Future Leaders Meet in the "Young Turkey - Young America" Project

The America and Türkiye programs of the "Young Turkey - Young America" project, organized in partnership between the Bahçeşehir University (BAU) Center for American Studies and the University of Connecticut with the contributions of JCI (Junior Chamber International), were successfully completed together with joint projects prepared by young NGO leaders.

In the program funded by the US Department of State, 16 Turkish and 16 American NGO leaders aged 24-35 received training in social entrepreneurship, civil society and leadership in both America and Türkiye, and took steps to raise awareness of the problems of the societies they live in by producing joint social projects. Leading NGO leaders and representatives from both countries met with important figures working in social entrepreneurship in America and Türkiye and attended information meetings on the subject. In the program, in which Turkish and American participants benefited from each other's experience and work in social entrepreneurship, each NGO leader worked on the applicability of experiences in their own country to the other country.

Participants produced projects on many issues such as poverty, child abuse and women'semployment, bringing together both the media and other relevant NGOs in the same project and carrying out projects to produce solutions to structural problems in their regions. With the "Young Turkey - Young America" project, participants had the opportunity to understand the place and importance of NGOs in the system in both America and Türkiye and to make comparisons in this field. During the study trips to both countries, participants took part in fieldwork on social entrepreneurship and had the opportunity to see on site the projects implemented by NGOs.

One of the most important criteria in funding these projects is the sustainability of the project and the impact it will create. Participants also worked on steps to secure the necessary support for involving the media, municipalities and ministries in their projects in order to strengthen them. Within the scope of "Young Turkey - Young America", the 16 Turkish and 16 American social entrepreneurs, in addition to social entrepreneurship, tried to understand each other's cultures, habits and systems and returned to their countries with positive experiences in breaking down prejudices. In the next part of the project, the projects prepared by all participants will be funded by the US Department of State and put into practice.