Civil Voices Festival

The activities of the SGDD-ASAM Al Farah Children's Choir, which started with the gathering of Syrian, Iraqi, Afghan and Turkish children in SGDD-ASAM centers in 2016, continue to work in SGDD-ASAM centers in many provinces today and open their doors to all asylum seekers and children from the local community between the ages of 10-19. It hurts.

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SGDD-ASAM Al Farah Children's Choir, which provides a special musical experience to its listeners with the works they sing in Turkish and Arabic, continues to work in the cities of Ankara, Gaziantep, Mersin, Adana, Kayseri, Istanbul, Bursa and İzmir.

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Children participating in choir activities with the aim of bringing together children of many nationalities and supporting the harmonious coexistence of children; Happiness, confidence, develops music and emotional skills in teamwork.Children who add many pieces to their repertoire with the trainings given on Saturdays at SGDD-ASAM centers can also play many musical instruments.Children, who have succeeded in being a “collection of individuals who think together” from an early age, express that they are happy in their studies, and that the excitement they experience in music education affects them positively in their daily life and school life.

This session focuses on the place and role of civil society and non-governmental organizations in our society. The questions that will form the framework of the session are as follows;

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• Does civil society have an impact in the recent history of Turkey and the world?
• Especially, but not limited to Turkey, is there a political/institutional infrastructure in which non-governmental organizations can play a role that can meet these expectations in terms of participation in decision-making processes or production of public services?
• Does civil society have a mass role that could be the source of criticism that it “deepened the fragmentation of social opposition”? Or how much of an impact has it had?
• Even before the security policies that emerged after September 11, is it possible for civil society to overcome the weaknesses of participatory democracy?
• If we accept civil society as the "fundamental element of democracy" and the "subject of social change", two fundamental problems arise, such as "representation" and "social legitimacy". These problems are often tried to be overcome through pluralism. Does seeing social change as a result of the actions of civil society rather than the goal of civil society eliminates the problem of representation that non-governmental organizations often cannot answer?
• In the relevant literature and policy documents, we see that there is a "state-citizen (active citizen)" relationship that is expected in a democratic state of law. However, both our observations/experiences and the literature show us that this “relationship” is quite platonic. Can civil society eradicate the pathologies in this relationship? To what extent/what aspects can/can't it?
• Is it possible to acceptCSOs as a whole as a social movement/opposition?
• Can CSOs be a revolutionary or transformative subject?- We see that some non-governmental organizations define their ground of existence and legitimacy only through their contributions and improvements (children working on the street, women, LGTBI+ individuals, wetlands, lost ancestral seeds, improving the changing climate, and thousands more). On the other hand, there are much higher expectations from non-governmental organizations such as democracy, participation, change and transformation. Is the gap between these two approaches as big as we thought?
• Similarly, what unites the organizations of civil society that have come together for leisure activities, socialization, hobby, sports and art groups, and organizations that demand “political participation”?

In the session to be held at the Civil Voices Festival, information will be given about the contents of the EU Civil Society Guidelines and how these guides can be used by the EU, governments and non-governmental organizations.

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The first version of the EU Civil Society Guidelines (2014-2020) was developed in 2013 through a consultation process involving key stakeholders in the region. The updated EU Civil Society Guidelines (2021-2027) are a key document for the EU's support for civil society in the Western Balkans and Turkey.

Civil Think team "Since we want change, we must be stronger!" He will tell the stories of those who find the power to change and share the change in the workshop he will conduct at the Civil Voices Festival organized with the motto of Civil Voices. The workshop will be hosted by three inspiring community-based work owners who built their own #worlds with the support of Civil Think.

In the workshop, how non-governmental organizations can benefit from TechSoup and what they can do to strengthen their digital capacities will be discussed. Good examples from the field and sharing of experiences will also be conveyed at the meeting.

Senex Monitoring, which started in January 2021 and aims to monitor and report violence, neglect, violation and discrimination against the elderly, is a media monitoring study covering the analysis of news in the national media. With the workshop to be organized, it is aimed to raise awareness and disseminate the findings of the study by drawing attention to violence, neglect, violation and discrimination against the elderly in the contents in the media.

In this workshop, CŞMD has been carrying on since 2017 with the focus of safe relations and dating violence. Within the scope of the Youth Programme, he will share with the participants the group discussion and information transfer on the concepts of safe relationships, dating violence, cycle of violence and approval for young people and experts working with young people.

In this workshop, information will be given about the ESC Erasmus Plus program, which supports young people between the ages of 18-30 to work voluntarily in different non-governmental organizations in Europe.

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In the workshop, information will be given on the content of the program, application sites and areas, application forms, preparing a CV in Europass format and writing a motivation letter.

Within the scope of the workshop, public toilets, which are one of our living spaces and are also a gender discussion area, will be discussed as a right area.

