In January 2024, Şahinbey Municipality in partnership with WWF-Turkiye launched the project ‘Wastepickers and Waste Not to Be Wasted in Gaziantep’, in one of Türkiye’s largest districts. Funded by the European Union, the project not only aims to strengthen waste management systems, but also promote social inclusion and better living conditions for registered waste pickers. One of the key components of the project is to enhance programme management for local Civil Society Organizations (CSOs) that interact with or support disadvantaged segments of society, many of whom find employment or livelihood by being informal waste workers.
Strengthening Civil Society Capacity in Supporting Informal Waste Workers
The programme set out to enhance the institutional capacity of local CSOs and recently completed the final module, thereby increasing the sustainability and impact of projects targeting disadvantaged groups such as waste pickers and migrants.
A Year-Long Journey: WWF- Türkiye Trained 80 CSO Representatives on Sustainable Development
Since September 2024, the programme has focused on strengthening the organizational capacity of CSOs, cooperatives, and community-based organizations in critical skills, knowledge and practices for non-profits to function effectively, such as grant management, effective communication, and monitoring & evaluation, as well as sustainable development and applying a rights-based approach. Designed to combine theory with practice, each training session engaged 10–15 organizational representatives. Over the course of the year, a total of 80 participants were able to gain more knowledge of project management and programme development.
As a result, Gaziantep University, one of the participants, has now successfully secured funding to work on improving the informal waste worker sector using skills learned through the training. With more participants encouraged and continuing to apply for funding, a hallmark of success of this learning journey will be the long-term organizational stability to drive rights-based improvement in waste management.
[Also read related articles from WWF-Türkiye: Turkish Mayor Visits Jakarta to Exchange Knowledge on Inclusive Waste Management Approaches]
Beyond Training: Fostering Lasting Partnership and Knowledge Exchange Among CSOs
Despite the end of the training series,communication channels established during the programme remain open and are used for further knowledge exchange and collaboration among the participating CSOs.
WWF-Türkiye’s continued support for local organizations aims to foster stronger partnerships, joint initiatives, and greater collective impact to improve the livelihoods of informal waste workers in Gaziantep.
