The launch event of Young Women Building Their Future Project, supported by the Sabancı Foundation and implemented by the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) and the Sabancı Foundation in collaboration with the Ministry of Family and Social Services and the Ministry of Labour and Social Security, was held in Istanbul on February 23, 2022. The event welcomed over 170 representatives from NGOs, public institutions, universities, and the media.
The event featured keynote speeches from Derya Yanık, Minister of Family and Social Services; Nurcan Önder, Director General of Labour at the Ministry of Labour and Social Security; Louisa Vinton, UNDP Türkiye Resident Representative; and Nevgül Bilsel Safkan, General Manager of the Sabancı Foundation. During the event, the roadmap of the project was shared.
This initiative aims to empower young NEET women socially and economically, targeting two specific groups: “invisible” and “reachable” NEET women. “Invisible” NEET women are those who are not actively seeking jobs and have discontinued their education for various reasons. “Reachable” NEET women are those who are actively searching for jobs and want to pursue education and employment opportunities.
The project will be implemented in 11 pilot provinces: Adana, Ankara, Bursa, Erzurum, Diyarbakır, Istanbul, İzmir, Konya, Mardin, Trabzon, and Van. Initially, baseline assessments and needs analyses will be conducted in Adana, Diyarbakır, and İzmir, followed by training programs to define the action plan. Based on these analyses, capacity-building initiatives, awareness programs, vocational training sessions, consultancy, and mentorship programs will be designed and implemented to support the empowerment of NEET women and improve their skills and employability.
Additionally, the project will establish a digital portal featuring: An “Opportunities Map” to help NEET women access education, internship, and employment opportunities, Mentorship programs and online training modules. The portal, which is set to launch in May, will serve as a bridge between the private sector, civil society, and public institutions, ensuring access to opportunities for NEET women. Furthermore, an accompanying grant program will be introduced to support non-governmental organizations (NGOs) working in this field across 11 provinces, enabling the development of supportive initiatives.