CIVIL SOCIETY VOLUNTEERING

The Bülbülzade Association, supported by the Turkish National Agency, carried out the Erasmus+ KA151 Youth Mobility project, “Civil Society Volunteering as a Pathway to Active Citizenship.” (Civil Society Volunteering as a Pathway to Active Citizenship) project, an international youth program was held in Ankara Kızılcahamam between August 13–17, 2025.

The program, which was attended by approximately 50 young people from North Macedonia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Germany, Serbia, and Turkey, aimed to help young people gain an awareness of active citizenship through civil society volunteering and contribute to policy-making processes in this area. Additionally, the inclusion of Syrian youth residing in Turkey under temporary protection status enriched the event in terms of social inclusivity and cross-cultural interaction.

Throughout the mobility, a comprehensive content was presented that focused on both increasing the knowledge and awareness levels of young people and producing concrete outputs. As a result of the station model studies conducted under the title “Youth Policy Proposal for Civil Societies from a Youth Perspective,” one of the main topics of the program, a guiding proposal document was prepared for policymakers with the active participation of young people.

The program, hosted by the Bülbülzade Association, was supported by the Alaxca Association and Köprü Association from North Macedonia, IFS EMMAUS from Bosnia and Herzegovina, the Hatidža Women's Association from Serbia, and the US Akademiker Platform Association from Germany.

During the program, Mehmet Ali Eminoğlu's presentation titled “Active Citizenship Models for Youth as the Key to Social Participation” was closely followed. The subsequent open discussion session addressed young people's experiences of volunteering and mechanisms for participation in civil society. Eighty young people from the Anatolian Student Union (AÖB) also participated in this session. Thus, the program created a space for interaction in the field of youth not only among young people from the participating countries but also at the local level.

The session titled “Volunteering Stories and Sharing Best Practices,” moderated by Mesut Aydağ, served as a powerful source of inspiration among the participants. Throughout the event, the knowledge competition, cultural interactions, and evaluation sessions helped build strong bonds among the participants.

At the same time, the outputs and policy recommendations obtained within the scope of the project were shared with the participants at the 19th Anatolia Meetings, which was held with the theme of “Tüten Ocak Aile” (Smoking Stove Family) and attended by approximately 800 people, including many youth NGO representatives. Thus, the dissemination activities of the project were carried out effectively.

The program concluded with the presentation of Youthpass certificates and the presentation of policy recommendations prepared by the young participants.

As Bülbülzade Association, we would like to thank all partner institutions that shared our hosting, members of the Anatolia Student Union who contributed to the program, and the Anatolia Federation for their unwavering support.