BACKGROUND
Following the earthquakes centered in Kahramanmaraş on February 6, eleven provinces were declared disaster zones. According to UN data, approximately 15 million people were affected, and around 10% of the affected population consists of children aged 0–18. The 12–18 age group is a particularly critical period in terms of transitioning to adulthood and developing knowledge, skills, and behaviors for the future. Access to education, social life, and cultural rights for young people is of vital importance within the framework of the Convention on the Rights of the Child. Research shows that after disasters, this age group is at increased risk of dropping out of education, child labor, and early marriage. Therefore, it is important to carry out rights-based activities targeting the 12–18 age group in Hatay.
PROJECT GOALS
- Advocacy communities will be established in five districts of Hatay with the participation of approximately 40 young people, each group consisting of 5 to 8 youth, to strengthen their skills in organization, community building, and rights-based advocacy.
- A total of 30 district-based meetings will be held, with each advocacy community meeting 6 times.
- All five groups will come together twice to engage in collective idea exchange.
- With the guidance of mentors, young people in the advocacy communities will develop their rights-based advocacy skills.
- Advocacy meetings will be held by bringing together advocacy communities, relevant experts, civil society representatives, and public officials around common themes.
- Lobbying efforts will be carried out in collaboration with a civil society network to support youth organizing and expand advocacy activities.
PROJECT RESULTS
- To ensure the project's youth-focused nature, a meeting was held in Samandağ with young people who had participated in previous projects to gather their opinions and suggestions.
- Contact was established with a total of 200 young people in the districts of Kırıkhan, Defne, İskenderun, Samandağ, and Antakya.
- A total of 15 community meetings were held in four districts throughout the project; 14 young people completed the project activities during this period.
- In six meetings held with mentors, young people had the opportunity to express themselves, identify and analyze common problems in their communities, generate solutions, and learn about a human rights-based approach through art.
- In the final phase of the project, the advocacy-focused art production process carried out by the young people with mentors was presented to the public and civil society representatives through an exhibition. This made the problem areas identified by the young people visible; 14 representatives from six NGOs participated in the exhibition.
- A methodological model booklet was prepared to guide institutions and communities interested in similar work, containing the experiences and suggestions gained during the process.
