Co-financed by the German Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ) and the European Union through its Civil Protection and Humanitarian Aid Operations (ECHO)the Community Centresand Local Initiatives Project organised its 5th Coordination Meeting in Gaziantep and Kilis on June 27-28.
GIZ partners, International Blue Crescent Relief and Development Foundation (IBC), The Association for Solidarity with Asylum Seekers and Migrants (SGDD-ASAM), Kızıltepe Leader Women Association (KLWA), YUVA Association, Syrian Social Gathering (SSG), Support to Life Association, Human Resource Development Foundation (IKGV), Refugees and Asylum Seekers Assistance and Solidarity Association (RASAS), Adana Seyhan Municipality, and Mediterranean Association of Solidarity and Assistance for Refugees and Asylum Seekers (Akdeniz Mül-Der) attended the meeting.
On its first day in Gaziantep, the Coordination Meeting has started with “Developments and Protection in Community Centres” session. following opening speeches by GIZ and IBC representatives, participants exchanged ideas after the presentations on capacity building trainings, common quality criteria and the improvement of protection activities topics. On this very first day, the participants were also provided with a platform to share their experiences on the achievements, lessons learned and common challenges.
“Social Integration Day”
The 2nd day of the meeting was defined as the “Social Integration Day” where partners had a visit to the IBC Community Centre in Kilis and observed on the field a wide range of activities and practices on hairdressing, computer sciences, language, libraries, painting and craft workshops. Accompanied by IBC representatives, the visit witnessed cheerful moments when visitors tried local dishes made by Syrian beneficiaries and enjoyed a small concert.
An event to remember
Pleased by getting together with the beneficiaries and having the opportunity to exchange ideas with partners and to observe activities on the field, the visitors expressed their appreciation about the organisation. After this fruitful day, he visitors tested their handcraft skills in the mosaic workshop and stated that this was an event to remember.
The project “CLIP - Improving Social Services for Refugees and Host Communities in Turkey by Supporting Community Centres and Local Initiatives” is co-financed by the German Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ) and the European Union through its Civil Protection and Humanitarian Aid Operations (ECHO) and implemented by Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ). In the scope of the project, GIZ cooperates with community centres that provide needs-based social services to refugees and host communities. Through Local Initiative Fund in Turkey (LIFT), the project also supports non-governmental local organisations that offer specific assistance and protection services to vulnerable persons.
5th CLIP Coordination Meeting Report