Sabanci Foundation hosted “We Can End Child Marriage Together: Sharing Lessons From Other Countries” workshop, organized by Girls Not Brides to push “Child Brides” on the agenda.

The 3-day workshop kicked off at Sabanci Center, Istanbul on February 11, with the participation of the Chairman of Sabanci Foundation Board of Trustees, Ms. Guler Sabanci; Girls Not Brides Global Coordinator, Ms. Lakshmi Sundaram; and the Program Coordinator of Pakistani NGO Blue Veins, Mr. Qamar Naseem.

During the kick-off, the Chairman of Sabanci Foundation Board of Trustees, Ms. Guler Sabanci emphasized Sabanci Foundation’s longstanding efforts to promote the rights of women and girls: “We take our efforts to the global scale by hosting this workshop, which aims to attract attention across the globe and encourage participants to join forces against Child Brides.”

Lakshmi Sundaram emphasized that child marriage is a complex problem, which can only be addressed with collective action, and added: “Home to some exciting and innovative efforts to end child marriage, Turkey has the potential to be a major influence in bringing this practice to an end. With a key role in shaping new development goals for the global community, Turkey could ensure that these goals include child marriage as an indicator of the welfare of adolescent girls”.

Mr. Qamar Naseem, Program Coordinator at the non-governmental organization Blue Veins remarked: “Turkey is close to the heart of the people of Pakistan: our people know about Turkey and are inspired by it. If Turkey takes a lead in addressing child marriage and shows that the practice can and should end, the effects will be felt not only by girls in Turkey but millions of girls beyond its borders.”

About the Workshop

52 civil society actors from across Africa, South Asia, Europe and America, who are members of “Girls Not Brides: Global Partnership to End Child Marriage”, attended the “We Can End Child Marriage Together: Sharing Lessons From Other Countries” workshop.

Supported by Sabanci Foundation, the workshop aimed to enable Girls Not Brides members to cooperate and contribute to the development of social policies and programs at the global scale. During the three-day workshop, participants had the opportunity to share their experiences in addressing child marriage and discuss potential solutions to this complex problem.