United Nations Development Program (UNDP) Turkey and the Turkish Ministry of Youth and Sports is launching a new project funded by the Japanese Government that supports social cohesion and economic empowerment for Syrian and Turkish youth. The project is planned to be implemented in Youth Centers in 5 provinces. It aims to increase the access of young people among Syrians under Temporary Protection and hots communities to the labor market while ensuring social cohesion and socio-economic stability. At least 40% of the intended beneficiaries are aimed to be young Syrian and Turkish women.

Turkey currently hosts the biggest refugee population in the world. Syrian youth which makes up half of the 3.6 million refugee population Turkey hosts face enormous difficulties such as not being able to find a job, not being able to enroll in formal education and lack of formal, dignified livelihood opportunities. Finding solutions to these special challenges is important to help individuals who felt war and adapting to their new lives, coping stress and trauma, as well as their socio-economic integration into the societies they live in and social cohesion.

Employability, Entrepreneurship and Social Stability for Syrian and Turkish Youth Project, implemented by the UNDP Turkey’s Syria Crisis Response and Resilience Portfolio and Turkish Ministry of Youth and Sports, aims to increase the access of Syrian and Turkish youth between the ages 15-29 to the labor market and formal employment opportunities, including self-employment, through the Youth Centers in Ankara, Bursa, Kocaeli, Şanlıurfa ve İstanbul provinces. The intended beneficiaries are aimed to receive technical and vocational education training, Information and Communication Technologies, soft and basic skills training along with career counseling, entrepreneurship support. In addition to the main activities to be held in 5 provinces, computer laboratories in 30 youth centers in 9 provinces will be established in the scope of the project.

Young people with a feasible business plan will be supported by being provided entrepreneurship support (mentoring and guidance, grants, training that will help to develop and restructuring business plans). Thus, it is aimed for young individuals among Syrians under temporary protection and host communities to get out of the vicious circle of poverty, to increase their self-sufficiency and actively participate in social life without being dependent on support.

Under the title of “Syrian and Turkish youth improved level of social cohesion”, which is the third output of the project, it is planned that 50 young people will be identified as the Youth Leaders and receive training on social cohesion and conflict prevention with 50 youth center staff. Activities/events for social cohesion also will be conducted with trained youth leaders and youth centers in 5 provinces. Thus, directly 500 young individual and in the long run, 2000 people (families and/or close associates of these direct beneficiaries) in total are expected to be benefitted and experience positive indirect effects on their lives.