gazi university

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EURODESK LOCAL CONTACT POINT

GAZİ UNIVERSITY (TR066)

Table of Contents GAZI UNIVERSITY ....................................................................................................................................................................... 2

GAZI UNIVERSITY PROJECT COORDINATION IMPLEMENTATION AND RESEARCH CENTER .................................... 3

PREFACE ....................................................................................................................................................................................... 4

OUR VOLUNTEER’S ARTICLES .................................................................................................................................................. 5

First Impressions Of Turkey .................................................................................................................................................. 5

Why the hell Turkey??? ......................................................................................................................................................... 6

Women in Turkey ................................................................................................................................................................. 7

Turkey .................................................................................................................................................................................. 10

Stereotypes about Turkey ................................................................................................................................................... 11

My first impressions about the relationship between boys and girls ................................................................................. 13

Germany – Turkey ............................................................................................................................................................... 14

Çay ........................................................................................................................................................................................ 15

Kocatepe mosque of Ankara ............................................................................................................................................... 16

Accomodation ; ...................................................................................................................................................................... 17

HOSPITAL (2011-TR-24) ................................................................................................................................................... 18

SCHOOL (2011-TR-21) ....................................................................................................................................................... 19

KINDERGARDEN (2011-TR-22) ..................................................................................................................................... 20

PROJECT OFFICE (2011-TR-23) ....................................................................................................................................... 21

YOUTH CLUB (2011-TR-18) ............................................................................................................................................. 22

YOUTH NGO (2011-TR-19) .............................................................................................................................................. 23

Requirements ; ............................................................................................................................................................................ 24

Support for our Volunteers ; ...................................................................................................................................................... 24

Draft Programme ; ...................................................................................................................................................................... 24

EUROPEAN VOLUNTARY SERVICE (EVS) - SENDING ........................................................................................................ 25

Some of Our Partners ; ............................................................................................................................................................... 26

Our EVS experiences are ; ........................................................................................................................................................... 27

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GAZI UNIVERSITY

Gazi University is one of the few universities whose history dates back to 1920s. Right after the declaration

of the Turkish Republic Mustafa Kemal Atatürk decided to establish an institute. This resulted in the

establishment of the 'Teacher Training Institute' in 1926. After that the institute had different names until 1982

when it was named Gazi University

Today Gazi University carries out its educational and research activities with its 18 faculties, 4 colleges, 9

Vocational High Schools, 35 research centers and 6 institutes and it still claims itself a high education institution

which is worthy to Atatürk. The university has faculties of Medicine, Dentistry, Pharmacy, Engineering and

Architecture, Economics and Administrative, Communation, Science and Arts, Law, Fine Arts and Education

which is currently considered to be the best in its field in the whole country.

In addition to the our Turkish students Gazi also provides education to more than 1500 students from all

over the world. Gazi University carries out its education in different campuses called Besevler, Emek and Maltepe

in Ankara.

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GAZI UNIVERSITY PROJECT COORDINATION IMPLEMENTATION AND

RESEARCH CENTER

Our Center getting into active on June, 2010 in our university, is established with a view to

perform 7th. Framework Programmes, Youth Programmes and Lifelong Learning( Leonardo da Vinci,

Grundtving, Comenius), the execution and management of which have been realized by the State

Planning Organization - Center for European Union Education and Youth Programmes- National

Agency. The execution of international bid technical support is also realized by our center. Besides

giving service to consultation and coordination in cooperation of academic and administrative unit of

the university, it has also executed activities like a pre-interview for mutual agreement to be likely

executed with representatives of university coming from Union European and other foreign countries

and to represent the university in the meeting national/ international concerning this programmes. The

activities our full-time and part-time employees are engaged with are as follows:

to promote EU Education and Youth Programmes at the university

to represent the university national and international meetings, congresses, symposiums about

education

to provide coordination and information about the teh different programs that EU executes

with the aim of support the scientific researches

to contribute to the social life of the community through the meeting of volunteers from

different countries and cultural backgrounds

to facilitate European and international mobility and exchange of ideas with a mutual

understanding and in a peacefull atmosphere

to promote an educative project (local, national, European, international) by encouraging an

active citizenship for a democratic, united and participative society

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PREFACE

Dear Sir / Madam

Firstly, I want to say that this newspaper is published by the Gazi University EVS Hosting Volunteers.

This is our second newspaper and everyterms we can improve our knowledge and we can put more things about

EVS in our newspaper. Our aims is that for publishing newspaper ;

Increasing the awareness of EVS

Encourage to our Hosting volunteers for finding new ideas

Explaining future projects

Help to the candidates of EVS volunteers

Making new networks

Showing our experinces and to encourage our partners for sharing themselves

Moreover, our all volunteers who are sending and hosting, they can help us for improving ourselves too.

