About the Festival
Our voices is one of our most basic instruments to show that our differences are richness and that differences can live together. The Civil Voices Festival is a multi-voice choir where civil society organizations from different fields of work can share their experiences, knowledge, works and dreams in their fields.
Organized by STGM, the Civil Voices Festival is one of the first events that brings together Turkey’s civil society actors and provides a space for them to talk and discuss what can be done for a better world.
At the Civil Voices Festival, civil society organizations working in different cities of Turkey and in different thematic areas will have the opportunity to present their work through stands. In addition, civil society organizations will come together at various workshops, panels, forums and discussion events and have the opportunity to get to know each other, talk about cooperation opportunities and hold discussions about the fields.
The Civil Voices Festival was first held in 2009. The two-day festival held in Küçükçiftlik Park, Istanbul, brought together nearly a hundred organizations working for the rights of children, the disabled, youth, refugees, women and the environment. In July 2011, after a two-year hiatus, a meeting was held with civil society organizations in Ankara, this time with the theme "There would be no civil constitution without us" on the agenda of the constitutional amendment. The festival, which brought together more than a hundred civil society organizations from different regions of Turkey raised demands for an egalitarian, libertarian, pluralistic and ecological constitution and called on lawmakers.
The third festival, held in May 2014, was held under the clouds created by the Soma disaster. The meeting, organized as a forum to talk about the limits of our freedom, discussed the limits of freedom on the basis of the "right to life".
The last meeting of Civil Voices, which was supposed to be continuous from the first day, but which we held irregularly for various reasons, took place in 2019. At the festival in Istanbul, representatives of civil society organizations from all over Turkey discussed the changes that civil society has brought about from the past to the present.
Today, in 2022, we look forward to coming together again with all the voices and colors of civil society after a long, mandatory 3-year break...
About STGM
The Association of Civil Society Development Center (STGM) was founded in 2004 by a group of opinion leaders and activists who believe in the importance of civil society for the development of participatory democracy in our country.
The Association of Civil Society Development Center, which aims to create a "strong and democratic civil society," uses its nearly twenty years of experience to support the capacity building of civil society organizations so that they can take a more active role in participatory democracy.
STGM, which supports civil society organizations operating in different rights areas from environmental rights to LGBTI+ rights, from disabled rights to women's rights, from children's rights to elderly rights, from urban rights to youth rights, works on various topics with the aim of increasing the dialogue between civil society organizations improving public-civil society cooperation, supporting the lobbying and campaign activities of civil society organizations and improving the institutional, financial and administrative capacity of organizations.
STGM, with its long experience, implements various programs to improve the capacity and visibility of organizations, and carries out three programs supported by the European Union as of 2022.
To get detailed information about the works of STGM, visit stgm.org.tr/en/about-stgm
Sıkça Sorulan Sorular
The Civil Voices Festival will be held in Ankara between September 30 and October 1, 2022. It will be attended by civil society organizations and activists working in many different areas of rights, from environmental rights to disability rights, from children's rights to the right to the city, from youth rights to animal rights.
Our goal is to bring together civil society actors from Turkey and around the world at the Civil Voices Festival, more specifically more than 100 civil society organizations working in various fields.We are preparing a very extensive program for the two-day festival. Our guests will include representatives of civil society organizations and activists from abroad, experts, academics, representatives of donor organizations and local governments.
At the festival we will meet with our guests in seminars and panel discussions, and in the experience-sharing workshops, where civil society organizations will share their own work, the difficulties they face in the field, and their methods to overcome these difficulties. Participating organizations will also have the opportunity to introduce themselves through stand activities or poster presentations.As soon as the program is finalized, we will inform you here about the details of the two days program.
In order to participate in the festival, you must first fill out the application form by 18:00 on Tuesday, August 31, 2022.After evaluation, organizations will be notified by email on Monday, September 19, 2022.
You can take part in the Civil Voices Festival, which we organize with the aim of making the voices of civil society organizations from all over Turkey heard and contributing to their visibility, with all your non-commercial work (stand, workshop, exhibition, event, etc.) that you want to share with us.
The accommodation and transportation costs of CSO representatives attending the festival from outside Ankara will be covered by STGM.
While a minimum mileage limit is determined for the transportation of CSO representatives to Ankara by plane, the transportation of CSO representatives participating from cities below a certain km will be provided by bus/train travel for CSO representatives participating from cities below a certain km. Again, the transfer from the accommodation area to the festival site for the representatives of the civil society organizations will be provided by STGM.
CSO representatives participating in the festival will be accommodated in double rooms. However, representatives who wish to be accommodated alone will have to pay for the room difference themselves.
Accommodation and transportation costs for accompanying persons of people with disabilities participating in the Festival as representatives of civil society organizations, as well as for the relatives of participating caregivers (children, elderly, disabled, etc.) will be covered by STGM.
The festival site is accessible to disabled participants and guests, and all activities taking place during the two days will be organized in accordance with the needs of hearing and vision impaired participants.
No, of course not!
The festival, where we raise our voices together for a better world and remember that we are together, is open to everyone. You can attend any event for free.
You can follow all updates about the festival on the festival website at www.sivilsesler.org/en or on the STGM website www.stgm.org.tr/en
Do not forget to follow us on our social media channels as well!
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You can contact us at sivilsesler@stgm.org.tr if you have questions about the festival.