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Through the workshop, toilets will be handled as a right area discussion and women, LGBTI+s, children, people with disabilities, blacks, people living with certain diseases, etc. will be discussed. A discussion area will be set up on how public toilets for groups can be built as accessible, safe and inclusive.

There are still tens of millions of trees in the Northern Forests called "are there any trees left". While living and wild life coexist in harmony in this rich ecosystem, the Northern Forests Research Association will tell the life advocates of this ecosystem, which is said to be finished, as a story of hope.

The event aims to create an environment for discussion and sharing with adults about the perception of childhood and child participation.

In this workshop to monitor how gender relations are experienced in the public sphere, the participants will record their impressions by walking on the chosen routes. Along the route they walk, they will evaluate the street in terms of being safe and inclusive for individuals of different gender identities, allowing mixed sociability and leisure activities.

In the natural rhythm workshop, which consists entirely of musical instruments (plastic bottles, rice, teaspoons, plates, etc.) made from waste materials, a performance will be performed by keeping the rhythm of a song determined with these instruments.

The documentary City Gardens takes a close look at the communities that set out with the demand for another city in Izmir. City gardens, established with the ideal of a sustainable and fair city, look at the future of İzmir from an alternative perspective.

This documentary was prepared to remind the achievements of student solidarity and activism in Turkey. The solidarity of the students who came together against the increasing pressures on the campuses, the administrations that remain silent against sexual harassment and attacks, the high price hikes in the dormitories and cafeterias, and the prevention of club activities, is in this short film with the expression of the students.

Participants form a circle. After the warm-up movements, the group makes small musical productions with ostinato rhythm repetitions. Getting used to the circle and making sounds, the group then becomes part of a polyphonic musical production with African melodies.

In the board game, which is designed with the aim of teaching children's rights and distinguishing between wants and needs, the participants are told that there is a new planet, they are the chosen passengers and they are given cards with the items they can take with them. Then it is said that during the journey, the space shuttle broke down and they had to reduce the items. It is discussed what the basic needs are to live through this elimination.

This is a workshop where people will learn how to make their own paper circuits, circuit elements and circuit shapes, they will have prepared their own lighted paper circuits at the end of the workshop, people of all ages can participate and people who come to the festival can build their own electronic circuit with 10-minute workshops.

The 'Side by Side in the Same World' game, developed as part of the Side by Side All Over Turkey Project, was developed for young people from different cultures or nationalities to socialize and have fun together, discover intercultural similarities and diversity, and experience feelings of equality and togetherness by getting rid of prejudices about what is different.

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The game, played in two groups, was designed in a format where young individuals learn from each other as a team, gain new knowledge through mutual interaction without competition and progress together.

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The category cards, which are prepared to develop a sense of curiosity about universal values and common heritage with their peers for 1 hour, are enriched with 'Action Cards' that allow young people to act together as a group and have a pleasant time, as well as to learn interesting information in the game.

ENÇOKK's box and mobile game was developed within the scope of the EU-supported "Active Participation of Disabled Children in Decision-Making Process" project for disabled and non-disabled children to learn about their rights through play.

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The game, designed for children aged 11-18, was tried to be as accessible as possible for children with disabilities. With this event, it is aimed to introduce and disseminate the game to human rights activists, NGOs working with/reaching children.

In this panel, the opportunities of non-governmental organizations in today's Turkey to create a change in their own fields or in the whole.

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• This discussion will be conducted around the following questions.
• Today's non-governmental organizations are the product of which heritage? What are the strengths brought by this legacy?
• Is civil society really weak in Turkey?
• How can the spread of digital technologies and the breakthrough of new types of socialization opportunities strengthen traditional organizations?
• Today, it is observed that most of the non-governmental organizations have the problem/agenda of spreading their work to a wide range of generations. Are there opportunities to strengthen this intergenerational work?
• What is the situation in terms of intra-organizational democracies in Turkey? What needs to be done for more participatory organizations?

In the interview to be organized by SGDD-ASAM Migration Academy, it will be discussed how immigrants enrich the culinary culture they carry to their destinations and how they unite societies.

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In the talk, the adaptation process of immigrants to get used to the food culture of the country they come from, the effects of experiences during and after migration on social well-being and mental health will be explained under the title of "GastroEmpathy" by combining the concepts of "Gastronomy" and "Empathy".

A study will be conducted with the aim of encouraging discussion on the Convention on the Rights of the Child (CRC) in the workshop "Children's Rights and Child Participation" to be conducted by the International Children's Center.

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After a short introduction at the event, the participants will be divided into groups. 15-minute group work "Who is a Child? What is Childhood? What is Child Rights and Why Does It Exist? What is the difference between children's rights and human rights?" will be based on questions such as The highlights of the discussion after the group work will be presented on the Child Rights Tree map.

To discuss the role of civil society in the context of the developments regarding the observance of human rights in production processes all over the world, to monitor and evaluate the reflections of the transformation in this field within the country.

