NO:13 2092/14 STREET
06370 Yenimahalle/Ankara
Turquie
- Youth and education
ANKA Youth Association was established in 2017 as a youth group with four members and turned into an NGO in 2020 counting now more than 50 members (in 2020). The vision of the group forms around the motto, "We bring the World together." Anka works in the youth field to promote inclusion of young people especially who have fewer opportunities to take an active role in society, communities, and organizations, develop their skills, improve their performance and exchange knowledge in order to face the needs of society and thus effectively contribute to the development of a European field of skills and qualifications. Anka’s goal is to encourage lifelong learning and transnational programs directly targeted at young people and youth workers through non-formal education. The core goal is to create new innovative techniques that will be applied at the level of civil society and therefore lead to social cohesion. During the year, we work on national and international projects. Main sources are Erasmus+ and ESC. During three years, we joined many international projects which are;
Erasmus + YE Sport for Youth Kooperáció Egyesület
Erasmus + YE 2017-2-BG01-KA105-036458 Workshop for Dreams Association Brainstorm Group
Erasmus+ YE 2017-3-HU01-KA105-046815 Natural Peace Kooperáció Egyesület
Erasmus + TC 2018-1-FR02-KA105-014248 ARTooLINK Association Fandene Espoir
Erasmus + TC 2018-1-PL01-KA105-050045 Contact Making Seminar - LOCALizer – Erasmus+ projects for local community activation
Erasmus + TC Our World Foundation Understand Autism
Erasmus + YE Youth Exchange for Youth Workers Federation of Youth Clubs of Armenia – FYCA
Erasmus + TC 2019-1-FR02-KA105-015549 New Approaches to Youth Employability Alliance pour l'Education et le Droit des Femmes
Erasmus + YE 2019-1-PL01-KA105-061826 Academy of ECO-NOMY MOJE KRZYSZKOWICE
Erasmus + TC 2019-1-FR02-KA105-015603 Promote Inclusion by Art Association Solidarité Handicap France Cameroun
Erasmus + TC 2019-1-FR02-KA105-015786 The Youngsters' Trail D'ANTILLES ET D'AILLEURS
Erasmus + TC 2019-2-FR02-KA105-016138 Win Youth Challenge Fédération Nationale des Associations Franco-Africaines
Erasmus + TC 2019-2-FR02-KA105-016118 Racism Tools Fédération Nationale des Associations Franco-Africaines
Erasmus+ TC #TurnYouthONline Coconutwork
Erasmus+ TC 2020-1-KA105-966CF2A1 DigiMigrACT TC Réseau Solidaire & Participatif
We have more than 50 members around Europe and the Mediterranean countries from 32 different countries which we work together for many years. Also, with the two of them, we are planning to apply for the call of Anna Lindth in May 2020. Who are Geyc from Romania (Group of Young people for Change) and from Tunisia: AVER ( Association Voix de l'Enfant Rural).
In the organization, we have 7 people on the board, and in addition to them, we have a project team consist of 5 people.
Anka’s goal is to encourage lifelong learning and transnational programs directly targeted at young people and youth workers through non-formal education. The core goal is to create new innovative techniques that will be applied at the level of civil society and therefore lead to social cohesion. ANKA’s founder members are university students and new graduates who have expertise in Erasmus+ Projects, and they had experience with all the objectives mentioned above. Therefore, Anka also promotes young youth workers to take an active role in non-formal learning. After they had enough experience and faith, they decided to establish this youth group to reach more and more young people to encourage them and experience all their aims. Anka's team is growing day by day with new volunteers involving the team. Some of the interest areas of Anka are Erasmus+ youth exchanges, training courses, national solidarity corps projects, strategical partnerships in the field of youth, and implementation of those. In short, we promote all young people on a large scale of projects. Anka emphasizes on ensuring fair learning opportunities, encouraging human rights, cultivating the spirit of creativity and improving people's skills, supporting intercultural interaction, promoting the solidarity between young people, information sharing and EU understanding through the active participation of young people and adults in mobility initiatives, entrepreneurship, personal development, developing young people’s awareness in the field of youth work, increasing the interaction between different cultures, raising young people's awareness of obstacles and diverse living styles. Anka is closely linked to numerous public and private organizations at the national and international levels, including non-governmental organizations, universities, enterprises, communities, etc.
ANKA Youth Association is also a member of the PRISMA European Network, a pan-european informal network of organisations active in the youth field and interested to raise the quality of their work through technology. Since 2016, PRISMA European Network adopted EQYP standard of quality in youth work. (https://www.prisma-network.eu/)
ANKA Youth Association is mainly working in the field of youth, and inclusion of young people to society to make them active individuals. Anka has a young people profile. To make them involved, we use different methods such as art, sports, drama, languages, non-formal education methods, etc. On a national level, Anka also promotes dialog between local and regional authorities, universities, foundations and other non-governmental organizations dealing with the enhancement of entrepreneurship, entrepreneurial learning, digital learning, training, and skills, personal development. With the help of local authorities, Anka conducts activities such as;
• Drama workshops
• Language Courses
• Theatre Workshops
• Sport Sessions: Such as Yoga with the Middle East Technical University Yoga Club
• English Speaking Club
• Environmental Awareness Activities
• Leadership workshops
• Team building activities
• Technological Tools Education workshops with the help of Ankara University Technopolis, etc.
