Sowing Season, Meeting Season October 3rd, 2023

The Sowing Season event was hosted by Güler Sabancı, the Chair of the Sabancı Foundation Board of Trustees, on October 3rd ,2023 at Sabancı Center. At the event, the inspiring stories of seven projects supported by the Sabancı Foundation Grant Programs between 2022-2023, focusing on the topics such as right to education, accessibility, climate crisis, youth participation and gender equality, were shared.

The event began with the inspiring music performance of classical kemenche artist Elif Canfeza Gündüz who played her own compositions and well-known songs and it continued with the opening speech of Güler Sabancı, Chair of the Board of Trustees of Sabancı Foundation. Güler Sabancı, stated that they work for a society in which every individual enjoys their rights equally and for strong and effective civil society organizations. She said, "Grant Programs, that were initiated in 2006 as lifeline support to civil society, fortunately have continued without any interruption and grown stronger by the day. Over the course of 17 years, with our growing and deepening Grant Programs, we have not only provided grants to civil society organizations but have also established a heartfelt connection and partnership with all the institutions we supported for social equality." Güler Sabancı also emphasized that Sabancı Foundation continues to increase the support to ensure a strong and effective civil society in the second century of the Republic. She shared with the audience that 238 projects were supported with a total donation reaching 80 million TL in the scope of Grants Programs.

Three panels were moderated by Şirin Payzın, Yankı Yazgan, and Duygu Demirdağ. Project representatives of Four Seasons Lifelong Play and Learning Association, Housewives Solidarity and Development Association, Fethiye Tourism, Promotion, Education, Culture and Environment Foundation, Accessible Life Academy for All Association, Black Sea New Horizons Association, Roots and Shoots Türkiye and Neuromuscular Disorders Association explained what needs they are working to meet, the results achieved, their experiences and their plans to sustain and expand the project outcomes.

This year's Sowing Season gathering, which has become a tradition to share the journeys of civil society organizations supported within the scope of the Grant Programs, was attended by civil society organizations, stakeholders from different sectors, representatives from local governments, and guests interested in learning more about the stories of new projects.

You can watch the Sowing Season event on the Sabancı Foundation YouTube channel.

The day before the event, on October 2nd, an 'Experience Sharing Meeting' was organized where project representatives shared their experiences during the process and discussed their future plans. An opportunity was provided for both experience sharing and potential collaborations among different civil society organizations conducting similar activities in different cities in Turkey.