The TACSO project Turkey offices in Ankara and Istanbul are currently preparing for the kick-off events that will take place in seven different cities around the country. The kick-off events will take place in Edirne, on the border of Greece and Bulgaria, in Izmir and Bursa, two lively and active cities on the Western Coast, in Sinop and Trabzon, two cities on the Black Sea coast and Erzincan and Kars, two cities in Northeastern Turkey. The events will inform participants about TACSO activities as well as present good practices of CSOs from around the country. Themes of the presentations will include citizens’ participation, campaigning, social corporate responsibility and grassroots activities.
Project Team
Ayça HAYKIR - Resident Advisor
Ms. Haykir’s educational background is in the field of Public Administration. She specialised in managing, implementing and monitoring of the EU funded projects. Over the last 14 years of professional experience, Ms. Haykiri worked in various areas ranging from promotion of civil society dialogue, access to primary and quality education, reproductive health, youth employment and many more. She is also a trainer for Grant Scheme Management; Phases of the Grant Scheme; Project Cycle Management (PCM) Principals; preparation of grant proposals; grant contracts and project implementation; procurement procedures and reporting.
During Ms. Haykir’s post as the Team Leader on the EC funded project “Promotion of Civil Society Dialogue between Turkey and the EU – II”, apart from other responsibilities, she provided training sessions for the Project Management Unit of the European Union Secretariat-General (EUSG), Turkey's main coordination body for the EU affairs, on topics covering areas of grant management, including the implementation and monitoring of grants. She also provided training sessions on the Grant Scheme Phases for the potential applicants, including application monitoring procedures, evaluation criteria for the assessment of proposals and efficient grant project implementation in line with the EC procedures.
Neslihan Ozgunes Oktem - Deputy Resident Advisor
Ms. Ozgunes Oktem holds a Bachelor degree in the field of Science in International Politics (specialisation in International Relations, Law and Organisation). Furthermore, she received additional education in the fields of Peace Building and Empowerment at the Transcend Peace University and in Documentary and Video Production in Denmark. Ms. Ozgunes has 12 years of experience in programme management, facilitation, coaching and training in/for NGOs in conflict zones and developing countries. Currently, she holds the position of Social Risk and Conflict Management Consultant for the Environmental Investment Programme, BTC Co., which is implemented in various provinces in eastern Turkey.
From 2004 to 2006, she worked for “War Child Holland” in Sudan in the position of Project Coordinator, Regional Peace-building and Media. In the capacity as Conflict Resolution Trainer from 2001 to 2004 she worked for “Crossing borders” in Turkey and Denmark where she gained professional experience in conflict resolution/dialogue workshops covering media and conflict, intercultural dialogue, conflict analysis and communication skills.
In 2003, she was the International Peace-building Representative in Guatemala at the project Play for Peace- Jugar por la Paz, where she developed programme outreach and network within the country through relations with like-minded NGOs and the media.
Ms. Ozgunes gained her programme leader and project manager experience by working on project development, evaluation and monitoring for programmes funded by the EU, European Governments, US Foundations and the World Bank in Turkey, Denmark, Belgium, Cyprus, Sri Lanka, the U.S.A., and Guatemala.
Mehru Aygul - Istanbul Project Officer
Since 2001, Ms Mehru Aygul has been working for various CSOs in Turkey and overseas both as a professional and as a volunteer. She has worked as a peer educator, project coordinator and CSO manager. She has delivered trainings on democracy and rights, project management, volunteerism and fundraising. She has also conducted communication and PR activities for the CSOs she worked for. From 2008, she has provided consultancy services to some civil initiatives on fundraising and sponsorship. She is currently at the point of completing her masters degree with the project “ Communication strategy of CSOs” at Bahçeşehir University. She speaks English and Finnish.
Ayça Beştepe - Ankara Project Officer
Ms Ayça Beştepe graduated from the Middle East Techinical University in 1998, having majored in philosophy. For nearly seven years she has worked as a marketing and pr expert in various firms in the fields of tourism, defence industry and construction. From 2005, she has been working as a coordinator assistant and awareness raising expert on EU funded projects. She also holds certificates in Project Management and ISO 9000 :2000 Quality Management Systems -Internet auditor. She attended trainings on grant project implementation, monitoring, procurement and visibility, project cycle management, interim and final report preparation, as well as trainings on analysis to risk, sales abilities, customer relations and effective communication.
Akça Ünsal - Ankara Administrative and Financial Assistant
Ms Akça Ünsal holds a bachelor’s degree in Sociology from Hacettepe University. From 2001, she has been working for various projects funded by the EU and UNDP as a project assistant. Between 2007 and 2009 she worked as a consultant for two projects executed by a CSO working in the area of freedom deprived juveniles. She also holds certificates in project cycle management and public relations.