The Contest is open to any professional and amateur photographers aged 18 or older except for Jury Members, TFSF (The Photographic Arts Federation of Turkey) representatives, those tasked with the coordination of the contest for the GDF and UNDP and their first-degree relatives. Those photographers restricted from participating in any TFSF-certified contest are not allowed to take part in this contest. The contest is free of charge. Each contestant is entitled to take part in the contest for at most 4 (four) color photos.
For more information and access to the specification of the contest the deadline of which is October 30, 2016, please click on the following links:
Carried out in cooperation with the General Directorate of Forestry and the United Nations Development Program (UNDP), the project titled "Integrated Management of High Conservation Value Mediterranean Forests" promotes the sustainable management of forests across Turkey. The General Directorate of Forestry and the United Nations Development Program (UNDP) has kicked off collaborations with Yale School of Forestry & Environmental Studies in an effort to develop Decision Support Systems making use of up-to-date technologies for the management of forests in consideration of the needs of the future generations as they offer local solutions for global problems.
Within this scope, a workshop on Decision Support Systems was held in Ankara on May 30 to June 3, 2016 and attended by Prof. Chad OLIVER of Yale University, Mr. Devin Routh, Mr. Alark Saxena, Mr. Martin Gehrig of the Gold Standard as well as project consultants and UNDP project team.
On the occasion of the workshop, the participations discussed over the suggestions and expectations of the General Directorate of Forestry for Decision Support Systems, and the system proposed by Yale University's experts for Decision Support Systems along with their assessments. They also dwelled on how to decide on the content and software procedures of Decision Support Systems and how to relate it to the MRV process.
At the Wrap-up Meeting held on the final day of the workshop, the Department of Foreign Relations, Training and Research decided to identify one official from the Department of Forestry Administration and Planning, the Department of Information Systems and other relevant Departments of the GDF to be incorporated into this effort. In addition, the participants decided to let the experts of Yale University and the Gold Standard Foundation meet until the second half of June 2016 to draw up a working schedule that allows to see what to do and how to do them and submit them to the GDF and the UNDP and organize a meeting in Ankara in the late-June if a need arises.
Aiming to develop the capacity of attorneys who have provided or will provide legal aid services to disadvantaged groups, thereby ensuring the provision of efficient and quality legal aid service throughout Turkey, field visits under the project entitled “Support to the Improvement of Legal Aid Practices for Access to Justice for All in Turkey” to Southern provinces that host a large number of Syrians has been completed at the end of June. Project experts found the opportunity to conduct in-depth interviews with a plethora of stakeholders, including judges, prosecutors, representatives of bar associations, intergovernmental organizations, officials of removal centers, local and international NGOs and Syrians who have benefitted from legal aid.
These interviews helped identify the problems faced by the population in the region regarding access to justice, along with the solutions proposed by the provincial bar associations and NGOs working in the field. Included among the serious problems and violations faced by the whole population in the region are workplace accidents, child labor, arbitrary annulment of rent contracts, child marriages, violence against women and girls and legal and practical obstacles to divorce. Additional problems with regard to individuals’ access to legal aid include lack of legal knowledge and rights, distrust of the judiciary, communication problems due to language barriers, lack of coordination between institutions and NGOs, and lack of specialization as regards behavioral and legal approaches to vulnerable groups.
A human rights based approach necessitates that people have the political, institutional and material means to demand, exercise and monitor their human rights. The “needs-assessment and recommendations” report will be drafted based on this principles with data collected from the field visits. In line with the participation principle, the report will be presented to the Advisory Committee, a platform bringing together relevant state and civil society actors that has met twice already, in the beginning of September, and used in the most effective way possible through the support of its members.[1] Following this, the report will be turned into training curriculum by the experts, which in turn will be used to train at least 200 Code of Criminal Procedure lawyers in the pilot provinces visited by the end of 2016. Furthermore, the report will be presented in a conference and a series of workshops to be held at the end of September with the participation of 79 bar association presidents and the Union of Bar Associations, under the second component of the project entitled “Enhanced Capacity of Attorneys Practicing Legal Aid for Disadvantaged Groups”. It is hoped that the consensus reached here with regard to the principles and procedures to be used to provide quality legal aid service to disadvantaged groups will be turned into concrete implementation in the field.
[1] The Advisory Committee is comprised of the Ministry of Justice, General Directorate for Criminal Affairs, Ministry of Family and Social Policies, Ministry of Interior, European Union and Foreign Relations Department, General Directorate of Migration Management, Prime Ministry Disaster and Emergency Management Authority (AFAD), Helsinki Citizens’ Assembly, Amnesty International, Federation of Women Associations of Turkey, Association for Solidarity with Asylum Seekers and Migrants, Agenda: the Child Association.
