FOREWORD by KAGİDER's President Gülseren Onanç
Dear Friends of KAGİDER,
We left behind the heels of a consistent winter and a busy spring and turned our faces to the summer. In this term, we are rewarded for our dense efforts. The picture is very exciting as it has always been and following the end of this beautiful summer, it is quite successful as it will motivate us to a very busy winter. Before taking a short look on our balance, I would like to mention KAGIDER General Assembly realized in April and I would like to thank you for your appreciation and confidence. As the new board of KAGIDER, we will continue to take more steps forward with the new projects that would be added on our previous successes and we will keep working.
We opened our new Women Development Centre "-BiZ." in May after our General Assembly. Our friends, members, professionals and all joined us to celebrate for our new centre which is the messenger of coming successful projects. This centre, aiming to empower women and develop socio-economic status of women in Turkey, would get stronger with you all. That's why we invite everyone to join to "-BiZ."
We implemented our first major project after the opening of –Biz. as "I. International Women Entrepreneurship and Leadership Summit" sponsored by Garanti Bank with ATFC (the American Turkish Friendship Council) collaboration. Participant women were coming from all around the world and our very honourable speakers were leaders and experts on their fields, developing a global vision.
On the other hand, we accelerated our EU Affairs and we have visited Austria in the framework of KAGİDER EU Communication through Women Project. We have met with very important contacts in Vienna and afterwards we organized KAGIDER EU Days in Istanbul. In this well-attended meeting; hopeful, instructive and new approaches were shared about the EU 7th Framework Programme and EU Civil Society Dialogue through the EU Policies. Finally, we were in Ankara for DGSW (Turkish Republic Prime Ministry Directorate General on The Status of Women) and we carried again an innovative proposal to Ankara's Agenda. Enterprise Certification would be one of our top-priority concentrations in this new term. The World Bank leaded application, has succeeded in Latin America and has become an important turning point by defence of more active women gradually.
At the end of such a busy term, I would like to invite you to have a good rest in the summer and meet at our first breakfast-meeting in September.
Sincerely yours,
Gülseren Onanç
KAGİDER
President
CoR scrutinises progress of EU enlargement countries, stresses role of local and regional authorities in accession process
By adopting two opinions on the bloc's enlargement strategy, the members of the EU Committee of the Regions (CoR), meeting in their bimonthly plenary session on 17-18 June, also sent a strong decentralisation message to EU candidate countries and hopefuls: as the bulk of EU legislation is implemented by local and regional authorities, they are of crucial importance for making a country "EU-ready".
http://europa.eu/rapid/pressReleasesAction.do?reference=COR/09/69&format=HTML&aged=0&language=EN&guiLanguage=en
Business "as usual" not an option for employment issues
In the opinion "Results of the Employment Summit" (SOC/434) adopted in plenary session on 11 June, rapporteur Wolfgang Greif (Austria, Employees- Group) reiterates the Committee's priority to prevent mass lay-offs and further rises in unemployment which, as a recent OECD forecast predicts, might reach 12 % in 2010 throughout the Union. The numbers of unemployed are rising at an unprecedented speed. Services' and manufacturers' sectors are particularly hit by the crisis.
http://europa.eu/rapid/pressReleasesAction.do?reference=CES/09/82&format=HTML&aged=0&language=EN&guiLanguage=en
2011 to be the European Year of Volunteering
The European Commission has decided to propose that 2011 be designated as the "European Year of Volunteering". The Council and the European Parliament are expected to endorse this proposal by the beginning of next year.
http://europa.eu/rapid/pressReleasesAction.do?reference=IP/09/862&format=HTML&aged=0&language=EN&guiLanguage=en
Promoting entrepreneurs means creating jobs
The European Enterprise Awards were launched three years ago to recognise and reward initiatives that support entrepreneurship at regional level. More than 350 national, regional and local authorities – including towns, cities and regions as well as public-private partnerships – competed in the 2008/2009 European Enterprise Awards.
http://europa.eu/rapid/pressReleasesAction.do?reference=IP/09/753&format=HTML&aged=0&language=EN&guiLanguage=en
More Women in the European Parliament - What about EU Top Jobs?
