Innovative and Entrepreneur Women Came Together in Sultangazi

The launch of the Supporting Innovative and Entrepreneur Women Program, jointly conducted by WALD and UNHCR, took place on 29 January 2021, under the auspices of Sultangazi Municipality. A total number of 30 women from refugees and the local community participated in the project. With this project, women have been provided an opportunity to improve themselves and discover their creative side. Experts provided practical training to refugee and local women in two different workshops. Within this context, the participant women produced jams, noodles, and washable masks. Thanks to the marketing of these products, they will find an opportunity to contribute to the family budget. In the opening ceremony of the launching meeting, Abdurrahman DURSUN, Mayor of Sultangazi stated that “We implemented this program in partnership with UNHCR and WALD and aimed to increase and support women’s employment. We provided the training to 30 women in two different workshops. We will continue to implement new projects that will feature the producer identity of women so that they can contribute to their family budgets.” At the meeting, Hülya ALPER, WALD Academy Director, and Selçuk Şatana, UNHCR Senior Refugee Protection Officer, informed the press on the activities of the project. Alper underlined the importance of women’s power by stating that“When we look at the developed countries, the reason why their economies are advanced is the high number of working women and entrepreneurs in their respective countries. Turkey has taken some important steps on this in recent years. With this project, we aim to contribute to the development of our economy by empowering our women.” Şatana also highlighted the importance and sustainability of the project.