Also, Anka has carried out a series of activities (workshops, seminars, and studies) in the areas of social entrepreneurship, examining skills and competences, human rights and active citizenship, etc. Additionally, volunteer training is regularly organized to promote the value of volunteering, and its team of volunteers counts more than 50 members. Moreover, with the help of different SMEs, Anka is helping young people to create job/internship opportunities. Also, planning leadership workshops. Anka is trying to create new workshop areas/abilities for young people where they will feel more active and leader. As giving leader roles for our workshops, we are creating a base for them to lead a group and to involve them in working life. With their new abilities and involvement in local projects, many of our volunteers found a way to express themselves better, and they found their job path thanks to these local activities.
One of the main objectives of Anka is to promote integration between cultures and counteract violence between cultures in Turkey and other countries. With culture, we mean the individuals.
Besides, one of the main priorities of Anka at the local level is environmental awareness. Since in the area, we work in our local community is in the danger of climate change. We have two lakes and forests in the area. The biggest lake in Ankara, which name is Mogan, is located here. Unfortunately, Mogan lake is in danger of climate change, also pollution, and drought. As young people, who work for society and action, we took the role to maintain the sustainability of our living places. Therefore, we started a project for the long term, which promotes environmental awareness actions inside. It begins from the information sessions in our training center to explain the climate change, the consequences, and actions we should take.
Moreover, we are conducting different environmental activities such as cleaning the forest and the park around the lake with the participation of local volunteers. After these activities, we also started to work on environmental awareness topic deeply. In international level, we had three international youth exchange projects about nature, and environment which are Sports for Youth, Natural Peace, Academy of Economy, which all promoted environmental activities with the help of sports, a music and theatre festival in a local village, healthy life styles, recycling, etc. In national level, As Anka, we have prepared a European Solidarity Corps project in solidarity part in national level, and it includes monthly workshops, planting activities, covered climate change, eco-business ideas, organic farming, cleaning activities, and voluntary activities in local level with our team members.
Additionally, Art is the way to make our volunteers involved; we usually use art since it is the way to include young people more into society. Art is the way of impression, contact, sport, health, and thought. Art makes people imagine more and live comradely. Due to this reason, Anka is trying to involve more young people in their workshops at the national level. Anka is creating drama and music workshops in their office often.
Moreover, volunteers are chosen to lead many workshops. Many of our volunteers know how to play different musical instruments. Also, we are working with the Middle East Technical University’s Modern Arts Department and having their help for our national workshops. Mostly we are involving college students in our workshops. Moreover, we are working and promoting the METU Musical Team which they create musical shows. With the help of our national project and the collaboration with METU, we are trying to create new areas for young people where they will feel more active and leader.
In the national level, we have many weekly and yearly activities that promote the inclusion of young people. As some of the activities explained in above question, we want from our volunteers to take active roles in the event and manage those events to promote a way for leading and entrepreneurship. Since, ALF Network also promotes youth and education; as well as culture, arts, and peace, we know that we will be contributing the AFL Network's priorities at the regional level. Moreover, we will broaden our national activities with the contribution of ALF. In the international level, we aim to work with the Mediterranean countries to promote culture, diversity, and peace. We would like to create partnerships and projects, also new campaigns to promote those idealities. Therefore, this will help the activeness of Turkey in the field and in the network. Moreover, with our national volunteers, some of them belong to the Mediterranean countries such as Egypt, Tunisia, and Morocco, we would like to create an international bridge volunteer team which will create monthly activities such as cultural nights, exhibitions, movie nights related with other cultures, etc. This will also promote the values of the network. In addition for those information, we are very active in digital sector and working in cooperation with Ankara University Technopolis. We would organise digitalisation courses with the help of technopolis for all network members and therefore increase the quality of NGO work in Turkey. Moreover, since we work with university very closely, we have the chance to reach many young people in our training center in technopolis area.
As a youth NGO, and as an internationally active NGO, we work mostly with the topics of cultural dialog, inclusion and peace. Even in the regional level, we have lots of volunteers who belong to foreign cultures or countries. Since ALF strives to create a dialogue and bridge for diversity and coexistence; promotes coexistence and diversity, we would like to join as a new diversity to the network to promote these priorities. Moreover, since we are planning to apply for the call of CALL FOR PROPOSALS ON INTERCULTURAL DIALOGUE INITIATIVES of Anna Lindth, we decided that also joining the network will be a positive asset for us for the future activities. Thanks to GEYC and AVER, who are our partner organizations also promoted us to apply for the AFL Network. After joining the network, we plan to involve the calls and activities also as coordinator and an official member. Moreover, we would like to broaden our network to more Mediterranean countries because we mainly work with European countries and the cooperation between the Mediterranean region is limited in our main working area. However, as quite close countries, and while sharing common needs and goals, to enrich our network and plans for young people will be easier and more professional with Anna Lindth Foundation Network. . As a youth NGO, and as active youth workers, we know that one of the best ways to create a network for diversity, and intercultural dialog is belonging the ALF network.