We want to see that the meaning of EVS and other Youth Exchange Projects, it should be more

understandable and a lot of candidates may learn more thins about them. It is way to give information that

you can write something and publish somewhere. For this reason, we made a websites and created some

pages in the social networks (facebook, eurodesk, twitter etc.) We agree that everyterms a lot of candidates

will see these informations everywhere and they may join Youth in Action Projects. We hope to encourage

new youth people for sending future projects.

In conclusion; we are sending that newpapers your email address. We want to kindly ask you that please

send your networks our newspaper and don’t forget to every information is very important for youth

people for learning Youth in Action Projects.

Kindly regards,

B. Sc. Mustafa Orhan KANSU

Youth Program Coordinator

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OUR VOLUNTEER’S ARTICLES

First Impressions Of Turkey

Ainhoa Werner-Fernández – GERMANY (EVS Volunteer)

In this article I want to write about my first impressions of Turkey and about everything I know about

this country and its traditions.

In my homecountry Germany many turkish people live, so I have also many turkish friends. For turks

religion is very important. They eat no pork, drink no alcohol, do not smoke, and this all because it is written in

Koran. A very big day is the „Ramadan Bayrami“. The abstinence ends and you celebrate with family and

friends. I think it could be compared to the Christian Christmas. Many sweets get prepared like Baklava,

Lokum, etc...To pray they go every friday to mosque, where they have to take off their shoes. Women and men

are separated. For women it is necessary to wear a scarf. In mosque there are no chairs or desks. You just sit

down on the carpet and pray to Allah (God).

I also noticed that turkish people often use many adages like : „

One language, one person. Two languages, two persons.“ Very

remarkable is their friendliness and their hospitality. The turkish

kitchen is really variegated and often the food is very oily and satiable.

In Germany there are also many turkish restaurants where you can

eat Döner Kebap, Iskender Kebap, Lahmacun, Dürüm, etc...

“mosque“

What I noticed at first when I arrived in Ankara, was that here are many many building yards. You can

see that Turkey is an emerging nation. It is so interesting, because Turkey is developing so quickly that for

europeans it is unimaginable. They just have another image of Turkey and its population.

You can really see and feel that many things are changing here! It´s so fantastic!

Moreover a quite good habit or tradition is drinking Cay (Black Tea). They drink it in the morning, in the

afternoon, at night, absolutely ALWAYS!!! :)

“Cay“

I really enjoy being here and I am so excited for the following year.

I hope I can learn a lot and see many things-

Insallah

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Why the hell Turkey???

Sarah Theresa Bothe – GERMANY (EVS Volunteer)

Why leaving Germany at all? Why not going to university directly after school, like so many others do?

Everybody who found out I was going to go to Turkey asks this questions. So why am I here? I just did not

want to go on with learning in a school, to go to university, after 13 years of studying. I wanted to take a gap

year and to do some social work. So I decided to take part in the European Voluntery Service.

I was thinking hard about which country I should choose. France or Great Britain would have been

comfortable, because the language is easier to learn. But why leaving Germany, when the target country is not

really different? So I decided to try something totally new: I applied for an EVS in Turkey. I choose this

country because it is just not the same as Germany. It seems to me like it is the bridge between Europe and the

oriental world. Because of the religion it has a complete different cultural background, and this is exactly what

I wanted: The adjustment to a totally different environment and to get to know a new culture. On the other

hand I hoped to improve my language skills. I would really like to learn the Turkish language because it sounds

great and 70 Million people are speaking it. During my stay I hope to learn speaking fluently.

Travelling in general makes you aware of the life in different countries and made me more interested in

connecting these. To get adapted to a different way of living and to socialize was and still is my main

motivation.

I am very interested in the things, which influence our daily live, why we live the way we live and how

we can make a difference. The economic relations between the parts of the world are getting more and more

important. It is an important task for the world population to link these economic relations with emotional and

social ones to create a stable structure for global community. Therefore I think communication is essential, in a

diplomatic-political way and especially in a personal and social way. That sounds abstract but in my point of

view this goal can be achieved just by normal traveling, especially when it is about social work and direct

contact instead of ordinary holidays. I am especially interested in broaden my mind with a duration in such an

interesting country as turkey and working for the European community.

I hope my expectations are not to high to be fullfilled, but at the moment I am really glad to be here and

I am enjoying the new experiences.

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Women in Turkey

Sara Maria Marcolini – Italy (EVS Volunteer)

During my travels there is one thing that I like to satisfy: understand the cultural differences.In Italy I read and

heard a lot about the scarf, but now that I’m living in Turkey and I see with my eyes another reality. Now I have to ask

my self the reasons for the contested and debated use of the scarf and the condition of life of Muslim women.

The Islamic law, Shari’a (Seriat), does not discriminate women from men: both of them are called to pursue in the

same way noble moral qualities such as generosity, kindness, sincerity and pursue religious rules. The most important 5

rules of Islam are: Believe that there is no other God than Allah and Muhammed is his prophet (Sehadet), pray five times

at day, fast during the month Ramadan, the pilgrimage to Mecca and give charity.

