The project’s goal was to build the employability profile and improve the income generation prospect of targeted vulnerable refugee and host community women through self-reliance training, in tandem with raising their awareness regarding GBV & SRH issues in Mardin, Kilis, and Şanlıurfa. This project empowered vulnerable refugees (Syrian and Iraqi) and host (Turkish) women, aged 16-45 years by building the professional skills that would allow them to generate income in Mardin and provided more than 1’500 women with prevention on risks associated with Gender-Based Violence (GBV) and Sexual and Reproductive Health through awareness-raising sessions. LEAP in consortium with RET (INGO) provided business opportunities for refugee and host community women through technical and vocational education and training (TVET) in (Soap making in Mardin, handmade dolls workshop in Kilis, local food production courses in Şanlıurfa.) Moreover, LEAP established partnerships to create sustainable marketing networks for women in Mardin, Kilis, and Şanlıurfa.
The project’s second goal was to promote youth agency through empowerment and social cohesion by celebrating diversity and promoting integration through Music and Dance (Social Healing & Integration through Art) in Mardin. The project enhanced the capacity of two diverse ensembles, the RET Orchestra and Choir (RYOC) and RET Youth Dance Company (RYDC), and to the sustainability of the newly established Performing Arts Centre (2018) by the implementation of the following activities:
- Minor renovations to address the structural deficiencies of the center and improve the center infrastructure
- Capacity building of the dance and music trainers to improve the overall quality of the programs with the technical support of the Haute École de Musique de Genève (HEM)
- Delivery of the Regular Arts Program (music and dance modules) to Syrian and Turkish adolescents and youth along with outreach activities to identify more youth interested in the program and certification after successful completion of the modules
- Innovative workshops contributing to the materials and equipment of the Arts Program while raising awareness on environmental issues (e.g., fabrication of dance costumes through recycling)
- Family awareness-raising meetings aimed at positive parenting
- Referrals to as well as coaching and guidance on formal education opportunities (cross-institutional) for the enrolled beneficiaries
- The enrolled beneficiaries will give small musical performances and dance performances to apply and present the skills learned at the end of each workshop.
The Performing Arts Center’s ultimate goal is to promote social cohesion between the host and refugee children and youth by sharing music & dance experiences. In this regard, the project will create a space for socialization, safeguarding inter-cultural dialogue, and strengthening participants’ sense of achievement and accomplishment by awarding them the opportunity to implement and apply the M&D knowledge they have learned. Moreover, the youth’s employability prospect was increased through technical music training to art education.
The vocational training workshops/sessions equipped the Syrian and local vulnerable women in Mardin with new skills and knowledge impacting their family’s self-reliance. It enhanced the inter-community dialogue and understanding among them, thus facilitating the integration of Syrian refugees into Turkish society. Ultimately, this will lead to more stable and peaceful communities and a gender equality-based socio-economic development in the long term. The project bridged the gap existing in social cohesion and youth empowerment from both employing humanitarian and innovative artistic approaches through combining theory and practice.
The projects, implemented between June 2019 & February 2020, February 2020 & February 2022 in consortium with RET.