The webinar series entitled "Civil Society during and after the pandemic’ began on 6 March. The first guest of the webinar series, Yörük Kurtaran who is among the founders of the Support Foundation for Civil Society discussed the challenges experienced by civil society organizations during the current period as well as new methods developed in Turkey and beyond in the area of advocacy, financial sustainability and communication.

Kurtaran expressed that civil society organizations are primarily working towards sustaining their activities and trying to survive in the short term but that they will need to transform in the medium term and that in the long term this transformation should integrate institutionalization. Stating that the solidarity networks which have emerged are influential during the pandemic just as they were in the aftermath of the 1999 earthquake in places that the government could not reach Kurtaran said that this will continue in the upcoming period as well.

Kurtaran also shared his prediction that agencies providing grants will gain a more flexible, faster structure which will provide institutional grants to the extent possible. Moreover, he expressed Support Foundation for Civil Society’s desire to support learning between solidarity networks in this period.

The video is only available in Turkish.

This project is funded by the European Union.