Kuyucak Village in Isparta provides 93% of Turkey’s lavender production. Lavender Scented Village Project, supported within the scope of Future is in Tourism, which is implemented in partnership with Ministry of Culture and Tourism, United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) and Anadolu Efes, aims to develop the rural tourism in the region and ensure income generation for local people. Lavender Scented Village Project is being carried out by Keçiborlu Mutual Aid and Supporting Society, Keciborlu District Governorship and Neighborhood Unit of Kuyucak Village.
Within the scope of project, to create a model for Kuyucak Village a study visit was organised to France-Provence region, which is well-known with its lavenders and good rural tourism practices. District Governor of Keçiborlu Osman Dölek, Isparta Chamber of Commerce and Industry President Şükrü Başdeğirmen, Project coordinators Ali Sağdaş and Gürkan Cunda, and Kuyucak Village lavender producers Huriye Tezcan, Melis Gülşah, and Meral Çetin joined the visit. On the first day of the visit, lavender production and trade in the region was discussed with Marseille Chamber of Commerce and Industry. Also, a factory of world famous French cosmetic brand, in which lavender and 300 different kind of plant are processed, was visited. Participants were informed about how the products are opened to market, and from which manufacturing processes those products pass. It was an exciting experience for lavender producers of Kuyucak Village to observe each stage of manufacturing.
In addition, participants discussed the lavender production, harvesting and product development, with a manufacturer located in Avignon. There have been suggestions about the importance of sharing the tasks, variety of souvenirs, and determination of lavender route, for the lavender manufacturers of Kuyucak Village. French lavender producer highlighted the importance of remaining local, and emphasizing the significance of making local delicacies and locally produced souvenirs an element of tourism.
Lavender producers of Kuyucak Village, who returned from the study visit with new experiences and ideas, expect to welcome guests in July.
Works are accelerated within the scope of “Support to Development of a Policy Framework for Total Factor Productivity in Turkey” project which aims to improve the contribution of Total Factor Productivity (TFP) to growth.
Until today series of meetings were organized for public and private sector for the identification of the value chains and the decisive total factor productivity factors. Moreover, the design of the field work as stated at the Inception Period was also completed.
The field work started in 9th May and until now, 42 companies were visited and face to face meetings were held.
Field work will be implemented in 3 steps: as a first step the dominant firms setting the game at the value chains will be visited, as a second step the 300 companies active in the chain of the mentioned dominant actors and a 100 operating in the same sector chosen randomly, will be taken into account. Afterwards, the survey work with 500 companies will be completed. As a last step, survey will be conducted with 1,500 companies which have a supplier relationship with the first 100 and second 300 and 1,000 companies will be chosen randomly in order to assess their situation.
Total Factor Productivity Project is a technical assistance project financed by EU and implemented by UNDP in cooperation with Ministry of Development. The project aims to identify the factors that hinder the capacity increase in Increase of Total Factor Productivity in Turkey and develop a macro-level public policy framework that would boost total factor productivity in a way it will be developed and operationalized.
Workshop on Decision Support Systems and MRV in forestry was held in Ankara on 30 May-3 June 2016 within the “Integrated Approach to Management of Forests in Turkey, with Demonstration in High Conservation Value Forests in the Mediterranean Region’ Project.
The objective of the workshop was to identify the features and contents of the decision support systems which would be prepared under the cooperation agreement between the Ministry of Forest and Water Affairs of Turkey (General Directorate of Forestry-GDF) and Yale University of USA and to assess the collaboration and integration issues of MRV system (Gold Standard) towards decision support systems.
Participants of the workshop were the representatives of the related Departments from the GDF, project consultants from universities, Yale University, Gold Standard and UNDP.
At the end of the workshop, it was agreed that Yale University and Gold Standard experts will work closely on the preparation of a road map of setting up a best appropriate Decision Support System and MRV system for GDF of Turkey in the lights of the negotiations with the related departments of GDF during the workshop.
Under the title 'Advancing the Measurement of Sustainable Tourism Development', UNWTO Member States, NGOs, academic institutions and other public and private sector entities discussed approaches to effectively measure, monitor and assess tourism performance and impacts at destination level. This consultative process takes place at a time in which the international tourism community embraces the Sustainable Development Goals.