About the scarf: first it’s important remember that it isn’t an Islam monopoly, but include every women: Muslims,

Christians, Jewish… the question is the freedom to wear it or not, to testify the own religious belong.

The Coran speaks about the scarf, Higiab, that means “covering”:

And say to the believing women that they should lower their gaze and guard their modesty; that they should not display their

beauty and ornaments except what (most ordinary) appear thereof; that their should draw their hijab over their bosoms and

not display their beauty except to their husband, their fathers, their sons, or their women, or the slaves whom their rights

hand possess, or male servants free of physical needs, or small children who have no sense of the shame of sex; and that they

should not strike their feet in order to draw attention to their hidden ornaments. And O you Believers! Turn you all together

towards Allah, that you may attain blessing.

(Sura XXIV An-Nûr)

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There are two interpretations of the Coran:

The first says that the prescription is just an invitation to women to be modest in their clothes, it’s not

an obligation and the scarf is a tradition to exceed. In this way of view a lot of women don’t use it anymore.

Mustafa Kemal Atatürk (leader of the Republic of Turkey from 1923 to 1938) was the first president that tried

to change this tradition in Turkey and probably in the world. Atatürk introduced to separate state and religion

(Devlet and Diyanet), that is why religious appearance was not allowed in public places anymore.

The second interpretation instead says that the scarf is fundamental and that there is no faith present

inside your soul, if there is not Islamic behaviour that confirms it.

The situation was complicated with the presence of a lot of Muslims in Western Countries. Now the

doubt is, if the scarf is a free religious expression or a free cultural expression or a symbol of discrimination and

oppression of women.

We can have some general considerations: the Hijab, in the modern version of a foulard that covers hair is

nothing strange and it’s also present in the Christian tradition and there is no reason to not use it if women

desire it by themselves.

The Islamic scarf is a sign of modesty for the way to dress of women, it’s like a break of exhibition of the

body. There is also a general meaning of the scarf: in Western countries there is a wide freedom and sexual

relationships before the marriage are very common. The Muslim society, but also the Catholic one, don’t want

to support this habit. In the Islamic situation the scarf became the symbol of behaviour that preserves sexual

relationships in the marriage environment.

At least the scarf is a sign of the Muslim tradition, a symbol of cultural identity that asks respect and

consideration.

The difference between the condition of men and women in a lot of countries like Morocco, Tunisia,

Afghanistan, Algeria… does not come from Islam, but from the political manipulation of religion. This

condition doesn’t exist in Turkey but the debate about the use of the scarf is still an open issue between Liberal

and Conservative people.

If we want to understand the situation of the Muslim women in Turkey better, we have to subdivide the

history of this country in four periods: before Islam, after the introduction of Islam, during the Ottoman

Empire, and after the birth of the Republic of Turkey.

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Before Islam women in Turkish tribes were completely equal to men in every aspects of life: married

woman was sacred, polygamy didn’t exist, they also received the same military training and participated to the

battles in war.

After the conversion to Islam of Turkish people, women keep their equality to men thanks of the saying of prophet

Muhammed (hadis):

1) Woman is equal to man and is the half of the society;

2) Who respect the straights of their wife is a good Muslim;

3) The heaven lies to feet of the mothers.

From then on the influence of the traditions of others countries, in particular the Persian culture, modified the condition

of women in Turkey.

The most complicated period was under the Islamic Ottoman caliphates, that instituted Harem dividing it in

sectors for men and women . The Sultan Osman III gave to women the possibility to go out from the house just four days

a week, Mustafa IV forbid any possibility of autonomy.

The real revolution of the female condition became with the success of Mustafa Kemal Atatürk , that gave the

birth of the Republic of Turkey in 1923.

Atatürk introduced the compulsory education for both gender, abolished the polygamy, gave equal straights to

women about divorce and heredity and invited them to give up to use the scarf, but without forcing them with a specific

law. He also gave women the right to vote in 1934.

Nowadays two different realities live together in Turkey: in the countryside women usually continue the ancient

traditions and are more dependent and subject to men. But in the big cities who belong to middle class, women usually

wear western clothes, work in free professions, teach and participate to politics. In 1995 Tansu Ciller was the first female

prime minister of Turkey.

About the scarf: the symbolism of it is really complex. It suggests to support the process of changing and evolution of the

use of it. Muslim women with knowledge about the principles of Islam will identify the meaning of the scarf as autonomy.

Research of knowledge improves human condition for both genders, and it’s the foundation for a deep faith.

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Turkey Martyna Kominczak – Poland (EVS Volunteer)

When i came to Turkey first time 1 year ago i was excited but also some scared. In Poland I couldnt hear lot of

news about this country, so i didnt know what is waititng for me exactly. I kept in my mind pictures of Hagia Sophia,

Efez, Sultanahmed and turkish history which i learnd during my education. I imagined Turkey as a mistic country with

rich culture and with significant place for all the past history which Istanbul is. After leaved Istanbul airport first thing

which i saw was hudge traffic and many, many people.I couldnt imagine how can they all live together so close, but

maybe this is the secret of Turkish hospitality, people are always around, always ready to help you or just invite you for a

turkish tea and get to know you better. Charcteristic is that if something is needed Turkish people opening all their

connections including the whole familly, friends and neighbours for get it, or solve the problem. It's very helpfull features,

however it can be uncomfortable or unexpected sometimes for people which are used to deal their problems by

themselves.

