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After months of preparations, meetings with partners in 10 provinces of Turkey, identifying Public Education Centers (PECs), needs assessments, refurbishing classrooms, developing educational content, training more than 280 master trainers, reaching out Syrians under Temporary Protection, the time has finally come for the debut of the most meaningful mission for ensuring resilience and sustainable development; as it is deeply enshrined in the Charter of the United Nations (UN).
Turkish language trainings started for adult Syrians under Temporary Protection in Turkey, on March 25th, 2019. Courses are being held within the framework of “Turkey Resilience Project in Response to the Syria Crisis (TRP)”, implemented by the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), funded by the European Union (EU). Through this large-scale learning movement, it is aimed to provide Turkish language trainings to 52,000 adult Syrians at 53 Public Education Centers in 10 provinces of Turkey. The “Adult Language Training Component” of Turkey Resilience Project in Response to the Syria Crisis (TRP) is being implemented in collaboration with the General Directorate of Lifelong Learning of the Turkish Ministry of National Education (MoNE - GDLL) and the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP).
The Project is fully funded by the European Union (EU), and will cover 10 provinces of Turkey (Adana, Bursa, Gaziantep, Hatay, Istanbul, Izmir, Kilis, Konya, Mersin and Şanlıurfa). Through Public Education Centers (PECs) in these cities, it is aimed to provide quality Turkish language trainings to 52,000 adult Syrians to support their integration into economic, social and cultural life. And help them build their new lives.
Studies show that language is the biggest barrier for Syrians residing in Turkey to participating in economic, social and cultural life, since they need to learn a whole new language to achieve self-sufficiency and fully participate in daily life. Analytical data suggests that it is much easier for children to learn and exercise Turkish language through school enrollment or playing games with their peers. You can see in many places that, children are real translators for their families when interacting with their neighbors. But what about adults, especially women, elderly people who don’t have the opportunity to go out, engage and get involved with daily life?