UNWTO welcomed more than 70 experts from 21 countries at its Headquarters in Madrid, to discuss and share experiences related to the measurement and monitoring of the impact that tourism has on destinations. Also Turkey participated to this meeting within the context of Capacity Development for Sustainable Community Based Tourism Project implemented by Ministry of Tourism and Agriculture in cooperation with UNDP.
Special focus was put on the relevance and the opportunities available from non-traditional data sources, including social media analysis, geospatial data mapping, big and live data collection and usage, as well as the analysis of credit card spending patterns and the flow of visitors based on mobile device information.
This consultation takes place in the context of recent achievements that underline and strengthen the role and responsibilities of sustainable tourism as a positive instrument for development such as the recently adopted Sustainable Development Goals as well as the upcoming International Year of Sustainable Tourism for Development 2017.
UNWTO has been promoting the use of sustainable tourism indicators for measurement since the early 1990s as essential instruments for effective tourism policy planning and management at destinations. In this framework, the UNWTO Network of Observatories (INSTO) was created in 2004. The Network encompasses destinations around the world committed to regular monitoring of tourism in order to better understand destination-wide resource use and foster the responsible management of tourism.
A series of the meetings were organized in 5 pilot sites of project on “Integrated Approach to Management of Forests in Turkey, with Demonstration in High Conservation Value Forests in the Mediterranean Region” with the participation of the personnel from Forest District Directorates, representatives from municipality, head of villages (muhtar), representatives from NGOs, army, police department and cooperatives.
The aim of the meetings were to evaluate the draft fire management plans developed for 5 pilot Forest District Directorates in Andırın, Pos, Gülnar, Gazipaşa and Köyceğiz.
After a brief introduction of the draft fire management plans, a group discussion was organized in each of the meeting organized in 5 pilot sites. Participants were encouraged to express their feelings about the plans and asked if they had any suggestions to improve the plans. The final versions of the fire management plans will be prepared based on the ideas and suggestions received during the meetings soon.
This year, as part of the Golden Compass Awards, the fifth UNDP Special Award was given to “Antalya Smart City” project.
Antalya Smart City Project, which is carried out by the collaboration of Turk Telekom, Directcomm Marketing Group and Antalya Metropolitan Municipality, aims to provide new business opportunities to individuals and making their everyday life easier.
Marcos Athias Neto, the Director of UNDP Istanbul International Center for Private Sector in Development, gave the award to the winner team and emphasized investments in sustainable smart cities as an important step towards development.
President of Türkiye Halkla İlişkiler Derneği (Turkey Public Relations Association) Gonca Karakaş stated that as an association they work to lead the changes in the world of communications, and sustainable development is now placed at the center of these changes.
This year; The Golden Compass Public Relations award ceremony was organized by TÜHİD and held for the 15th time in Istanbul on May 30, 2016.
Competition - which assesses public relations work in the sector - aims to support service quality as well as the professional development of public relations area.
Ankara - The Government of the Republic of Turkey and the United Nations (UN) in Turkey signed a Customs Facilitation Agreement that simplifies customs procedures in emergencies. When disaster strikes, timely delivery of relief items is crucial for saving lives. For this reason, the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (UN OCHA), on behalf of the United Nations system in Turkey, have introduced the Customs Agreement. This agreement will allow for the speeding up of the import, export, and transit of relief consignments, humanitarian personnel and their equipment in the event of emergencies.
Turkey is situated in a disaster-prone geography and thus has a number of vulnerabilities, in terms of earthquakes, for example. Over the last decade, the Government of Turkey has made significant progress in terms of disaster preparedness at national level and as well as in scaling up its humanitarian assistance globally. Today, the Republic of Turkey continues to host the largest refugee population in the world and plays a key role in the support and facilitation of life saving humanitarian assistance for the affected populations in Syria, managed from Turkey. As such, the Government has established procedures for the rapid deployment of international aid in emergencies by lowering customs barriers. The negotiations between the UN and the Government of Turkey have been successfully concluded.
The agreement is a major step forward in strengthening emergency preparedness and ensuring timely response to affected people. The UN Resident Coordinator to the Republic of Turkey, Mr. Kamal Malhotra, noted: “The Government of Turkey take their responsibility for Turkey’s and the world’s population very seriously. It is encouraging and heartening to witness both their humanity and dedication to preparedness. The customs agreement signed today is a major achievement for the country and should serve as an inspiring example for the wider region”. The agreement enables UN agencies, intergovernmental, governmental and non-governmental organizations, as well as other humanitarian actors, to quickly agree with the Turkish customs authorities about bringing in relief consignments to save lives and reduce the suffering of affected people in a timely manner. The Customs Agreement was signed by the Under Secretary of the Ministry of Customs and Trade, representing the Government of the Republic of Turkey, Mr. Cenap Asci, and the UN Resident Coordinator and UNDP Resident Representative to the Republic of Turkey, Mr. Kamal Malhotra.