On the eve of the European Women's Lobby (EWL) General Assembly, the EWL held a very successful public conference entitled "No Modern European Democracy without Gender Equality", on 26 June 2009 in Brussels, Belgium. The conference analyzed the results of the recent European Parliament Elections from a gender equality perspective and discussed the EU "top jobs", the representation of women in the future European Commission, the perspectives for women chairing the European Parliament and its Committees and experiences of the 50/50 Campaign.
http://www.womenlobby.org/site/1abstract.asp?DocID=2556&v1ID=&RevID=&namePage=&pageParent=&DocID_sousmenu
*European Parliament*
EP opinion poll analyses 2009 European election turnout
Parliament has published a Eurobarometer survey of 26 830 people across Europe carried out in the month following the 4-7 June European elections. Citizens were asked about their reasons for choosing whether or not to vote, and, if they did vote, what factors they took into account in deciding which party to vote for.
http://www.europarl.europa.eu/news/expert/infopress_page/008-59034-205-07-30-901-20090724IPR59033-24-07-2009-2009-false/default_en.htm
New EP President Jerzy Buzek
MEPs elected Jerzy Buzek to be the new European Parliament President with 555 votes in favour (or 86.18 per cent of the valid votes). He was elected after the first-round of voting. The 69-year-old Polish MEP will lead the European Parliament for two and a half years (until January 2012). President Buzek is the first President of the European Parliament to come from Central and Eastern Europe following the EU's enlargement in 2004.
http://www.europarl.europa.eu/news/expert/infopress_page/008-58064-195-07-29-901-20090713IPR58063-14-07-2009-2009-false/default_en.htm
Profile of the leaders of Parliament's political groups
The European Parliament now has seven political groups. The two largest are the centre-right European People's Party and the Socialists & Democrats. The strength of the groups and the number of MEPs they can muster from all corners of Europe reflects the results of the June European elections.
http://www.europarl.europa.eu/news/public/focus_page/008-58035-201-07-30-901-20090710FCS58034-20-07-2009-2009/default_en.htm
*European Commission*
Commission refers Estonia to European Court of Justice on gender equality legislation
The Commission has referred Estonia to the European Court of Justice (ECJ) for non-transposition of EU rules prohibiting gender discrimination in access to and supply of goods and services (Directive 2004/113/EC). Estonia has not yet adopted all the necessary measures to give effect to the legislation in national law, despite a 'reasoned opinion' (second stage warning) sent by the Commission in February 2009.
http://europa.eu/rapid/pressReleasesAction.do?reference=IP/09/1036&format=HTML&aged=0&language=EN&guiLanguage=en
Commission takes legal action against Italy on discriminatory pension age
The European Commission has decided to take legal action against Italy for failure to comply with a European Court of Justice (ECJ) ruling on differences in the pension age for male and female civil servants. It will send Italy a "letter of formal notice" under Article 228 EC over the country's failure to follow a Court ruling last year that current Italian provisions violate the principle of equal pay for men and women.
http://europa.eu/rapid/pressReleasesAction.do?reference=IP/09/1034&format=HTML&aged=0&language=EN&guiLanguage=en
An impressive commitment by all to Equal Opportunities for All!
The Commission has adopted a communication on the implementation, the results and the overall assessment of the 2007 European Year of Equal Opportunities for All (EYEO). This communication shows that the most important factor in the EYEO's success was the political commitment of the Member States, the European institutions and civil society.
http://europa.eu/rapid/pressReleasesAction.do?reference=IP/09/971&format=HTML&aged=0&language=EN&guiLanguage=en
Parental leave: the European social partners sign the revised version of the Framework Agreement
The new Framework Agreement concluded by the social partners increases the duration of parental leave from three to four months per parent and applies to all employees regardless of their type of contract. It is the result of six months' negotiations between the social partners and reflects the changes that have occurred in society and on the labour market since the first Framework Agreement on parental leave was signed in 1995.
http://europa.eu/rapid/pressReleasesAction.do?reference=IP/09/948&format=HTML&aged=0&language=EN&guiLanguage=en
Challenges for equality between women and men in a time of change
The European Commission addressed the issue of gender equality in a time of economic crisis during a conference in Brussels on 15 and 16 June 2009. The two-day conference brought together representatives from the European institutions, notably Vice-President Wallström and Commissioner Špidla; representatives from national governments and equality bodies, European social partners and civil society to identify future priorities in the field of gender equality.
http://europa.eu/rapid/pressReleasesAction.do?reference=IP/09/920&format=HTML&aged=0&language=EN&guiLanguage=en
A 'shared commitment for employment': Commission initiates new strategy to tackle the employment impact of the crisis
The EU will make available €19 billion of planned European Social Fund expenditure to support people hit by the economic crisis. The EU will also frontload funds and co-financing by Member States will not be necessary for 2009-2010. Together with the European Investment Bank Group and other partners, a new EU loans facility will be set up to provide micro-credits for those who would usually have difficulty accessing the necessary funds to set up a business or micro-enterprise.
