YouthSAK

YouthSAK is established by a group of young people on 13.05.2017 in Sakarya, Turkey firstly as a student club at Sakarya University. Its first aim was to introduce non-formal education to university students who are currently enrolled in formal education but who have not been introduced to improving their social skills and competences through non-formal learning. Its main focus lies on the enhancement of non-formal learning, youth empowerment, and intercultural dialogue. Our volunteer team of YouthSAK is full of innovative spirit that deeply desires to encourage young people to study, work, or volunteer abroad. We truly believe that these can significantly help to the personal development of each young adult and international experience required this way is the right tool to deal with xenophobia and prejudices – still presented in our society. The organization’s mission is to raise awareness amongst young people about available educational, working, and volunteering opportunities abroad specifically to empower them to apply for different educational programs, training courses, conferences, and internships which our local youth is not very aware of and there are many intelligent young people with social, educational, economical and/or geographical disadvantages. We will constantly emphasize what benefits and opportunities such as Erasmus+ program can bring to the recent graduates and how they can improve their entrepreneurship or employability skills. As a sending and intermediary institution we enable young people to use all these opportunities, we provide them with appropriate mentoring and training and then stay close and help them during their stay abroad. In the local field, we organize various seminars, educational training, youth exchanges, and workshops related to our mission. In the frame of the Erasmus+ program, we promote active citizenship of the European Union and strengthen European unification. We focus also on social inclusion and intercultural dialogue. Specifically, we encourage people with fewer opportunities - people facing economical, geographical obstacles, or people with problematic family backgrounds, suffering from violence, alcohol, and drug consumption - to access Erasmus + projects. We enable them access to these opportunities and motivate them to work on themselves.