Another important property is that Turkish people are very proud and sensitive about their history and politic.

They always mention Ottoman Empire times with self- esteem, dignity and nostalgy. Thats why i advice you learn

something about their history for better understanding.Person which you must know while going to visit this country is

Mustafa Kemal Atatürk,first president of Turkish Republic from 29 October 1923 till 10 November 1938.You will see his

pictures and portraits in most of places: on buildings, in public offices, shops, theaters, names of the streets, schools...

He is response for create Turkey on the laic country with democratic rules and modernization economy, law,

language. For many turkish people he is real Father of Turks which his surname means and his philosphy, kemalism is still

actual. Atatürk Mausoleum was the first place which i saw in Ankara and I think it's really worth to see for everyone,

especially for people, which are interested of history and politic. You can find there a lot of his privat objects, include his

always elegant clothes, richly decorated sword,things of daily use, cars, pictures and articles from old newspapers with

important news.The biggest impression on me made his library with hundred books in various languages, also in old

turkish language and about diverse fields. If you ask personnel of the mausoleum they will explain you that he really read

all of them.

That are my first impressions from Turkey and I'm happy that in this year I have oprtunity to discover this

various country, culture, language and people. I'm searching inspirations for my next articles and sensations for share,

which I'm sure not missing in here.

Ilustracja 2: Atatürk Mausoleum

Ilustracja 1: Atatürk Mausoleum

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Stereotypes about Turkey

Teja Pirnat – Slovenia (EVS Volunteer)

Before I went to Turkey I had heard so many different informations about it and they really didn't fit

together. So I got so curious what is right and what is wrong that I couldn't wait to see it on my own. On a day

when I was leaving my country Slovenia I really found myself in a dilemma which clothes to put on because I

have heard so many things. For example that women in Turkey are only allowed to wear sleeves at least till

your elbow and only long trousers or long skirts. I really wanted to make a big shopping before departure

because I wasn't sure if I had enough of appropriate clothes, but something stopped me from doing it. Some

part of me really couldn't believe that all of these things could be true.

This stereotype already broke as soon as I reached the Turkish ground and I realized that a lot of

women are wearing shirts and blouses with short sleeves or even sleeveless and I could see some short skirts also.

Most citiziens of Ankara really don't distinguish from European ones in their clothes style. You can also find a

lot of women with headscarfs but they are in minority. However, you have to take into account that that's for

the city of Ankara and city of Istanbul.Because they are more modern and more like European cities. In their

suburbs and in rural areas of Turkey it's the opposite; it's almost hard to see a woman without headscarf.

Another stereotype is also often present in people's mind: that men in Turkey marry a lot of women but

it is not really usual. It used to be true more in the past; but now you can find it just somewhere in rural areas

at the most Eastern part of Turkey, where mostly Kurdish people live.

A lot of people think that Turkish people are the same as Arabics, but these are two different cultures

actually. It is true that Turkey used to have arabic language and writing but untill 1923 they have their own

ones. There is also a thought present that Turkish are dangerous Islamics but while living here I do not feel any

fear at all. Anyway there exist some preventive measures against potencial terroristis actions like checking your

bag with rentgen before entering big shopping centres and not having trash bins on the streets to avoid the

possibilty of putting a bomb inside.

Actually Turkish big and modern shopping centers really can compare to European ones. But in

comparison to Europe I find it cute that on every street you can still find a lot of little shops with food and

most needed equipments for your home. While in Europe little shops are dissapearing on account of a big

amount of new big shopping centres.

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When European people think about food in Turkey they always think about kebab and baklava, but

actually here you can find a really diverse palette of really good food. It is quite spicy and grassy but it really

tastes good. The only thing I miss here is the presence of salad while eating lunch outside. Anyway, when you

buy fruit and vegetables here they are much more natural looking and more tasteful like those I found in

Europe.

Another interesting thing is that the so well known Turkish coffee is not so popular here. Instead of it

people usually drink tea, produced in their own country. They really have a tradition of drinking tea at any

oppurtunity during the day and it is also a gesture of welcoming guests by offering it. I used to drink coffee a

lot before coming to Turkey but since I am here, this is for 14 days, I guess I 've had two coffees maybe and at

least 60 glasses of tea.

People around me in Europe have told me to expect intrusive and loud people in Turkey. But it was one

of the nicest surprices that here I 've found really the most nice and sensitive and kind people I've ever met.

Everyone who you will ask for help will help you, also when you don't even ask anything actually. Young and

more educated people speak English really good. The others don't really, but they will always find a way to

communicate with you. For example,I found it really funny when we entered one little shop where the seller

couldn't understand us speaking English. So he called his friend on the phone, who translated what we want.

