Sabancı Foundation Philanthropy Seminar Hosted Two Distinguished Speakers Known For Their Exemplary Work in Philanthropy

- Chairman of Sabanci Foundation Board of Trustees Ms. Güler Sabancı: “Girls should continue their education until the age of 18. Receiving education and making one’s own choices is a fundamental human right…”

- Güler Sabancı: “There are two different models to sustain social development: Some people make a difference by challenging the impossible conditions in their lives, while some mobilize their resources to make a difference in others’ lives.”

The 7^th  “Sabanci Philanthropy Seminar” brought together representatives from the public, private and nonprofit sector once again to discuss new approaches in the field of foundations and civil society.

This guest speakers for this year’s seminar on “Challenging the Impossible” were HRH Princess Mabel van Oranje (the Netherlands), the initiator and chair of Girls Not Brides platform; and Dr. Tererai Trent (Zimbabwe), the founder of Tinogona Foundation, who was married off at an early age but challenged the impossible conditions to find a way out though education.

“Women’s leadership is significant for social change”

Submitting her message to the Philanthropy Seminar, Chairman of Sabanci Foundation Board of Trustees Ms. Güler Sabancı remarked that women’s leadership is significant for social change:“Women are better equipped with the perspective, sensitivity and social responsibility, needed to create social change. Therefore, women leaders play a crucial role in achieving sustainable social development. However, they cannot succeed alone; we have to do it all together, but I believe women have a catalyzing role. We need to strengthen the presence of women in economy, politics and civil society. We need to provide equal opportunities and encourage women to be more active and productive citizens.”

Ms. Güler Sabancı underscored that education is a pre-requisite for tapping the potential of women: “Girls should continue their education until the age of 18, that is until they graduate from high school. Receiving education and making one’s own choices is a fundamental human right.”

Ms. Güler Sabancı also stated: “Despite the magnitude of social problems, sometimes the struggle of a single person can make a difference. And sometimes the complexity of the problem requires global commitment and action. It is hard to achieve both, but not impossible. What we need is social leaders who can bring about a radical transformation by challenging the impossible adamantly to achieve their targets.”

“As Sabancı Foundation, we mobilize our resources for a better tomorrow”

Reminding of the different models for social development, Ms. Güler Sabancı added: “Some people make a difference by challenging the impossible conditions in their lives, while others fight seemingly unsolvable social problems by using their resources to organize masses. The guest speakers of our seminar are examples to these two different models. As Sabanci Foundation, we mobilize our resources for “a better tomorrow” and support people to use their potential to climb higher up.”

“Child marriage has consequences for society”

The initiator and chair of Girls Not Brides platform, Mabel van Oranje asserted that child marriage steals the future of girls: “Child marriage robs girls of the chance to lead healthier, safer and more prosperous lives. Child marriage has deep-seated consequences not only for the girl herself but for her children and her nation as a whole. For too long, it has been said that child marriage is a tradition that cannot change, but we are seeing change happening every day in Turkey, Europe and beyond. The impossible is possible.”

“Everyone around the world can create a massive social impact”

The founder of Tinogona Foundation, Dr. Tererai Trent who was named “all-time favorite guest” by Oprah Winfrey, addressed the audience as follows: “Challenging the impossible starts with a beautiful dream that creates positive social change for the greater good. My personal journey and the establishment of Tinogona Foundation actually represents a struggle to access education. By ensuring access to equal and quality education for all children in Zimbabwe, our foundation transforms rural communities and shows them the importance of educating girls.”

Dr. Trent stated that her story represents the plight of many women and girls, and added: “At its core, this is a story of hope; it keeps a dream alive and helps break barriers for girls and women in my community. Everybody should see the power of sharing and giving back. In Zimbabwe, we name this power “Ubuntu” - the essence of our humanity.”

Dr. Trent underlined that a tremendous impact can be created by supporting women and girls around the world, and completed her speech as follows: “Women leadership should be supported. This way, women leaders will realize their potential and make a difference in their world.”

HRH Princess Mabel van Oranje of the Netherlands

Princess Mabel van Oranje (the Netherlands) is the initiator and chair of ‘Girls Not Brides: The Global Partnership to End Child Marriage’, co-founder and the executive chair of the European Council on Foreign Relations, and a member of the Global Board of the Open Society Foundations. She is also a board member of Crisis Action, an advisory board member of Global Witness, and an advisory council member of The Elders. Previously, she worked on the issues of peace, democracy and human rights in different global civil society foundations such as the European Action Council for Peace in the Balkans, Open Society Foundation and War Child. Mabel continues to lead the work on ending child marriages as the chair of “Girls Not Brides” Platform.

Dr. Tererai Trent

Dr. Tererai Trent is a senior consultant with more than 18 years of international experience in professional Program & Policy Evaluation. Through Tinogona Foundation that she founded, she works to bring about equality of opportunity in education in Zimbabwe. With a firm belief that education is the main pathway out of poverty, Trent, a former child bride herself, shares her life story with audiences around the world from Zimbabwe to the US. She juggled  three  jobs  as she attended classes to  earn  her bachelor’s, master’s, and doctorate and  raised  five  all at the same time. With her ‘never give up’ attitude while growing up in poverty and her desire to help others, Tererai’s life story is a source of inspiration for all.