According to a Japanese tradition, if a person folds a paper crane, their wish will come true. In Turkish culture, the crane is the symbol of happiness, hope and abundance, and we have many wishes for the bright future of our children. We fold our cranes for our successful but financially underprivileged children who study in public schools.

In the Designing Design workshop, Jesko Fezer wrote, "What would design look like if it had been inspired by an open, procedural, micro-political, interventionist, communicative and participatory approach to dealing with everyday urban life? Would it be doomed to be a mere element in the commodified colonization of social spaces; or would it be a mere element in the commodified colonization of social spaces? And could it be a strategic tool that could make a substantial contribution to the social city with its social character?" The reflections of this discussion will be designed as a children's book by taking inspiration from different children's books.

This workshop focuses on topics such as data security, creating strong passwords, e-mail security and privacy against digital attacks that have been seen frequently in recent times. The event titles are as follows:

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• Protection of personal data
• What is Phishing and how to protect it?
• Creating and managing strong passwords
• Free Software / Open source code
• Secure communication
• Email security
• Browsers, plug-ins and secure file sending
• Search engine security
• Smartphone security
• Apps and permissions

Many individuals who work voluntarily or professionally in the field of civil society experience deficiencies in reading legislation. In this workshop, Toy Youth Association will share its experiences with other NGOs through a small youth assembly and non-formal education methods.

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In the workshop, as the first step of the training, the participants will be divided into two groups and work on the "norm hierarchy". Then, the legislation on children's rights will be read and evaluated. In the third step of the training, two circles, one wide and one narrow, will be established. The narrow circle will take place in the middle and the participants who want to talk will both talk about the problems of young people and work on reading legislation in the narrow circle.

How did intersex rights advocacy, which started as late as the late 2000s in Turkey, overcome the deep intersex invisibility? What have we done so far? What is our target? What have we changed and what will we change? Experience will be transferred through questions.

In this workshop, rights-based journalism and disability news analysis will be done. First, with a short presentation, what is rights-based journalism, the way the news about the disabled are handled in the press, the approach of the press to disadvantaged groups, etc. information will be given on the subject. Afterwards, suggestions for solutions, what non-governmental organizations can do for the development of rights-based journalism in their fields and what they can do to strengthen advocacy will be discussed.

In the panel, Theater Cooperative Board Member Volkan Yosunlu and General Coordinator Fisun Eşki discussed the organization and cooperativeization process of private theaters throughout Turkey; He will talk about the Cooperative Union Initiative, a power union representing 121 private theaters, formed by 7 social cooperatives operating in different regions of Turkey, and the efforts to establish a cooperative union.

In this workshop, where a brief information about the HPV Vaccine will be given, a study will be conducted on why the HPV vaccine should be free.

"The Wall" is a documentary short film about the living conditions of refugees working as seasonal agricultural workers, inspired by a real event.

Adana women are getting stronger with solidarity, they are starting the change from their neighborhoods. In this documentary, women from various neighborhoods of Seyhan describe their changing lives with the education based on gender equality, their adventures in participating in production, education, all areas of life and democratic decision-making mechanisms, and becoming active citizens.

On July 28, 2022, many people and animals were affected by forest fires that broke out in various regions of Turkey. Needs Map has directly supported the efforts in the region from the moment the fires started, in collaboration with members of the Disaster Platform. In addition to volunteering management, needs analysis, and coordination of humanitarian aid materials, Needs Map has informed the public in a timely and transparent manner about current needs. The 'One Support, One Home' project, launched by the Nef Foundation and Needs Map, aims to help those affected by the disaster nationwide to rebuild their living conditions and provide a source of livelihood, with the aim of being a source of hope for those who lost their homes, jobs, schools, and sources of livelihood during the fires. All the work done during and after the disaster, and the process carried out within the scope of the 'One Support, One Home' project, is shown in the film.

This cycling activity, will use a tandem bike, also known as two-person bike to tell the story of the companionship between individuals with disabilities and individuals without disabilities.

The ties that humans form with geography shows their relationships with nature. The geography we live in is actually a map made up of stories. In this workshop titled "informans," which means a performance containing information in which the audience actively participates, the ecological and cultural similarities and differences of the people living in the mountain geography on both sides of Anatolia, and their relationships with nature in this context will be told through songs, dances, narratives, and real human stories.

In the workshop to be conducted by Lavarla, the stages of collective work in a project will be explained by designing the idea of thematic city maps with the participants.

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A brief overview of the collaborations and processes for Lavarla's Compass map will be given. Afterwards, teams of 3 people will be asked to draw up a thematic route with a maximum of 10 stops from a city they know.

In this workshop, fun characters will be created with latex gloves.

In this workshop, a board game will be played, which aims to raise awareness of discrimination, to create a pluralistic discussion environment, and to introduce activists who are also involved in rights-based civil movements, focusing on bringing creative action proposals to rights violations.