We really laughed a lot and also got our marmelade.

There also exists a prejudice that people in Turkey are lazy but in fact they are working and ambitious.

But it's s true that everything here goes more slow and people not just run around in stress like in most

countries of Europe. Things are often postponed and not so well organized but on the other hand living here is

more easy and pleasant. Because it's not so stressful.

The stereotypes about Turkey are partly true, but now I find most of them just funny. I think that we

shouldn't really believe them untill checking them by ourself.

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My first impressions about the relationship between boys and girls

Michaut Jasmine – France (EVS Volunteer)

When I arrived in Turkey, on of thing which surprised me is I felt the relationship between men and

women were really different than in France, my origin country. I expected this but not to this way, I think this

is difficult for us, EVS volunteer, to understand the subtleties of this differences. I wanted to write this article

not to provide answers, but to try to understand a bit better. I'm in turkey only few days and I can't doing

generality , it's for that I want only confronted some individual points of views, which I hope they will help us

understand better now. The main questions I can ask are about education, friendships, and love relations

For example in my country I lived with two friends, one was boy and the other was girl,

I want to know if it's possible to do the same thing: boys and girls sharing the same flat.

I have asked this question to some peoples and I think it's possible but nobody do this, here, “it is not a good

thing to share a flat with a boy”. And me, in France, I have lot of friend who are boy, they are like my

brothers, but I think, in turkey, this kind of friendship is less common. Often, Turkish girls have close friends

boys but they have a limited relationship, that's what the peoples answer me. But even if overall boy-girl

friendships are often less close, it s often depends on cultural environment,

families and point of view to religion.

Another big difference is this, in France, men are often addressing the

woman, and often inappropriately. In Turkey I feel that it is much rarer. Turkish

men seem more respectful towards women. Moreover I think that, Turkish

women seem to be most closely watched. They seem also less free to go out when

they want. It is possible that a girl have fewer rights than his brother. But I

think that, in France it’s not the same, but women are more protected than men

too. But this phenomenon is probably less important. Maybe I can talking about

"patriarchal" families.

I think one of the main diffrence between France and Turkey is the

importance of family, religion and tradition and how the peoples live with this ,

individualy . So, this is my first impressions after only fifteen days I can´t make

me a real idea, but I can only notice lot of differences. I hope to have a better

idea about this point, later, after spending more time in Turkey.

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Germany – Turkey

Verena Rothmund – Germany (EVS Volunteer)

When I told people in Germany that I want to do my European

Voluntary Service in Turkey they always asked why I have chosen this

country. For me it was always clear that I want to work in a social

project for one year after school and the decision where I want to go

was not difficult.

In Germany there live a lot of people with Turkish origin so it is

very interesting for me to get to know their cultural background and

the country they come from. Moreover, after my EVS I want to study

social works and maybe I want to work in the sector of immigration

and therefor it will be really helpful if I know the Turkish language.

Few days before I left Germany I was pretty nervous because everybody told me that everything will be

so different and that I will have something like a cultural shock. So I was kind of surprised when I arrived in

Ankara and the first differences I recognized were not really bigger than differences between for example

Germany and France or Germany and Spain. But after almost one week in my new homeland for 10 months I

can see that there will be many fascinating things to discover.

First of course the food is not equal. Though you can eat Döner Kebab at every corner in Germany, the

preparation and therefor the taste in Turkey is really not the same. A turkish habit I like a lot is drinking çay

at any time of the day or night. Every time we visit someone they offer us çay and if you go to a restaurant to

eat you might get one for free.

Furthermore I can recognize the different mentality of the Turks. In Germany many friends who have

been in Turkey for holidays reported me how hospitable and helpful they are and now I can experience this

Turkish attitude by myself. When you get lost in the big inner city of Ankara someone will help you

immediately even if you can’t really communicate because of the language barrier. You can remark this

difference also when you get to know new people. Mostly they lend themselves to show you nice places for

example good restaurants or interesting museums and they often give you their contact details so that you can

ask them whenever you have to solve a problem.

Since I come from a smaller town in Germany it is a huge change for me to live in a megacity. The inner

city of Ankara is very crowded and the traffic is pretty chaotic. No one cares about the cross-walks so if you are

a pedestrian you have to assert yourself.

As I expected the knowledge of the English language aside the universities is not widespread. That’s

why I’m really happy that our Turkish language courses had already started and I hope that I will learn

quickly.

I am looking forward to the following months and I am very excited to immerse into the Turkish live.

15



Çay

Marion Bouchard – France (EVS Volunteer)

“Çay” is a traditional drink in Turkey, appreciated by Turkish people and

foreigners who are visiting this country. Everywhere, if you meet

someone, you get in a shop, during a meeting, you will get your cup of tea.

And you will love this tradition because it's like everybody would like to

tell you: “welcome in Turkey”!

