LEAP is trusted across a wide institutional network in Türkiye, both at the national and local levels.
The RET International and LEAP Partnership
LEAP is a national civil society organization established in Ankara in 2017 under Turkish law (registration number 06-127-065). It is precisely this local identity that gives us the responsibility of serving as the Türkiye-based local implementation partner of Geneva-headquartered RET International. We are one of the local implementation partners for the projects RET International has been carrying out in Türkiye since 2014. When programs designed to international standards are delivered on the ground by our team — one that understands Türkiye’s bureaucratic, social, and cultural fabric — the impact of these programs grows, and international expertise meets local needs in a meaningful way.
As a tangible reflection of this partnership model, through the projects we have carried out in consortium with RET International, we have to date reached over 320,000 people directly — 77% of whom are women — and more than 3 million people indirectly, through dozens of different projects.
Institutional Support at the National Level
We work side by side with a wide range of public institutions at national, regional, and local levels — most notably the Republic of Türkiye Ministry of Interior, the Republic of Türkiye Ministry of National Education, and the Republic of Türkiye Ministry of Family and Social Services. The support of these institutions strengthens both the credibility and the reach of the work we do in the field.
A Long-Standing Partnership with the Ministry of National Education
One of our most valued partnerships — as LEAP, and formerly as RETYKD — is the Cooperation Protocol we signed in 2018 with the General Directorate of Lifelong Learning at the Republic of Türkiye Ministry of National Education. Thanks to this protocol:
We are able to offer certified Turkish language courses and technical and vocational trainings, deliver officially certified Turkish language programs to our participants under Temporary Protection through our joint work with Public Education Centers, and through these certificates, open the path for our participants to reach higher education and the working world. So this is not merely a language course; it is a door that makes the next chapter of a life possible.
Hand in Hand with Social Services
Through the joint work we carry out with the Social Services Unit of the Republic of Türkiye Ministry of Family and Social Services, we provide basic Turkish language education to disadvantaged refugee women. These trainings remove one of the greatest obstacles standing between these women and the state-provided protection services — the language barrier.
Our Local Partnerships in the Field
The partnerships we build with local authorities open the way for us to reach more people and to deliver more comprehensive support. In every province where we work, we sign project-based agreements and protocols with governorships and municipalities. The ability to work within Public Education Centers, in particular, allows us to carry out our projects in places our participants already trust and can easily reach.
