We named our action as CSO Self Regulation (STK Öz Düzenleme - SÖZ) Principles with the belief that the civil society would find its own power at the extent it becomes independent from the state and market relations, and we set forth;
- For the civil society to become independent from all kinds of external actors and find its own power…
- For strengthening our organizational capacity and reach qualification and effectiveness…
- For exchanging our rich diversities and experiences and being able to cooperate…
In conclusion of 15 in-depth interviews conducted during May and September of 2019 and 4 focus group meetings conducted during September and December of 2019, we produced a set of concepts throughout our action. By also using the set of concepts produced through these activities to which a total of 42 CSO representatives contributed, we completed the first draft of SÖZ guide as of March of 2020.
During the March-April 2020 period, when telecommuting commenced due to COVID-19 Pandemic, we came together for a second time with the CSO representatives who participated in the SÖZ activities towards determining the principles and criteria regarding "monitoring and evaluation model for the CSO self-regulation criteria" covered in the scope of the first draft study, and we organized online focus group meetings.
A total of 15 CSO representatives attended these online focus group meetings, and through them discussions on the monitoring and evaluation criteria for three fundamental SÖZ principles (participation, continuity, sustainability) were defined.
Finally in regards to our efforts towards preparing "SÖZ" for civil society, we shared our observations, experiences and outcomes from our study during an online meeting with representatives from intergovernmental and international organizations active in Turkey on the date 24th of September. We shared the actual state of civil society in Turkey through the own expressions of CSOs that contributed to SÖZ. Now we are ready to discuss and develop the SÖZ of civil society in Turkey with a wider sphere of CSOs.
We will be providing more detailed information regarding our action to you soon. Keep on following us!