My School, My Rights

Background

In Karagümrük, a district in Istanbul province formerly known as Sulukule, children who are exposed to domestic migration and have socio-economic disadvantages, as well as Roma children who are victims of urban transformation, are at risk and school drop-out rates are increasing. There is a need for social development and rights workshops in the region to attract children to schools.

Project Goals

• For 12 weeks, dance and rhythm workshops will be carried out for 40 children in a secondary school in the region.
• Rights workshops will be carried out, targeting children, their mothers, and teachers.
• A booklet about the experience of working with children at risk in formal education institutions will be prepared and shared both digitally and physically.

Project Results

• Workshop contents on “social development” and “rights” for children were prepared.
• The “social development workshops,” planned as rhythm and photography workshops, were held with 50 children for 4 months.
• Rights workshops on “children’s rights” and “gender equality” were conducted with the children participating in the social development workshops.
• Workshops for teachers on “children’s rights” and “working with children at risk” were prepared and carried out with the participation of 60 teachers.
• A “children’s rights” themed 8-week workshop program for mothers was prepared and carried out with the participation of 17 women.
• The “Needs of At-Risk Girls Research” was conducted and published.
• The experience the organization gained from previous works and the project was compiled into a book entitled “Working with At-Risk Children in Formal Education Institutions: A Neighborhood Experience.”

Testimonials

“I had many friends who urged me to skip school, but I stayed for the workshop.”
A Workshop Participant

“Building a free partnership with kids without using compulsion, doing things together made me think more and feel less tired. As usual, I have learned countless unique things from them. My motivation for artistic creation has increased with the energy of the workshop.”
An Expert and Workshop Participant

“I am taking taekwondo and swimming classes. If the school offered such activities, I would participate right away. That is why I love coming to the workshops at the school.”
A Workshop Participant