Spotlight Interviews with Co-operators
The Social Cooperative Education and Promotion Train in Turkey
“Spotlight Interviews with Co-operators” is a series of interviews with cooperators from around the world with whom ILO officials have crossed paths during the course of their work on cooperatives and social and solidarity economy (SSE). On this occasion, ILO interviewed Ms Rabia Gökçen Mert Korkmaz, Expert at the Ministry of Trade, on the Social Cooperative Education and Promotion Train in Turkey.
1. How did you come up with the idea of the Social Cooperative Train?

Until recently, there were only a few social cooperatives in Turkey and some of them were not even aware that they were social cooperatives. Thus, the first step in tapping into their potential was to introduce the social cooperative model, identify areas where it could be used and bring the existing social cooperatives together.
The idea of organizing these activities under the “Social Cooperative Train” came about as a means of attracting interest and support from various stakeholders including youth, as trains hold a nostalgic value in the collective consciousness in Turkey.
2. What are the activities undertaken around the Social Cooperative Train?

In the selected schools, coding workshops were organized with children and the role of cooperation and collaborative businesses was emphasized. Hackathons on social cooperatives were organized in Eskişehir and İzmir with young women and men. Information meetings with university students were conducted in each of the provinces. An international experience sharing panel was also organized with the participation of guests from Italy and representatives of NGOs.
The first voyage of the Social Cooperative Train brought together various stakeholders including government officials including experts of General Directorate of Cooperative and representatives from cooperatives (Youth Deal Cooperative, Needs Map Cooperative), NGOs (Habitat Association, Ashoka Turkey) and development agencies like the Ankara Development Agency.

3. What is next after this education and promotion initiative around social cooperatives in Turkey?
An after action review meeting was conducted in Ankara to reflect on the lessons learned from the first edition of the Social Cooperative Train. In the spring of 2019, the second edition of the Social Cooperative Train will be organized to the Southern and Eastern provinces. These activities aim to create an enabling environment for social cooperatives by raising public awareness on social cooperatives and facilitating the revision of legal regulations to allow for establishment of social cooperatives in Turkey. I believe that social cooperatives can be one of the leading solutions to social problems such as regional development disparities, accessibility of special services for persons with disabilities and exclusion of disadvantaged groups from employment opportunities.---------------
Spotlight interviews with cooperators is a series of interviews with cooperative leaders around the world, whom ILO officials have encountered in the course of their work with cooperatives. This article does not constitute an endorsement by the ILO.
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