http://europa.eu/rapid/pressReleasesAction.do?reference=IP/09/859&format=HTML&aged=0&language=EN&guiLanguage=en
Commission refers Poland to European Court of Justice on gender equality legislation
The Commission has referred Poland to the European Court of Justice (ECJ) for non-transposition of EU rules prohibiting gender discrimination in access to and supply of goods and services (Directive 2004/113/EC). Poland has not yet adopted the necessary measures to give effect to the legislation in national law, despite a 'Reasoned Opinion' (second stage warning) sent by the Commission in 2008 (see IP/08/1014).
http://europa.eu/rapid/pressReleasesAction.do?reference=IP/09/785&format=HTML&aged=0&language=EN&guiLanguage=en
*Upcoming Events*
-The BPW Europe is organising its 13th European Congress in Munich from 4th to 6th September 2009 on the theme "Empowerment through Diversity of Knowledge".
http://www.bpw-european-congress.org/
-5-6 November 2009: International Conference on increasing female labour participation Amsterdam, the Netherlands. This international conference will encourage the sharing of new approaches and instruments towards increasing female labour participation in research and practice. It is organised by a Taskforce aimed at increasing female labour participation, initiated in 2007 by the Dutch government and its social partners (employers‟ associations and trade unions). http://www.24ormore.org/
-Events in Review:· -BiZ. Inauguration: KAGIDER Women Development Center -BIZ. Opened:
Women Development Centre "-BiZ." for which KAGIDER is working on since a while, became a reality. With the opening and press conference, aiming to become a connection point for women entrepreneurs, art and life, BIZ celebrated its inauguration on 26 May. "–BiZ." will provide very important opportunities to people and establishments demanding to benefit from "–BiZ." infrastructure, especially to KAGIDER members and thinking, producing, interrogating professional women, academicians and women non-governmental organisations. In addition to Akbank's main sponsorship, "-BiZ." will provide services such as periodic financial consulting, planning and evaluation of recent economic developments in various seminars. "–BiZ.", will provide consulting and mentoring services by its professional and successful members, as seminars, such as "Establishing my business" , "Developing my business" and in addition workshops such as "Women Strengthening" and "Women Leadership". Within the activity fields of Women Development Centre (BIZ), there would also be entrepreneurship workshops, seminars and meeting on daily agenda, personal development seminars and exhibitions. BIZ also aims to support other women studies focused NGOs to realize their projects.
-International Women Entrepreneurship and Leadership Summit:
1st International Women Entrepreneurship and Leadership Summit leaded and organized by KAGIDER on the 4th - 5th of June in Istanbul. The objectives of summit realized at The Marmara Hotel with the main sponsorship of Garanti Bank, were to develop regional policies to support women entrepreneurship, to develop entrepreneurship culture and to establish collaboration opportunities between women entrepreneurs. Among the distinguished speakers of the summit, there were the Ambassador-at-Large for Global Women's Issues Melanne Verveer, World Bank Head-Economist Sarosh Satar and the European Commission Director-General for Enlargement, Michael Leigh. In addition to Minister of Education Nimet Cubukcu, Minister of State for Women and Family Affairs Selam Aliye Kavaf, towering personalities of business world such as Galya Frayman Molinaz, Nafiz Karadere, Vuslat Dogan Sabanci and Aynur Bektaş also participated to the summit.
US Department of State Secretary Hillary Clinton wished achievement to summit in her speech carried over by a band tape for inauguration. Clinton said in her speech, "With this summit, I believe that you support your country and other countries in terms of peace, opportunity and prosperity because, this summit reflects proud history of women rights in Turkey. Turkey's women become a very important force of change." During her welcoming speech, KAGIDER President Gulseren Onanc also stated her will for this summit to become traditional connection point for women from all around the world. With this summit, we also took another step in direction of creating appropriate resources and policies, to make women entrepreneurship and leadership position in the right place as it should be. "Women Entrepreneurship and Leadership Fund initiative" is proposed to be established at the end of the summit, by KAGIDER President Gulseren Onanc. According to the initiative, funds' transactions to be formed and gathered in a common financial pool between Turkish and American Institutions, to be used in Turkey and neighbourhood countries to strengthen women's role and status.
