Turkey's Changemakers: Ati Youth and Sports Club Association Creates Hope for Future of Youth in Hakkari

The project is financially supported by the Prime Ministry’s Social Support Program.

The latest episode of “Turkey’s Changemakers” features the Ati Youth and Sports Club Association, which is conducting projects geared toward youth in Hakkari.

The Ati Information Technologies Academy, established by the Ati Youth and Sports Club Association, aims to train information and communications technologies specialists. The project is financially supported by the Prime Ministry’s Social Support Program (SODES) and is realized with the support of the Hakkari Provincial Directorate for National Education and the Youth for Habitat Association. Workshops are offered to youth in four areas; call center operation, web design, computer operation and networks. Over the course of the project, 140 participants received training.  

The Ati Youth and Sports Club Association also realized the ‘Not a Dream It is Real: Demos Kratos’ (2009) project in co-operation with the Hoje Taastrup Municipality and the Hoje Taastrup Sports Club, with the goal of establishing a cultural link between Turkey and Denmark. The project organized meetings, visits, promotional and educational activities with the goal of encouraging the youth’s participation in democratic and social life. Attendees, with the support of their project partners from Denmark, received workshops on democracy, active citizenship, European citizenship, youth, civil society, non-governmental organization, and the EU Youth Programs. A total of 300 youth were reached through the ‘Not a Dream It is Real: Demos Kratos’ project.

The Association implemented numerous projects with the goal of preserving the cultural legacy of Hakkari. These projects were supported by the Turkish Republic Ministry of EU Affairs’ Centre for European Union Education and Youth Programs. Among such projects are ‘Documenting and Promoting Our Cultural Legacy’ (2006) and ‘Women’s World in Design’ (2007), which offered carpet designing courses for women with the goal of encouraging their participation in social and economic life.