Young Environmental Leadership Program in Turkey 2011

YADA Foundation and Life Plus Youth Program:
YADA Foundation aims to produce knowledge and information on each aspect of life and to transmit them into practical and feasible implementation projects serving for the common good. The basic mission of the foundation can be defined as bridging the gap between the academic world and the daily life, i.e. between “theory” and “everyday life.” Apart from its scientific character, the foundation is an implementation center which is designed to produce feasible and sustainable policies/projects.
YADA designs and conducts research, implementation and monitoring-evaluation projects on diverse fields of activity including civil society, environment, youth, development and agriculture, corporate social responsibility, etc. One of the leading examples of YADA's projects is Life Plus Youth Program. The Program has been conducted by YADA in a partnership with United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) and Coca-Cola Life Plus Foundation, aims to contribute to the development of youth projects designed for providing solutions to environmental problems. So far, a total of 52 projects have been supported in different provinces of Turkey within the scope of the program. The main role of YADA in the Life Plus Program is to manage the grant, coordinate the Program, to monitor the project processes via conducting participatory monitoring and evaluation (PME) and to contribute to the strategic planning of the program.
Currently, YADA wants to extend the scope of Life Plus Youth Program with an international action which will bring distant youth working on environmental issues in different parts of the world together to exchange knowledge and experiences. The action aims at sharing the know-how of successful Life Plus Youth Program with representatives of NGOs from different countries which are implementing environmental projects an working with youth, to support and improve their efforts in solving local environmental problems.
Project Name: Young Environmental Leadership Program in Turkey 2011
The “Young Environmental Leadership Program in Turkey” encounter is a unique experience, designed to instruct and enrich promising young professional who are involve in environmental issues in a hands-on, experiential atmosphere that will enrich their skills and improve their voice and mobilization in the global environmental arena.
The program provides advanced training in organizational development, project management and environmental topics in a stimulating international atmosphere. The training and networking sections consists of three days of theoretical training focused on organization and project management, and one day of practical exposure at a Youth lead project site.
Objectives of Action:
Overall:
• Creating a network of youth NGOs working on environmental matters at the local level and promoting the development of local projects designed and implemented by youth.
• To provide a setting for young professionals that promotes ecological knowledge, innovation, improved skills, adaptability and creativity, so that young people can be active participants in the creation of solutions of the Global environmental challenges the world is currently facing.
Specific:
• Increasing dialogue and communication with NGOs on environmental issues and to increase communication between 4th partners country NGO and EU NGOs on collaboration.
• Increasing local capacities of youth environmental NGOs following the experience YADA had in Turkey with Life Plus project (through networking and capacity-building activities).
Topics include: Project cycle management, environmental problem analysis, fundraising, public participation in environmental decision making, NGOs and civil society, stakeholder engagement. Participants develop products tailored to their own needs, such as project proposals, funding strategies, press releases and community action plans.
Participants have the opportunity to further their learning in environmental related topics such as: preserving protected areas, national parks and reserves; water resource management; sustainable agriculture and eco-tourism; and energy efficiency. The actual focus itself depends on the attendees; these workshops will be giving by the participant for to the participants.
Relevance of Action: Young professionals in the civil society sector usually graduate with a specialization that give little exposure to managerial concepts and even rarer with nonprofit managerial concept and skills and usually this develop via a trial and error format on the job. After some time a need for sharpening skills and strengthening values with theoretical reinforcement arises.
Geographical Location: Istanbul, Turkey
Duration : 5 Months (July 2011-December 2011)
Target Population: 4 NGOs and 20 young people from partnering countries working on environmental and socioeconomic development issues.