KAGİDER EU DAYS 18-19 June 2009, Istanbul
The Women Entrepreneurs Association of Turkey (KAGİDER) organized two days seminar, "KAGIDER EU Days", on June 18th – 19th 2009. The first day of the event focused on the EU 7th Framework Programme while on the second day the focus was on the EU policies and civil society supports. The seminars were given by the European Commission officials, Turkish National Institutions' representatives as TUBITAK, Iskur, ABGS and also civil society representatives.
European SME week to boost entrepreneurship in difficult times
Promoting entrepreneurship and raising awareness about business support are the main messages of the first European SME Week launched in Brussels today. More than 1000 events took place in 35 countries from 6 to 14 May. Today more than ever the contribution of European entrepreneurs for preserving jobs and creating new ones needs to be recognised and supported. The week also allowed entrepreneurs to discover the information, advice, support and ideas available at European, national, regional and local levels to help them develop their activities.
http://europa.eu/rapid/pressReleasesAction.do?reference=IP/09/704&format=HTML&aged=0&language=EN&guiLanguage=en
Women's rights in Turkey's EU Accession Seminar on Gender equality in Turkey and the EU
Women's rights are a major issue in the context of EU enlargement: it forms a fundamental part of human rights and of the democratisation process of any candidate country. The Commission monitors the situation in Turkey and reports regularly on the situation on the ground. We are aware of the progress made and the steps taken to advance the situation of women in Turkey.
http://europa.eu/rapid/pressReleasesAction.do?reference=SPEECH/09/128&format=HTML&aged=0&language=EN&guiLanguage=en
The corner of the Women Entrepreneurs
An entrepreneur among us - Zehra Gungor ;
Zehra Gungor was born in Ayvalik. She completed her secondary education in Izmir Maarif College (Bornova Anatolian High School). She studied pedagogy, librarianship, Classical Greek, philology, English and American Literature for her higher education. Then, she completed English Philology and Literature at Istanbul University and Communication Faculty, Master of Public Relations at Marmara University. She has a PhD degree of communications in the same university.
She started to Journalism as an intern at "Cumhuriyet" Newspaper in 1982. She worked at "Gunaydin" newspaper (as an Interviewer), Yeni Asir (as editor), Economic Bulletin (news director), Milliyet (economy columnist).
After achieving the scholarship of the Prime Ministry's Press and Publication Information General Directorate,, she realized a journalism internship in New York at 1987. She worked as journalist and editor in McGraw-Hill Group Publications. She conducted a research on Japanese Economy and Media having a scholarship of Japan Foreign Affairs Ministry in 1997. Then, she won prizes such as, "Best Interview Prize" of Turkish Journalists Association in 1996, "Best Interview Series Prize" in 1998 and "Journalist of the Year in the field of interview" in 1999. In May 2000, her first novel "Forbidden Country" is published. She founded STAGE Communication Consultancy Company in 1999. She is leading her company and has founded another company in 2008, Dokuz Organization and Fooding Co., specialising on organization and food business. Zehra Gungor is one of the founders of KAGIDER.
NGO Links
The European Women's Lobby EWL
World Association of Women Entrepreneurs FCEM
Mediterranean Business Women Association (AFAEMME)
Balkan Regional Coalition of Women Business Associations
ABHaber/ EUNews
Centre for European Policy Studies (CEPS)
European Policy Centre (EPC)
Heinrich Böll Foundation
The Small and Medium Entrepreneurs Union of the European People's Party (SME Union)
United Nations Inter-Agency Network on Women and Gender Equality (IANWGE)
EU Institutions
European Commission;
DG EnlargementDG Employment, Social Affairs and Equal Opportunities
DG Justice and Home Affairs
DG Research
European Commission Delegation to Turkey
European Parliament; FEMM EMPL AFET
The Council of the European Union
The Slovenian EU Presidency
The Committee of Regions of the European Union
Contact Us
KAGIDER (Women's Entrepreneurs Association of Turkey)
Istanbul Office
Mecidiye Mah. Dereboyu Caddesi No:41 K:2-3
Ortaköy - Beşiktaş / Istanbul, Turkey
Phone: +90 212 227 41 44, Fax: +90 212 227 45 66
E-mail: kagider@kagider.org
Brussels OfficeAvenue des Gaulois, 13 1040 Brussels
Phone: +32 2 736 40 47, Fax: +32 2 736 39 93
E-mail: aslihan.tekin@kagider.org
KAGIDER/Women Entrepreneurs Association of Turkey
Avenue des Gaulois, 13 1040 BRUSSELS
GSM: +32 486 776 478 T: +32 2 7364047 F: +32 2 7363993
aslihan.tekin@kagider.org www.kagider.org