In this country we could feel the tea like a tradition established from

generations. How can you imagine Turkey without its çay? We can ask

about its history and you should be surprised that Turkish people don’t

drink as much tea since many centuries.

During the Ottoman Domination in Arabia, Turks were drinking a lot of coffee directly imported from Yemen.

At the end of the Ottoman Empire, while coffee became an expensive import, Kemal Atatürk encouraged an

alternative to coffee. With tea, Atatürk proposed a drink sustainable by domestic sources. Actually, tea can be

cultivated in Anatolia and in this way, he can provide for his people and Turkey can be self-sufficient in food.

Since this period, in the beginning of the 20th century, drinking tea has become a tradition; Turks are drinking

tea during all day.

The Turkish tea is a form of black tea cultivated in the province Rize, on the Black Sea coast. Its taste is strong

but if you live or travel in Turkey, you find a way to appreciate this captivating aroma tea. Whenever you

drink it, it is a friendly atmosphere and spirit of sharing. Turkish hospitality always proposes tea to their guest

and all along the day; every reason is good enough to drink a tea. Drinking tea is a way of life, a way to know

the last news, to meet new people, to be aware and to be Turkish.

How can you prepare your Turkish tea at home? First you need a special kettle for tea preparation and the

special cups. These are necessary to offer the tea to your guests in good condition, you need some small tulip-

shaped glasses. The kettle (called çaydanlik) is two parts, the lower part to boil water and the upper part for the

tea itself. Boil the water in the larger kettle. Put several spoons of tea inside the smaller kettle and when water

is boiling, put the water inside. Fill the larger kettle with water, set on the fire with the smaller kettle above for

20 minutes. You can serve the tea; put one third of black tea in the glasses and some water without tea to fill

the cup. Add some sugar, offers your tea to your guest, savor it and enjoy the moment!

In conclusion, for me I was happy to discover this tradition because in France I also drink a lot of tea with my

friends and my family. When there is tea, there is a moment of feeling good.

16



Kocatepe mosque of Ankara

Alyson Geoffroy – Belgium (EVS Volunteer)

The Kocatepe Mosque is the largest mosque in Ankara, the capital of Turkey. It was built between 1967

and 1987 in the Kocatepe quarter in Kizilay. Its size andprominent situation have made it a landmark that can

be seen from almost anywhere in central Ankara.

The idea to build this mosque goes back to the 1940' exactly. The vice prime minister for the religious

affairs had etablished a company for the construction of a mosque in yenisehir (big city) of Ankara.

Constructions will start then will stop at the foundations. Several counterparts were built, in particular in

Islamabad. After several competitions for the architecture of the mosque, it will be finally built in 1967 and

modified in 1987 to be a néo-classical built of the Ottoman architecture.

The fact that it is placed on a butts enable us to discover it under various angles during our rise until it.

The large staircases which carry out us until it keep a pleasant freshness whereas a heavy sun leads the city.

When we arrive on the top, the first striking thing is the immense white marble court where the sun is reflected.

Then, when we penetrate into it, we are immediately inhabited by the serenity and the wisdom of it, which

make feel good. The fact of having naked feet and the face on the ground offers the privilege of something of

close between a man and his creator. And even if the person is not from the muslim confession, he can be

inhabitted by the beauty, by the esthetics of the architecure and the decorations that it offers to us. It is not

counting the sight that the mosque leaves to us on the district of Kizilay.

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EUROPEAN VOLUNTARY SERVICE (EVS) - HOSTING

Accomodation ;

Having a long historical background as a city Ankara is home of many architectural and historical

findings in its museums. Ankara is considered as one of the most "serious" cities of Turkey, since it hosts the

parliament and many politicians. This brings the mood of stable life into the city. However, by being the

capital and having a huge student population Ankara has a very colorful night life as well.

Our volunteers live in a flat next to Gazi campus in a safe district in a very peaceful area. It is in the

center of Ankara so it is easy to go everywhere by metro, by bus and also on foot. The volunteers share a big

flat with 3 rooms, 1 living room, 1 kitchen, 1 bathroom and 1 toilet. The flat is well equipped, they have all the

necessary things to live in comfort

Gazi mahallesi is a safe and peaceful area but also lively because it is the district in which different

universities (Gazi University, Ankara University) are located. Most of the faculties of Gazi university are here.

There is a big variety of places where you can spend your free time. Nice coffees, restaurants and green parks.

Come and enjoy!

Projects ;

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HOSPITAL (2011-TR-24) Gazi University Foundation Hospital is situated in Ankara, in Yenimahalle and within 15 min. of

walking distance to the EVS flat.

In this hospital one floor is completely dedicated to the treatment of children, so in additionally to the

normal treatment rooms there is also a very nice playroom and a little hospital school. Our volunteers will play

a key role in those two rooms, in the playroom they will draw play and have fun with our youngest patients

and they are more than welcome to contribute with their own ideas to create new activities for the kids. The

hospital school is particularly important, especially for those kids who have to endure long-term stays due to

serious illnesses, such as cancer.