Project Competition on Innovative Solutions for Renewable Energy and Energy Efficiency in Southeast Anatolia Region was organized within the framework of “Utilization of Renewable Energy Resources and Increasing Energy Efficiency in Southeast Anatolia Region project. Project is being implemented by the Southeast Anatolia Regional Development Administration (GAP RDA) in cooperation with United Nations Development Programme (UNDP).
Through the competition it was planned to support the realization of affordable, innovative and easy solutions for renewable energy and energy efficiency.
“Project Competition on Innovative Solutions for Renewable Energy and Energy Efficiency in Southeast Anatolia Region” aimed to reach students at technical, vocational and common high schools and vocational schools in Gaziantep, Şanlıurfa, Kilis, Adıyaman, Diyarbakır, Mardin, Batman, Siirt, and Şırnak. 9 vocational schools and 43 high schools with 52 projects applied to the completion. Short-listed projects were displayed at Şanlıurfa GAP Agriculture Training Center on 16-17 May. Shortlisted projects were evaluated by the jury composed of representatives from university, NGO and governmental agencies through taking criteria such as innovative, applicability, intelligibility criteria into consideration. The award ceremony was realized in 17 May 2016.
The first winners of the competition are awarded with a trip abroad in the context of renewable energy applications while the second and third winners were awarded with domestic travel.
The name of the students, schools and projects ranking the highest in vocational school category:
First: Müslüm Barut, Harran Üniversitesi Birecik MYO
Engelli Vatandaşlar için Güneş Enerjili Hibrit Araç Tasarımı ve Uygulaması
Second: Zeki Çiftçi, Harran Üniversitesi Teknik Bilimler MYO
Yıldırım Enerjisi
Third: Remzi Yıldız ve Ahmet Mustafaoğlu, Diyarbakır Teknik Bilimler MYO
Solar Şarj Durağı
The name of the students, schools and projects ranking the highest in highscholl category:
First: Hatice İlayda Kavak ve Melis Nur Özdemir, Nizip Özel Asım Kökoğlu Anadolu Lisesi
Zehirli Atıklardan Temiz Enerji Hidrojene
Mustafa Burak Kurnaz, Adıyaman Altınşehir Anadolu Lisesi
Akıllı Tarımsal Sulama Kontrol (ATSK) Sistemi
Second: Dicle Uğurlu ve Hilal Arıca, Diyarbakır Sur Vali Aydın Arslan Fen Lisesi
Devegeçidi’nde Yüzer Güneş Enerjisi Santrali
Eren Özlen ve Abuzer Kuru, Adıyaman Mimar Sinan Mesleki ve Teknik Anadolu Lisesi
Enerji Çanağı
Third: Kübra Nur Bostancı, Nizip Maruf Marufoğlu Anadolu Lisesi
Güneş Enerjisi ile Çalışan Yenilikçi Mobil Tarımsal Sulama Sistemi (GEMTASİS)
Hüseyin GÜNEŞ, Gaziantep Lisesi
Güneş Rüzgarları
The Model Factory Project aiming at establishment and operationalization of Applied SMEs Capability Center in Turkey is being implemented in cooperation with the Ministry of Science Industry and Technology General Directorate of Productivity and United Nations Development Programme (UNDP Turkey). The model factories in Germany and Italy were visited between the dates of 4 and 7 May 2016 with participation of representatives from Ministry of Development, Ministry of Science, Industry and Technology, GAP Regional Development Administration, Ankara Chamber of Industry, Gaziantep Chamber of Industry and UNDP.
During the Model Factory visits in Germany and Italy, the participants interviewed factory managers, experts, instructors and model factory stakeholders, examined each Model Factory production line in detail and get information about experiential learning.
A model Factory is defined as a tool to disseminate principles of operational excellence by using experiential learning techniques.
In addition to improve enterprises’ productivity and competitiveness, Model Factory to be established also aims at providing long lasting competence building for employees through experimental learning techniques and combining theory and practice.
Target group of the Model Factory in Turkey will be SMEs in manufacturing industry.
After the completion of studies appropriate models for establishment will be identified and operationalization of Model Factory in Turkey at the end of the project will be targeted. The decision of the establishment the Model Factory, which is expected to be influential in terms of national productivity goals, will be made by the Ministry of Science Industry and Technology and Ministry of Development according to the outcomes of the project.
