SABANCI FOUNDATION ATTENDS EUROPEAN FOUNDATION CENTER BRUSSELS CONFERENCE

31 May- 4 June 2010

Entitled “Foundations in Europe: A conversation with the institutions”, the EFC 2010 conference brought together over 500 participants in Brussels to discuss the role of foundations in the European project, their relations with the institutions, and how to facilitate the further development of the sector for the benefit of Europe and its citizens. 

The emphasis of this year’s event was to engage in a conversation with the EU on issues of mutual concern. The conference days offered an exclusive space for foundation representatives, EU policy and decision makers to network and to discuss issues that are of immediate and common interest. The program included a total of 20 sessions dealing with some key operational and programmatic topics.

The conference also featured a special plenary debate on governance, as well as the EFC Annual Photo Competition and Raymond Georis Prize which was awarded to Dr Mo Ibrahim, Founder of the Mo Ibrahim Foundation.

Below is a summary of the activities of Sabanci Foundation and other Turkish Foundations during the European Foundation Center conference in Brussels.

On May 31, Filiz Bikmen Bugay from the Sabanci Foundation was a speaker on the ‘Funding Women and Girls’ panel held by Mama Cash. The discussion was on convincing organizations to address women and gender issues and models that could be used as good examples.  Bugay shared the ‘mainstreaming’ approach which the Sabanci Foundation has been implementing to spread the UNJP project that has been ongoing for 4 years.   She also discussed how ‘mainstreaming’ is used to voice the perspectives of women, youth and persons with disabilities as a part of the Foundation’s Grant program strategy.

Moreover, speakers from the Oak Foundation in Switzerland and the King Baudouin Foundation in Belgium shared their own experiences with the panel.  The Oak Foundation discussed their projects focused on women and their new efforts at mainstreaming, while the King Baudouin Foundation only discussed their experiences with mainstreaming.  At the end of the panel, the preliminary conclusions from Mama Cash and Foundation Center’s joint research were revealed.

According to their results, out of 142 European foundations, approximately 30% designate 1-9% of their annual budget towards projects that are aimed at women and girls and/or gender issues. The majority of the budgets went towards violence, education and human rights.  Approximately 25% of the foundations stated that within their grant programs, they especially supported women and girls.

On June 2nd, along with representatives from the ERSTE Foundation from Austria and TechSoup from USA, Filiz Bikmen Bugay from the Sabanci Foundation was a speaker on the ‘Social Media’ panel organized by the Charities Aid Foundation from England.  The usage of social media, opinions and suggestions were discussed.  Approximately 200 audience members paid close attention to the Sabanci Foundation’s Turkey’s Changemakers project presented by Bugay.  In a session where only 10% of the audience members were users of social media tools such as Facebook or Twitter, the nearly 7000 followers that the Turkey’s Changemakers project has was a significant indicator.

However, the TechSoup representative expressed that more so than numbers, the involvement of the followers is important and underlined the significance of the face-to-face work that foundations do.  Throughout the conference, 400 Turkey’s Changemakers DVDs were distributed and some of the episodes were screened in the Cinema Corner.

On June 3rd, Sabanci Foundation representatives and other fellow members of the European Consortium of Foundations on Human Rights and Disability attended a lunch meeting with representatives from the EU Integration of People with Disabilities Commission Johan Ten Geuzendam and Immaculada Placencia Porrero and European Commission Civil Society and NGO Liaison, Pieter Bangma.

The ‘EU Advocacy and Foundations’ panel held on June 4 and led by John Healy, President of the Ireland Civil Society Development Centre (former president of Atlantic Philanthropy), was also of great interest to conference delegates. Speakers on the panel were Filiz Bikmen Bugay from the Sabanci Foundation and representatives from the Diana Princess of Wales Memorial Fund and the European Disability Forum. Bugay spoke predominantly about the EFC Consortium on Human Rights and Disability and Sabanci Foundation’s projects. 

TÜSEV - THIRD SECTOR FOUNDATION OF TURKEY PROGRAM

During the European Foundations Week, TÜSEV (the umbrella organization of foundations in Turkey) organized several events under the heading of ‘Turkish Foundations: An Old Tradition in Service of New Horizons.’  The aim was to promote Turkish foundations and increase exposure in Europe, familiarize people with the ongoing projects and emphasize the role of foundations in the process of EU membership In this context, 4 main events took place:

On May 31st, The Turkish Foundation Delegation (Candan Fetvaci from the Aydin Dogan Foundation, Mustafa Kemal Kaymakamzade from EKVAF, Zerrin Koyunsagan and Filiz Bikmen Bugay from Sabanci Foundation, Nurdan Sahin from Turkish Education Volunteers Foundation and Derya Kaya from TUSEV) attended a dinner hosted by TUSIAD, Turkish Industrialists and Businessmen Association.  The Turkish foundation representatives were briefed on  EU and Turkey relations by TUSIAD representative Dr. Bahadir Kaleagasi, and discussed the role of Turkish foundations.

On June 1st, a panel introducing Turkish foundations was organizations, followed by a reception. The speakers on this panel (Candan Fetvaci from the Aydin Dogan Foundation, Filiz Bikmen Bugay from the Sabanci Foundation, Nurdan Sahin from TEGV and Mustafa Kemal Kaymakamzade from EVKAV Cyprus Foundations Administration) talked about the projects of the foundations they were representing and shared their views regarding Turkey and the EU. Among the audience members were Ambassador Selim Kuneralp (Turkey’s Permanent Representative to the EU) and a member of the European Parliament, Anna Maria Corazza Bildt.  During the discussion section, the modernization of Turkish foundations was suggested an exemplary model for the Middle East, therefore high ing the importance of sharing experiences.  Furthermore, the role of foundations in the empowerment of women, youth and the disabled leading to social development, and the necessity of open communication with European foundations during this process was mentioned.

On June 2nd, Aydın Doğan Foundation (Candan Fetvacı), Sabancı Foundation (Zerrin Koyunsağan, Filiz Bikmen Bugay) and TEGV (Nurdan Şahin) representatives, met with Christos Katharios from the EU Council Enlargement Directorate,  Fernando Criado Alonso, DG Enlargement, and Enlargement Commisioner Stefan Füle’s Cabinet members Rudiger Boogert and Julien Desmedt, and Turkish Ambassador Selim Kuneralp.  During these meetings, the activities of foundations in Turkey and issues concerning social development were discussed. It was decided that for Turkish foundations’ to contribute to the EU membership process and for their efforts towards social development to be more visible, each year the foundations would include their results and findings (under sections such as women, youth and persons with disabilities) as inputs for the EU Progress Report.