Turkey Resilience Project in response to the Syria Crisis (TRP)

Responding to longer-term needs of refugees and their host countries in a resilience-based and sustainable way

The project aims to deliver comprehensive and sustainable solutions to the problems of Syrians displaced due to the Syrian crisis and now living in Turkey and of the host communities. Focusing on job creation, strengthening municipal services and Turkish language training, the Project is financed by the EU Trust Fund in Response to the Syrian Crisis (EUTF).

The European Union (EU) and United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) collaborate in contributing to the economic and social resilience of Syrians and host communities in Turkey, and the strengthening of national and local institutions. The two-year project with €50m budget focuses on promoting job creation, strengthening local government capacities and municipal services and delivering Turkish language training for Syrians in 11 provinces of Turkey. The Project will benefit 2,000 Syrians and host community members for employment and livelihoods, 52,000 Syrians for Turkish language training, and more than 307,000 Syrians and host community members for improved municipal services.

Project aims to share Turkey’s burden as the country hosting the highest number of refugees in the world. Project activities in 11 provinces of Turkey intend to enable both Syrians and host communities to cope with and recover from the crisis, and build a sustainable future for individuals, communities and institutions.

The two-year Project will focus on three major areas:

a) Jobs Creation, Facilitation of jobs creation through increased productivity and efficiency

b) Municipal Services, Enabling stronger municipal capacities

c) Turkish language trainings, Supporting social cohesion and economic integration

in 11 provinces of Turkey.

Through a resilience-based, local and sustainable development perspective, the Project proposes long-term, comprehensive structural solutions to the problems arising due to the Syrian crisis. Centred on economic integration, social cohesion, local capacity enhancement and regional development, Turkey Resilience Project in response to the Syria Crisis combines the UNDP’s 50 years of expertise in sustainable development and EU’s financial support.

Project activities will be implemented in Gaziantep, Hatay, Şanlıurfa and Kilis as cities most affected by the Syrian crisis as well as such other large cities of Turkey as Istanbul, Izmir, Bursa, Adana, Konya, Mersin and Manisa. The implementation started on 1 February 2018.

Ninety one percent of Syrians in Turkey live mostly in urban areas of Southeast provinces and metropoles such as Istanbul, Ankara, Izmir and Bursa. One of the biggest impacts of the sudden population flux is on the labour markets and economy. On the other hand, the population growth due to the Syrian crisis led to a major rise in demand for the services of local governments and municipalities including waste and wastewater management and firefighting services. Further, a lack of Turkish language skills is a major barrier for Syrians’ access to employment opportunities and economic and socio-cultural interaction in Turkey.

UNDP is the sole UN agency providing direct support to municipalities both in municipal services including waste and wastewater management, physical infrastructure development and technical assistance.

UNDP support through various projects to date has primarily focused on providing equipment and developing capacities and infrastructure. The new project expands the efforts, through covering new municipalities with high Syrian population, to improve municipal services in the face of rising demand, enhance capacities and provide technical assistance at a larger scale.

UNDP’s previous projects also delivered language skills training to Syrians. The new project will significantly scale up the effort by a mixed learning approach involving classroom and online learning programmes. It will also promote access of women and youth to labour markets, contribute to socio-economic empowerment of individuals and communities. UNDP collaborates with chambers of industry and commerce to support economic activities and facilitate access to labour markets.

Turkey Resilience Project in Response to the Syria Crisis (TRP) is implemented by UNDP in cooperation with the Ministry of Industry and Technology, Ministry of National Education and Ilbank. Major stakeholders include host communities and Syrians, local and national authorities, local and national NGOs and business entities.