Turkey: Genç Birikim Derneği & Youth Accumulation Association

Organisation Profile

Youth Accumulation Association was established in 2006 in Muş (Turkey) by a group of young people in order to contribute to the social and personal development of young people. The four main objectives of our association are:

1. To enhance respect, friendship and tolerance among young people and to help them to become conscious individuals
2. To support the talents of young people by trainings
3. To help young people to participate and to harmonize not only in the business life but also in civil life successfully
4. To protect and to raise awareness among young people about any kind of health threat, especially about cancer

In order to realize our objectives, we cooperate with families, local authorities, related ministries, primary schools, high schools and universities and we develop projects with them. Until today, we organize many local, national and international projects and activities together with our stakeholders. We realized many international projects in Mus under the Youth Program of Center of European Union Education and Youth Programs (National Agency) and enabled the participation of young people of Mus to these projects as well as to the other projects abroad that we are partner of.

International projects that we organized in cooperation with various youth organizations from different countries are:

• Raising Awareness of Young People about Cancer, April 2008
• We are Coming, April 2008
• Young People Meet With Art, August 2009
• European Citizenship, October 2010

Under the frame of cooperating with different actors and institutions, in 2009 we realized a peer education project titled “From Youth to Future” supported by Embassy of United States of America. In 2008, under the Grand for Local Projects Program of Embassy of Japan, we started to realize the project titles “Healthy Development” and in 2009 within the project a vehicle consisting mammography instrument was bought. With the help of the protocol that we signed with Provincial Directorate of Health, our vehicle started to make breast cancer scan in 12 different cities. Our aim is to scan 4000 people every year within Health Development project.

International “Blooming Plant” Oncology Days, one of the most important international activities of ours for protecting children and young people against cancer, was realized in 2007 in Mus for the first time. Each year, International “Blooming Plant” Oncology Days is being organized with a different theme; among the participants there are representative of public institutions, non governmental organizations, youth centers, international institutions as well as scientists. The event has the characteristic of a platform where the best practices and experiences about combating cancer are being shared.

Unemployment rate in Mus is higher than any other cities in Turkey. By the nature of being a civil society organization, contributing to the development of our city and region by our work is a duty for us. Including more young people into our projects and enabling more young people from our city and region to participate actively in the civil society are our aims. By this, in 2009, with the participation of young people from our region we realized the project titles “Active and Democratic Young People Meet in East” supported by Civil Society Development Program of Central Finance and Contract Unit.

EURODESK is and European information network which provides information about the European opportunities and activities for young people in education and youth field. In 2010, our application to become EURODESK Local Relay approved and in April 2010 we become EURODESK Local Relay in Mush.

Genç Birikim Derneği & Youth Accumulation Association Memberships:

• EURODESK Turkey Network
• European Cancer Patient Coalition
• Hand in Hand against Cancer Federation
• Turkish Youth Federation