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The Women's Rights and Gender Equality themed advisory board meeting organized by Sivil Düşün (Think Civil) European Union (EU) Programme with the participation of civil society organizations and activists from all cities of Turkey continued with workshops.
In the workshops which were held simultaneously, such issues as sustainable activism, data journalism, rights-based monitoring, LGBTI oriented media literacy and strategic campaign planning for social change were discussed.
The meeting organized by Sivil Düşün on the occasion of March 8 Women's Day was held at Istanbul Divan Hotel with the participation of 60 women's organizations and 170 people from 54 cities.
While the participants addressed the projects realized or made visible with the support of Sivil Düşün, the funder institutions also came together.
Male Violence Tallies and Data Journalism
In the data journalism workshop held with the presentation of the women and LGBTI news editor of bianet, Çiçek Tahaoğlu, the male violence monitoring reports of bianet were presented.
Emphasizing that data journalism can be applied when handling all current issues, Tahaoğlu stated that this practice renders data more striking and in this way, the related news can reach more people.
Tahaoğlu: Restorative Justice is Not Applied
Indicating that while other journalists in the world have been making use of the violence data rendered transparent by the government, such data do not exist in Turkey, Tahaoğlu said that they started with their male violence tallies at bianet in 2008 as the related statements issued by the government present contradictory figures.
Tahaoğlu also added that when analyzed on an annual basis, it is seen that the cases of harassment, rape and violence mostly remain unpunished by the justice and no restorative justice is applied.
Sustainable Activism
In the sustainable activism workshop held by Birsen Atakan, the attorney from Non-Violence Center, the ways in which activists can maintain their physical and mental health were discussed.
Atakan said, "It is really difficult to make a change in the short term and social conditions have become harsher", emphasizing that it is important for the activists to cure themselves.
LGBTI Oriented Media Literacy
Kaos GL Media and Communication Coordinator Yıldız Tar addressed the transforming power of media over society and explained how language use determines the reality.
In the workshop where the 2017 report of Kaos GL was discussed, the language and discourse used in the news about LGBTI individuals were analyzed
About Sivil Düşün Sivil Düşün EU Programme was launched by the Delegation of the European Union to Turkey towards the end of 2012 to support civil society. The programme supports activists, civil society organisations, networks and platforms under the same umbrella. Through various support mechanisms, Sivil Düşün supports active individuals and civil society organisations. These support mechanisms have been designed as a result of the input provided by civil society actors during consultations carried out with representatives of numerous civil society organisations, as well as activists, throughout Turkey. Sivil Düşün was designed to strengthen the structures and values of participatory democracy. The programme supports are open to all the activities that strive to contribute to the strengthening of democratic values, and are based on stringent principles of fair competition, equal opportunity and transparency. |
(TP/SD)