Our volunteers will meet the explicit needs of the children giving them Mathematic, Science, Social and

especially English lessons according to their level of education. The hospital school is equipped with all the tools

that will be needed and there are also two teachers who will support our volunteers in every possible

way.Receiving this schooling will make it easier for those kids to find their way back into a normal daily

routine after they have completed their treatment.

Also children will enjoy the contact with our foreign volunteers very much as it is a special opportunity

for them to be in touch with the big wide world even though most of them are tied to their beds. Another

activity in the hospital will be visiting the rooms and in this way not only adding new faces to the dull hospital

every-day-life of the kids but also interact with the parents who usually spend just as much time inside those

rooms.Cutting it short we want our volunteers to give our patients and their families motivation, make them

smile and make them feel positive again.We are open to all new ideas, for example our last volunteers initiated

a clown day. One day a week they come dressed up as clowns distribute balloons and joke around – the kids

absolutely love it!

Who are we looking for? It would be very good if the applicant is studying or has graduated from any department of health, or has some

practical experience concerning hospital work however it is not a must!

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SCHOOL (2011-TR-21)

Gazi Foundation Primary school is located in Maltepe, 30 min by walk from EVS flat. EVS volunteers

would have a chance to work with a wide age group of pupils – children from nursery school to high school

students. Our volunteers would take part in foreign language lessons and patricipate in activities of students'

clubs.

There is a wide variety of activities at school that volunteers can both participate in or can initiate and

lead; first of all that would be assisting teachers during lessons of foreign language. Aim of this activity is to

teach foreign language in a way which is interesting and makes fun for students. Despite of that, volunteers can

iniciate and creative activities aimed to promote children's free expression in various art forms and cultural

activities, for example: drama classes, music classes, cultural and educational outings, together with students

volunteer can organise campaigns regarding healthy living, environmental issues, etc., plan and implement

festivities and celebrations. Next to above mentioned cretive activities, our volunteers can take part in fulfilling

various administrative tasks: parent contact, helping in fund raising activities, resource building, etc.

During their work at school, our volunteers would have an opportunity to learn about Turkish culture,

learn and reflect about the work and educational activities and no movement- and health oriented lifestyle at

Gazi school. Our volunteers also can use the chance to introduce their own countries history, culture even to

teach their own language to students of Gazi school.

Who are we looking for?

In the selection of our volunteers, we would give our priority to persons studying or graduated from

education faculties. The volunteer should be willing to work with children and teenagers and have empathy to

them.

From our volunteers we estimate fluent knowledge of English and basic knowledge of Turkish language;

collaboration skills, ability to work in team; experience of work with children and youngsters would be an

advantage.

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KINDERGARDEN (2011-TR-22)

Our volunteers can choose from 3 different kindergardens initiated by Gazi University Education

Faculty or Gazi University Foundation. All of them are situated in a place easy to reach in a nice, peaceful and

green area. The environment is very friendly providing a big variety of possibilities for the children to spend

enjoyable but also effective time. Plays, English workshops, movie minutes, excursions, outdoor activities,

special events make the life of the children more colourful.

Our volunteers are working with different age groups in the kindergarden situated in Gazi campus. They

take part in various activities which cover different topics, always trying to add an international flair. Through

presentations, games, creative and leisure activities they try to promote their cultures, countries and languages

and therefore increase the children’s knowledge. In exchange the volunteers can also easily discover Turkish

culture and language. Supported by the kindergarden teachers they can get to know the educational system of

Turkey and contribute with new learning methods. Our aim is to create awareness for different cultures and

also show that there is things we all have got in common, in the majority of the cases using non-formal learning

methods. We hope that by doing a good job our volunteers can be valuable members of the local community.

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PROJECT OFFICE (2011-TR-23)

The projects related to Youth, Lifelong Learning and 7.Framework Programmes are written and

managed in the office situated in Gazi University Campus. Each NewProject requires the information flow and

labour. Gazi University offers a golden oppurtunity for young people who want to write their projects and to

implement in their own countries and for you so long as you share the knowlegde gained with the sending

organizations. Our volunteers will interest the writing, management and final report the 1.1,1.2,3.1,4.3 and 5.1

active in the field of youth and involve in the Project by establishing a dialogue with adult people in the brain

team of the Grundtvig projects. The volunteers participating and making the projects will learn education and

working activities, organize various celebrations and seminar and take part in Project team of the production

of national and international projects. Besides, the volunteers will gain teamwok and ability to adjust and

manage the organization.

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YOUTH CLUB (2011-TR-18)

The volunteers involved in the Project will organize seminar, travel, meeting and festival with the

student community at the Gazi University. They will organize information seminar in order to eliminate the

cultural differences and to vaccine the European awareness. In this context, they will go to high and middle

schools with the college students and young people will gain in this way the awareness of the European. Thanks

to the Eurodesk Focal Points, the Office has a lot of possibilites like to bring together the Turkish National

Agency experts and the volunteers, to deliver problems, and find the solutions in a short time. In this way,

volunteers obtain the oppurtunities to benefit from the experiences of experts about writing project and to

have adequate knowledge for projects when they return to their country. The volunteers will raise the

recognition of EU by transmission of the EVS, Youth actions and the other European projects to the young

generations.

