Civil Society Support Programme Photography Exhibition Launched in Ankara

Photos compiled from 48 projects co-funded by the Republic of Türkiye and the European Union and carried out under the Civil Society Support Programme implemented by the Directorate for EU Affairs expect visitors during 24 August – 7 September 2020 at Ankara Esenboğa Airport. 

Exhibition of photographs from grant projects under the Civil Society Support Programme implemented by the Directorate for EU Affairs is launched at Ankara Esenboğa Airport by a ceremony with the participation of Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs and Director for EU Affairs Ambassador Faruk Kaymakcı, Head of EU Delegation to Türkiye Ambassador Christian Berger as well as the representatives of the Directorate for EU Affairs and civil society organisations.

Opening ceremony of the exhibition started with Ambassador Christian Berger’s speech. Following his speech, Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs and Director for EU Affairs Ambassador Faruk Kaymakcı took the floor. Ambassador Kaymakcı stated in his speech that the Directorate for EU Affairs, which celebrates its 20^th year anniversary, always gives importance to working with civil society organizations and has implemented numerous projects since its establishment. He also indicated the importance of civil society organizations’ taking part in the debates on Europe’s future as well as making Türkiye’s voice heard in different areas in Europe.

The ceremony ended following the ribbon-cutting and photo shooting.

The photo exhibition will remain open and expect visitors between24 August and 7 September at TAV Gallery Ankara at Esenboğa Airport.

About Civil Society Support Programme Projects

Civil Society Support Programme, which is one of the programmes under the Civil Society Sector funded by the European Union and Republic of Türkiye and implemented by the Directorate for EU Affairs, aims to strengthen the effective participation of CSOs in decision-making mechanisms, to enhance cooperation between civil society and the public sector, and to improve the administrative, advocacy and communication skills of CSOs. Two grant schemes operate within the Civil Society Support Programme I: Grassroots Civil Society Organisations and Partnerships and Networks.

Under the Grant Scheme for Grassroots CSOs, which was implemented in 15 different cities for a period of one year and finalized in December 2019, 38 civil society organisations working in various fields such as environment, media, search and rescue, photography, fight against addiction, energy, rights of disabled persons and women have received 2.1 million Euros to improve their administrative, advocacy and communication skills.

The 10 projects ongoing under the Grant Scheme for CSO Partnerships and Networks aim to strengthen the cooperation between CSOs and public institutions and develop CSOs' administrative and institutional capacities. Within the scope of the projects under the Grant Scheme for CSO Partnerships and Networks having a total grant amount of 4.3 million Euros, strong Turkish CSOs active in areas such as European Union, arts, social entrepreneurship, autism, establishment of city networks and fight against hate speech have partnered with public institutions and started carrying out joint work by improving their cooperation.