Sabancı Foundation Reaches 100 Changemakers

- Chairman of Sabancı Foundation Board of Trustees Sabancı Güler Sabancı said: “Our Changemakers represent the bright face of Turkey. They are the evidence that good things happen in Turkey. We need to disseminate such examples and work harder toward that end”

Sabancı Foundation’s "Turkey’s Changemakers" program aims to promote stories and work of those who contribute to social development in order to encourage them and inspire the society. The Program, which has completed its 4^th year, shared extraordinary stories of 100 Changemakers with viewers on Internet and social media on a weekly basis.

The fourth season finale of “Turkey’s Changemakers” was broadcast live in “5N 1K” upon moderation of Cüneyt Özdemir. In the program that hosted Chairman of Sabancı Foundation Board of Trustees, Ms. Güler Sabancı, 21 “Changemakers” from the fourth season shared their experience and initiatives that contribute to social development.

 “We may work together to generate solutions to social problems”

Asserting that they feel pleased to share the extraordinary stories of 100 Changemakers thus far, Güler Sabancı said, “I get filled with hope for my land, for the world, and for mankind. It is important to have a strong feeling in your heart and act upon it without waiting for others or the state to assume the role. We knew and felt that the presence of such heroes in Turkey. It was essential to make them visible, known to all, and inject hope in people. We have successfully completed four years in Changemakers”. 

“Our Changemakers are people who create change. In fact the Program itself has made a change”, said Sabancı, adding: “Our Program inspired people and gave visibility to those who brought about change in society. Furthermore, it gave an opportunity to those who wished to provide support, and increased their number. That is how social change and development occur. One person or one organization may trigger social change but it all starts with an idea to begin with. We can generate solutions for social problems mobilizing our common wisdom.”

“Our Changemakers represent the bright face of Turkey. They are the evidence that good things happen in Turkey. We need to disseminate such examples and work harder toward that end. Societies across the world struggle with various social and economic problems.There are many problems to address such as in education, access to basic services such as healthcare, equality for women and people with disabilities in social life, and global warming to name a few. In fighting against these problems, both individual efforts and the NGO’s where individuals join forces play a significant role. We can generate solutions for social problems by mobilizing our common wisdom”, said Sabancı.

“Changemakers” videos reach more than 2,5 million viewers

Sabancı Foundation launched “Turkey’s Changemakers” in 2009. Between 2009-2013, for a period of four seasons, more than 1100 applications have been evaluated. 100 Changemakers selected by the Advisory Committee had their stories to be filmed and broadcast. Throughout four seasons, approximately 750 people were interviewed and a distance of 87.000 km was covered for the entire footage.  The Program reached more than 2,5 million viewers in Turkey and abroad via Internet and social media.

The fourth season featured innovative stories of changemakers, including One Rubber One Pencil; Women Association of Mus that aims to create awareness regarding child marriages; Tülin Akın that brings together farmers and consumers on the virtual setting; Ömer Faruk Arınç who creates a play environment for children in Iğdır with his Playhouse project; Rasim Uyan who works to recycle the wastes in his hair salon in Kocaeli; and Women Branch of Vakıflı Village Cooperative established to generate income for the women in Vakıflı.

Statistical Data

•  More than 1.100candidates filed an application.

•  There were applications from 69 provinces.

•  A totalof 100 Changemakers from 31 provinces were selected.

•  The highest number of projects came for the theme of Civic Participation and Education.

•  Approximately 45.000 people follow the Program on social media (Facebook-Twitter-YouTube).

•  The videos have been viewed more than 2,5 million times.

•  Around 250.000 people visited the program web sites.

Contribution of the Program to the Changemakers:

· 77%: Gained people’s trust in their work after Changemakers.

. 55%: Got in touch with other Changemakers for collaboration.

· 50%: Were sought by public, private or civil society organizations for partnerships.

· 47%: Saw an increase in volunteers, members and/or donations.

· 38%: Disseminated their work.

· 20%: Had a positive impact on decision-makers in their respective field of operation.

For more information:

www.Sabancıvakfi.org

www.farkyaratanlar.org

www.facebook.com/FarkYaratanlar

www.twitter.com/Farkyaratanlar

www.youtube.com/user/turkeychangemakers