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YOUTH NGO (2011-TR-19)

As it is known, the most important strength of a society is the number and their owned facilities of

NGO (non governmental organizations). We want to provide young people become conscious, develop dialogue

with the society and and aware that they are individuals in the community. In this context, the volunteers

involved in the Project will prepare flier working together with the NGO and take an active role in various

festival, games and social projects. They will discuss the social problems of the young people in the study and

prepare reports and brochures so as to find solutions. They will take part as a whole for all projects. Among

the mains objectives will be to collect material during the studies, to interview with the young people and to

raise the awareness by publishing magazines for them.

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Requirements ; The applicant must be at least 18 years old.

It is important for us that the potential volunteer is very positive, full of energy and ready to do things.

He or she should be interested in sharing their culture and be ready to take the initiative.

Additionally he or she should be able to work under pressure, be self-confident and ready to take on

responsibilities.

We are looking forward to hosting volunteers with a sense of humour to life!

Support for our Volunteers ;

EVS volunteers will be supported by the Programme Coordinator and a Mentor in all their tasks.

Their Mentor will have experience with the EU Youth in Action Programmes, have advanced English skills

and insure that the volunteer is well lodged and happy. Additionally the Mentor will help with all

administrative questions which might arise and accompany the volunteer to the hospital or to see a doctor if

needed.

During this project in generally, our volunteers have chance to discover Turkish culture from inside, being part

of it, living and working in Turkey's capital city. They will learn Turkish language at the Turkish language

Teaching Center of Gazi university, or get private lessons from an expert of Turkish language. Our volunteers

also would get experience of working with students of various age.

Draft Programme ;

Volunteers will work max. 30 hours per week and are entitled to have 2 free days per month, which can be – on

agreement with the tutor – combined to create a longer period.

25



EUROPEAN VOLUNTARY SERVICE (EVS) - SENDING

GazıUniversity Project Coordination Implementation and Research Center have sent 420

volunteers to our partner’s organizations yet. We have 33 different partners in 14 countries. We are

working with our partners about all Youth in Action Projects. Our aims are that improve to the

quality of projects and make a good relationship with partners. When we select our volunteers for

sending partner’s organizations, we can make an interview with them. We give information about our

partners and collect their Europass CV’s and ML’s. When they are selected for projects , we invite and

make a presentation about travelling and another important issues. Every deadline we can write new

sending projects for our new partners.

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Some of Our Partners ;

- Compass Európai Ifjúsági Közösségért Egyesület (Hungary)

- Polip Ifjúsági Egyesület (Hungary)

- Orfeas A.M.K.E (Greece)

- DEKTEX- Municipality of Xilokastro (Greece)

- DHKEB Velo (Greece)

- Associação de Amizade Luso-Turca – Lisboa (Portugal)

- Asociación Cultural Ingalicia (Spain)

- YouNet Sicilia (Italy)

- Europejskie Forum Mlodziezy (Poland)

- Centre Culturel TURKUAZ asbl (Luxemburg)

- Urzad Gminy Dobra (Poland)

- Verein 4YOUgend (Austria)

- Jaunimo savanoriðkos veiklos centras ''Deineta'' ( Lithuania)

- Jaunatne par iesaistisanos (Latvia)

- Association des Compagnons Bâtisseurs asbl (Belgium)

- Mission Locale de Villeurbanne (France)

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Our EVS experiences are ; - The Youth Volunteer Bridges for the EU’s Future (S)

Reference Number: TR-21-3-2008-R1

- Toward European Identity: Creating Shared-Values Among Youth of Different Cultures (S)


- Active Youth Participation in NGOs (S)


- Learning to live with others (S)


- Common Future (S)


- Come Together (S)


- Cultural Interaction (S)


- Make a Difference (H)


- Sharing EVS Experiences (M)


- Discovering New Culture (H)


- Youth on the Move (H)


-Join Us! (S)


-New Bridges on Volunteerism (H)


-GAZİng at the end of rainbow (S)


(S) ; Sending, (H) ; Hosting, (M) ; Evaluation Meeting

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DO YOU WANT TO JOIN US?

IF YOU HAVE ANY QUESTIONS, DON’T HESITATE TO ASK US:

Project Coordinator

B. Sc. Mustafa Orhan KANSU Research Assistant Youth Programme Supervisor Eurodesk Local Contact Point ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Gazi University Tel :+90 312 202 38 68 Project Coordination Implementation Fax:+90 312 202 38 69 and Research Center ---------------------------------- Rectorship of Gazi University www.project.gazi.edu.tr 06500 Ankara/TURKEY [email protected]

gazi university

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