Biriz Dayanışma Derneği (Biriz Solidarity Association)

ABOUT US Biriz Solidarity Association is a civil society organisation based in Türkiye, working to create equal opportunities for women, children and young people. Founded after the February 2023 earthquakes by seven women who came together to support affected communities, Biriz has evolved from an emergency solidarity initiative into an organisation developing longer-term programmes in education, employment, mentoring, community resilience and empowerment. What We Do: Our work is structured around six main areas: * Social support and solidarity * Mentoring and career development * Education and youth programmes * Women’s empowerment and employment * Community resilience * Art, culture and psychosocial wellbeing We design and implement programmes based on identified needs, with a focus on creating sustainable opportunities rather than short-term support. Our activities have included youth education programmes, structured mentoring and career development initiatives, English speaking practice, women’s skills development and employment programmes, creative workshops, psychosocial activities, educational support and community infrastructure projects. Our Experience: Since its establishment, Biriz has developed and implemented initiatives ranging from one-to-one mentoring programmes to education and community projects reaching hundreds and, in some cases, thousands of people. Our experience includes: * Education and youth programmes * Mentoring and career development programmes for university students * Language practice and international volunteer engagement * Skills development, certification and employment initiatives for women * Arts and creative learning activities for children, young people and women * Psychosocial wellbeing activities * Educational support for children and young people * Community resilience and infrastructure initiatives in earthquake-affected areas Our work is particularly strong in Hatay and other earthquake-affected communities, where we have developed long-term relationships with local stakeholders and communities. Our Partnerships: Collaboration is an important part of the way Biriz works. We have brought together different stakeholders to develop and implement our programmes, including: * Universities and schools * Public institutions and local authorities * Civil society organisations * Companies and professional networks * Educators, mentors and volunteers * Artists and cultural organisations Our collaborations have included Hatay Mustafa Kemal University, the Hatay Provincial Directorate of National Education, local public authorities, educational institutions and a range of civil society and private-sector partners. This network allows us to combine local knowledge and access with expertise from different sectors and to build programmes around the actual needs of the communities we work with. What We Can Bring to European Projects: Biriz is interested in developing European and international partnerships in the fields of youth, education, inclusion, participation, employability, mentoring, gender equality, resilience, arts and community development. As a project partner, we can contribute to: * Reaching and engaging young people and communities with fewer opportunities * Participant recruitment and local outreach * Programme and learning experience design * Mentoring and career development activities * Training and facilitation * Non-formal and experiential learning activities * Women’s empowerment and employability programmes * Arts-based and creative activities * Local implementation and coordination * Stakeholder engagement * Volunteer and professional network mobilisation * Cooperation with universities, schools and public institutions * Dissemination and local community engagement Our experience has taught us the importance of connecting programme design with what is actually needed and possible on the ground. We aim to bring this perspective to international partnerships as well. Our Approach: We believe that young people and women should not simply be beneficiaries of projects. They should have opportunities to participate, learn, develop their skills, build networks and take an active role in shaping their own futures. We are interested in long-term partnerships with organisations that share this approach and in developing projects where our local experience, networks and implementation capacity can make a meaningful contribution.