The project titled “Dialogue on Knowledge Assessment and Awareness Among Businesspeople and New Participants for Sustainable Green Development” was funded and implemented through the coordination of the Gaziantep Young Businesspeople Association (GAGİAD), after being selected among 67 applications in the field of Vocational Education under Erasmus+ program, which allows for exchange of views among 5 countries by observing the value given by communities to ecology, the process of green development, and the works carried out in this field. Supported by the Turkish National Agency and the European Commission, the Greek activity of the project was realized in Athens.

Stakeholders who had completed the first four activities in different countries gathered in Athens with the theme of “encouraging women to focus on areas related to the Green Deal and work in high-tech fields.”

During the meeting where examples from Turkey were presented, discussions were held within the scope of new collaborations.

Koçer, the Chairman of the Board of GAGİAD, stated that the project was approaching its end with full speed and emphasized that obtaining this experience with transnational stakeholders, the topics of the project were important for the global agenda, and they included a topic that would touch the whole world during the Athens Activity.

Koçer stated that they aimed to increase the employability and awareness of businesswomen and highlighted that within the scope of this project, they would evaluate how technology could be used to benefit from vocational training provided through social networks and e-learning platforms.

Koçer stated that in addition to experience, knowledge, and skills, they desired to participate in online and international events for knowledge exchange, saying, “In the Athens leg of our project, we are conducting a search for policies addressing existing gender inequality in the world, imbalanced investments, gender employment, and investment gap in green and technology sectors still predominantly dominated by men. However, we will continue to provide all the support we can and support the project in order to have a more intense presence of women employment and women entrepreneurs in this field.”

Koçer, emphasizing the importance of women in the business world, stated, “We are always by their side to support any kind of assistance for women to actively participate in all areas of life. We are always ready to cooperate with all institutions for the projects to be realized.”

“Let’s solve the visa issue”

During his presentation, Koçer provided information to the participants about the earthquakes that occurred on February 6th and the projects implemented in the region, and drew attention to the need to find a solution to the visa problems in order to improve the relations between the two countries. He said:

“In general, we must mention that there are difficulties in obtaining visas to Europe. Because we come here to do business and for mutual development. However, I regret to say that we are experiencing problems with visas. We want our dialogue with Europe to progress and this power to be visible in political, economic, and social areas. We share our thoughts and wishes with you because we want these thoughts to be conveyed to the relevant institutions through you.”

The project was completed within 1 year.

The partners involved in the project that started in June 2022 included Turkey, alongside Spain, Luxembourg, Denmark, and Greece. Under the project, the stakeholders came together for the first time between September 20-21 last year in Gaziantep, hosted by GAGİAD.

After witnessing exemplary implementations of green city practices in Gaziantep, the stakeholders continued to gather under the host of different partners and recently concluded the Luxembourg leg.

Message from the Ambassador to Gaziantep

Cihan Koçer, the President of GAGİAD, along with Board Members Metin Tepe and Halit Güleç, visited the Turkish Republic’s Ambassador to Athens, Çağatay Erciyes, during their visit to the Greek capital.

Koçer stated, “We aim to increase exports from Gaziantep, Turkey’s most important export city, to Greece. The current figures do not reflect the true potential of both sides. We hope that Gaziantep, which exports products to all corners of the world, will be more effective in the Greek market in the future.”

Ambassador Erciyes, emphasizing his close monitoring of Gaziantep’s production and export potential, expressed his desire to see more Gaziantep businesspeople in Greece.

In this regard, Erciyes provided information about business and investment opportunities in Greece, saying, “We welcome Gaziantep business representatives to Greece. Our Embassy and its entire team are here to assist you and facilitate business connections. We hope that business ties between Turkey and Greece will further strengthen. We are ready to provide support to the best of our ability.”

The visit concluded with the presentation of a plaque and GAGİAD President Cihan Koçer handing over the certificates for trees planted in the GAGİAD Memorial Forest in the name of Ambassador Çağatay Erciyes.