About Us

Who Are We?

Our volunteering and civil society story, which started in Bursa in 2013, continues gaining momentum with our ever-growing volunteer base. Sivil Yaşam Derneği (Civic Involvement Association), which provides youth with self-development opportunities in many cities of Turkey, is a youth civil society organization standing out with its national and international work.

Sivil Yaşam Derneği has been carrying out effective activities in the youth field since its establishment with its apolitical stance, scientific and evidence-based approaches, always putting youth at the focal point, and working with realistic goals.

In addition to numerous projects and partnerships we have established at national and international levels, our association holds the privilege of being the first youth association in Turkey to hold United Nations ECOSOC Consultative Status.

All activities of our association are shaped around 6 main areas based on youth policies determined by organizations such as the European Commission, European Youth Forum, and the Ministry of Youth and Sports.

We touch the lives of young people all over Turkey with the projects, programs, training modules, and events we develop to ensure young people become more qualified, more active, and ready for professional life.

In this process we started with the motto of "Achieving professional work with an amateur spirit", we invite the youth of our country to volunteer alongside thousands of volunteers, our board of directors consisting entirely of young people, our training modules supporting the personal development of youth, and our advisory board consisting of experts in their fields.

ECOSOC Consultative Status

Our association received consultative status in the Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC), a United Nations organ, in 2017!

The Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC), one of the 5 main organs of the United Nations, is the organ that regulates economic and social relations, participates in international policy making, and coordinates the organs under it. The commissions among the sub-committees of this organ work in a wide range of areas from sustainable development to equal opportunities, from crime prevention to drug use.

The committee of civil society organizations under ECOSOC has been granting consultative status since 1945 in order to receive support from civil society organizations to contribute to the working areas of the Economic and Social Council through information sharing, policy making, organizing joint projects, and with both technical knowledge and field activities. Today, the number of civil society organizations with consultative status is more than 5,000 worldwide. Sivil Yaşam Derneği is the first youth association in our country to receive ECOSOC consultative status.

Civil society organizations with Economic and Social Council Consultative Status can directly contribute to United Nations efforts in the following ways:

• By participating in international conferences and events,
• By making written and oral statements at these events,
• By organizing their own side-events at these events and participating in other side-events, discussions, and panels,
• By being directly present at UN headquarters,
• By networking and lobbying with different government officials and civil society organization representatives at these events and structures.

In summary, the United Nations Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC) is the council with a civil society organizations sub-committee that regulates the relationship of the United Nations with national and international civil society organizations. The council provides accreditation to civil society organizations that meet certain conditions every year in order to benefit from their knowledge and increase cooperation to achieve global goals. This accreditation offers the opportunity to participate in and have a say in meetings organized by the United Nations and/or the Economic and Social Council, and to develop joint projects by reaching out to other accredited organizations. Thus, ECOSOC Consultative Status offers great opportunities for our association to expand abroad and increase its sphere of influence.