Acting on the belief that cooperatives can eliminate social and economic injustice through principles of social cohesion, equal voice, equal vote, democratic governance, open communications, transparency, equality and justice, the ILO Office for Turkey supports cooperatives in Turkey right from inception including by staffing such as coordinators, interpreters, field workers; providing technical equipment; delivering training on knowledge and capacity building for cooperatives’ partners; consulting on business development, marketing etc. matters; providing incentives for employing foreign nationalities and local communities; guiding and facilitating applications for work permits, with a view to empowering women and refugees, building a climate of peace, and contributing to solving problems.

The ILO Office for Turkey, along with local stakeholders and project partners, supported the founding of women’s cooperatives of Sada, Cemre and Meryem in the last three years.

In the context of its advocacy for cooperatives, the Office will launch a series of webinars in the upcoming days focusing on casting light on and exploring solutions to the challenges experienced by women’s cooperatives at the founding and operating phases under the project “Decent Work Opportunities for Refugees and Host Communities in Turkey” funded by the United States Department of State, Bureau of Population, Refugees and Migration (US PRM).