Sowing Season, Meeting Season October 6, 2021
Sowing Season, Meeting Season October 6, 2021
Due to the pandemic conditions, the Sowing Season, in which a limited number of participants were able to meet face to face, was held on October 6, 2021 this year. The event was also broadcasted live on the Sabancı Foundation’s YouTube channel and Instagram account. At the event, where the 15th anniversary of the Grant Programs was also highlighted, inspiring stories of eight projects supported between 2020-2021 within the scope of Sabancı Foundation Grant Programs were shared.
The Sowing Season event, moderated by Şirin Payzın, started with the opening speech of Sabancı Foundation Chair of the Board of Trustees Güler Sabancı. By sharing the happiness of seeing valuable projects which contribute to the society with self-sacrifice in the 15th year of the program, Güler Sabancı said, “We have seen the civil society organizations to which we have given grants as our companions. In addition to grant support, we tried to be with them in many areas from providing expert support to communication and visibility activities so that they can strengthen their capacities in the areas they need. We learned from their work and became stronger with their stories. With the inspiration we get from them, we will enthusiastically continue to support civil society organizations that set out to create new stories.”
Then, civil society organizations that received grant support from the Sabancı Foundation in 2020-2021 shared unique journeys of the projects they carried out. Project representatives of Afyonkarahisar Business Women's Association, Six Dots Foundation for the Blind, Bodrum Women's Solidarity Association, Eskişehir Development Foundation, Esenyalı Women's Solidarity Association, Colorful Hopes Association, Innovative Initiative Association, Association of Supporting Women and Culture in Yüksekova talked about what needs they are working to meet, the results they are able to achieve despite difficult conditions, the experiences of both themselves and the people who benefited from the project, and their plans for the future.
You can watch the Sowing Season event on the Sabancı Foundation YouTube channel.
Click here to access the digital version of 'Sowing Season Grant Program Stories' book, which includes the stories of projects supported within the scope of the Grant Programs.
One day before the event, an 'Experience Sharing Meeting' was held on October 5, where the project representatives of the institutions shared their experiences in the process and their plans for the future. In this way, an environment was created for possible cooperation opportunities among civil society organizations carrying out similar activities in different provinces of Turkey.
One day after the event, on October 7, online thematic workshops were held on the following topics:
- Designing Accessible Events – Accessible Everything
- Gender-Based Discrimination – The Purple Certificate Program Team / Sabancı University Gender and Women's Studies Center of Excellence (SU Gender)
- Sabancı Foundation Grant Programs in its 15th Anniversary – Sabancı Foundation
Indispensable accessibility measures for both face-to-face and digital events such as seminars, workshops, conferences were discussed. Simple and critical suggestions were presented for institutions.
The basic concepts of gender and gender-based discrimination were mentioned and examples from business and daily life were given.
Sabancı Foundation shared its experiences gained through Grant Programs during 15 years of support for civil society organizations working in the field of supporting women, youth and people with disabilities. Information was shared on topics such as application criteria, acceptance processes of projects and support mechanisms provided.