Digital Cooperation and Networking Days were organized by Yunus Emre Institute under the EU-Turkey Intercultural Dialogue (ICD) program, which was co-financed by Turkey and the EU. The event was held on December 21-24, 2020 and aimed to improve the capacity of civil society organizations, universities and municipalities aiming to contribute to the cultural interaction between Turkey and the EU to carry out joint projects.

Held as part of the EU-Turkey Intercultural Dialogue (ICD) Program co-financed by Turkey and the EU, "Digital Cooperation and Networking Days" ended. Under the ICD Program which was launched in January 2019 and run by Yunus Emre Institute (YEI), activities were held to identify and gather potential partners for projects and events to be held in order to improve intercultural dialogue between the EU and Turkey. In this context, the event held between December 21-24, 2020 aimed to increase the level of interaction between civil society actors and related stakeholders, addressed the problems encountered in intercultural dialogue and cultural diplomacy, and shared the current situation.

THE CONTRIBUTION OF CSOs, UNIVERSITIES AND MUNICIPALITIES TO CULTURAL INTERACTION IMPROVED

During the event, the communication between YEI and those civil society organizations, universities and municipalities having the goal and capacity to contribute to the cultural interaction between Turkey and the EU was improved. The event also focused on developing the opportunities and capacity of these organizations to realize joint projects. Digital Cooperation and Networking Days enabled participants to have the opportunity to interact significantly with not only YEI but also with each other.

SUCCESSFUL PRACTICES AND PROJECT IDEAS

 On December 21-24, 2020, online events were held with a separate participant group each day. The events were attended by over 60 participants from CSOs and universities based in various cities from Kırklareli to Hakkari and Antalya to Sinop as well as metropolitan municipalities such as Gaziantep, Adana, Bursa and Muğla, and key foundations such as IKSV, Teacher Academy Foundation and UDEF. The event highlighted successful intercultural dialogue practices, enabled discussion on project ideas, and provided an environment of interagency cooperation for the establishment of new partnerships. The events were contributed by the directors of Yunus Emre Turkish Cultural Centers (YETCC) in London, Rome, Vienna, Bucharest, Sarajevo and Pristina, in addition to the project experts from YEI.

PRIORITY FOR ORGANIZATIONS LACKING EXPERIENCE IN EU PROGRAMS

The event aimed to primarily support organizations that lacked experience in EU studies and EU funds. Therefore, half of the participants to attend the event was selected from among organizations that had either little or no experience to participate in EU programs in Turkey.

GRANTS EXTENDED TO FOUR PROJECTS UNDER THE ICD PROGRAM

Under the EU-Turkey ICD Program, grants were provided to four projects led by national cultural institutes that are members of EUNIC. To that end, various cultural events were held in Turkey and the EU countries. The program aimed to improve cultural dialogue and interaction between the EU and Turkey. It also aimed to contribute to the establishment of stronger cultural relations between civil society organizations in Turkey and in Europe, support long-term joint cultural initiatives and strengthen communication.