Access to Education: The Impact of Civil Society Organizations

“We held the conference titled "Access to Education: The Impact of Civil Society Organizations".

As part of our 45th anniversary celebrations, Koruncuk Foundation held a conference titled “Access to Education: The Impact of Civil Society Organizations” on Tuesday, November 12th, hosted by Kadir Has University and sponsored by Allianz Turkey.

The opening speech of the conference was given by the Rector of Kadir Has University, Prof. Dr. Sondan Durukanoğlu Feyiz. In his speech at the conference, Allianz Turkey CEO Tolga Gürkan stated, “At Allianz Turkey, we believe that ensuring girls' access to education will not only contribute to their individual development but also ensure a brighter future for their families, their communities, and consequently, our country. In line with our sustainable value creation model, we have been working closely with the Koruncuk Foundation since 2016 to ensure that girls at risk of lacking access to education can take their place in society as confident individuals. We conduct numerous joint projects under our social responsibility program, Allianz Motto Movement, which contributes to children's healthy growth through movement and sports. Together with our colleagues and agents, we provide both corporate volunteering and corporate donation support. With our 'A Girl for the Future' social responsibility program, which we launched together last year, we aim to be lifelong supporters of Koruncuk children. In addition to being foster parents to 25 girls affected by the February 6th earthquakes, we are also constructing a new dormitory building and providing Koruncuk children with university scholarships, development, and employment opportunities. I believe we will continue to do much more together with the Koruncuk Foundation.” He expressed his thoughts with these sentences.

Following the opening speeches, Prof. Dr. Acar Baltaş delivered an insightful address on the changes that have taken place in the world over the years and the need to be aware of what we have. He touched upon the role of civil society in social struggles and the importance of being hopeful, highlighting the significant work that the Koruncuk Foundation does in keeping hope alive.

In her speech, Attorney Dr. Figen Samuray, Chair of the Board of Trustees and Executive Board of the Koruncuk Foundation, said, “For us, as the Koruncuk Foundation, it is very important to move forward into the next 45 years with our supporters and volunteers. We wanted to organize such a conference in our 45th year. Our children come from very different families and attend very different schools. In this process, we have seen how important access to education is, and we wanted to address this as a topic. At this point, we saw that civil society has a very important role to play. Education needs to be accessible, regular, and sustainable. This is not an individual problem for us, but a societal problem. The problem we will discuss is everyone's problem. Many NGOs need to come together around this problem and take a more effective stance.”.

Hande Diker, citing data from the "Education Opportunities Survey" conducted by GFK Research Company, highlighted that financial difficulties pose a significant obstacle to accessing education.

“In a panel titled "Barriers to Access to Education," representatives from various civil society organizations came together to discuss problems related to access to education within the context of their respective institutions and areas of work. Kayıhan Nedim Kesbiç from the Education Reform Initiative spoke about the percentage and reasons for children excluded from education, as well as the limitations on access to education, based on data from the 2024 Education Monitoring Report. Gökçen Karaman from the Village Schools Change Network (KODA) highlighted the difficulties they face in obtaining clear and consistent data on village schools as an association focused on village schools. She emphasized that rural-specific problems such as transportation-based education or combined classes lead to different problems in accessing education, and that as a result, the average success rate of children attending schools in cities is twice that of those in villages. Finally, Attorney Mehmet Ali Gümüş from the Here We Are Hatay Association discussed the difficulties faced by children affected by the earthquake in accessing education, the negative impact of urban conditions on children's education, and the work their association has undertaken.

In the second session of the conference, the 40+5 years of the Koruncuk Foundation and the transformation it has undergone were presented by our Vice Chairperson of the Board, Attorney Seda Akço.

“"The Impact of Civil Society Organizations on Access to Education"” In the panel titled [Panel Name], Dr. Serpil Tunçer from Darüşşafaka Society, Lawyer Dr. Figen Samuray from Koruncuk Foundation, Süleyman Cihangiroğlu from Nesin Foundation, Prof. Dr. Mehmet Şükrü Tekbaş from Turkish Education Foundation, and Mehmet Ali Neyzi from TEVİTÖL discussed the challenges and solutions to access to education through their respective organizations.

The conference concluded by highlighting the important roles that civil society organizations should play in ensuring that education is accessible, regular, and sustainable.