Connect for Impact project, implemented by Anadolu Kültür, was designed to bring together rights-based civil society organizations, cultural and artis institutions, and municipal units in Eskişehir, Adana, Mersin, and Diyarbakır. The project aimed to encourage cross-sectoral collaborations against discrimination and to explore the possibilities of collective struggle through creative interventions addressing locally prominent forms of discrimination in each city, shaped by their unique dynamics.

Implemented between June and December 2024 with the support of the German Federal Foreign Office and Anadolu Kültür's own resources, the project's main activities included Capacity Building and Idea Development Workshops in each project city—bringing together representatives from civil society organizations, cultural actors, and local government units—alongside Online Mentorship, Local Collaboration Activities, and a Harvest Meeting that convened representatives of institutions that had successfully carried out local collaborations.

The overall objective of the project was to strengthen the relatively limited impact of various institutions' efforts in areas such as combating discrimination and ensuring equal access to rights through a cross-sectoral approach, and to create space to experience the transformative potential of collaboration in different contexts.

While there are existing examples of collaborations between local governments and cultural institutions or between local governments and civil society, it is noteworthy that, especially in a context where the space for anti-discrimination work is increasingly shrinking, examples where all three sectors come together and produce work toward a shared goal of change remain quite limited.

Another distinctive aspect of the project was its proposal to move forward through artistic expression and production under the concept of "creative intervention"—particularly as a way to address locally identified rights violations or forms of intersectional discrimination—while also taking a step toward challenging entrenched assumptions that cross-sectoral collaboration is either too difficult or ineffective.

The first step of the project involved reaching out to cultural and artistic actors and civil society organizations in the project cities to learn about their goals and areas of work, while also identifying the priority areas outlined in the strategic plans of local governments and the sectors they aimed to collaborate with.

In the second step, city-specific workshops were designed with a focus on building collaboration capacity. These workshops aimed to bring together local actors from different sectors—each with distinct working methods and institutional cultures—to facilitate the identification of shared social, economic, cultural, and political issues they wished to address. The workshops also helped participants detect common societal problems emerging at the intersection of their target audiences, forms of discrimination, and the rights-based issues they sought to highlight, with a particular focus on the increasingly pressing forms of intersectional discrimination unique to their local context.

The next stage involved forming working groups composed of representatives from the three sectors. These groups were tasked with taking action to address the issues identified in their localities by developing an activity plan, assigning roles, setting a timeline, and choosing a method of creative intervention.

From the very beginning; to reach the target groups that teams would engage with locally and ensuring their participation in planned activities, to conduct visits to artists or stakeholder institutions to be included in the creative intervention teams, and finally to concretize and implement the activities, the support of the Anadolu Kültür team and project experts, both online and in person, played a vital role.

In the next phase, representatives from different institutions across the three sectors came together in each city to identify issues that affected one or more target groups and to collectively work toward addressing these social problems. The goal here was to strengthen institutions' ability to integrate their expertise with others', enhance their capacity to raise awareness—both within their teams and in the broader community—and, most importantly, to expand their ability to take action by harnessing the transformative power of artistic expression. Each team was supported to implement a “local collaboration against discrimination” project.

The broader aim was to enable participating institutions to “connect fo impact” to deepen intersectoral dialogue and experience-sharing, and to diversify their capacities, knowledge, and skills for collaborative action to enhance impact.

With these goals, the Connect for Impact project successfully supported six cross-sectoral collaboration activities during its seven-month implementation period across four cities. These activities addressed prominent local forms of discrimination and/or barriers to rights faced by different groups and aimed to raise awareness and bring these issues to public attention. Each local collaboration sought to make a meaningful impact on its specific target group, broaden its reach across various segments of society, and, ultimately, deepen its influence toward decision-makers. Throughout, equal emphasis was placed on both the substantive issues being addressed and the increased awareness of the power of collaboration and solidarity to foster impactful local action.

In Adana, we carried out a series of activities aimed at supporting young women’s access to and participation in artistic production, culminating in the exhibition “İçeride Olmak”. With the active participation of 19 young women from diverse socio-economic backgrounds, the project aimed to create a space for experience-sharing and artistic expression that enabled women who had access to art education to support those who did not. The first activity following the formation of the young women’s collective was a series of visits to the studios of independent artists living and producing in Adana. These events began with conversations about art production and continued with a walk through the second-hand markets in the city center, focusing on urban memory and collecting found materials. Following these, we held a three-day collage workshop at Çırçır Art Center, facilitated by independent artist Ekin Keser. In this workshop, participants combined the found materials gathered in previous sessions with personal memory objects they brought themselves. The collaboratively produced works were later exhibited at Kun Art Space, one of Adana’s leading art venues. The interest generated by the workshops and the exhibition among local actors in Adana and Mersin, as well as the local press, set a strong example for similar initiatives. Moreover, the engagement of various municipal departments in the process demonstrates the potential for institutional ownership and replication of this model in future projects.

Implementing Organizations:
Adana Architects Association – @adanamimarlardernegi01
Adana Metropolitan Municipality Department of Women and Family Services – @abbkadinaile
Association for Women’s Freedom and Equality (KÖVED) – @kovedadana
Carbon Collective – @carbonkolektif

In Eskişehir, a collaboration centered on the need for young artists to access spaces for expression and production expanded with the designation of Çekirdek Eskişehir -established in 2024 within the scope of İKSV’s Ortaklaşa Project- as a working space for independent artistic production. The production and exhibition process we carried out with 24 independent artists and artist collectives created a significant impact in the city. Local networks built by the artist collective Bağımsızlar and the initiative Buradan Nereye played a key role in reaching such a wide group of artists. This collaboration was designed using an open studio model that not only allowed for the viewing of finished works but also created space for public engagement and participation throughout the production process. We provided an opportunity for the participating artists to share the same space and co-create over the course of 9 days at Çekirdek Eskişehir. This allowed each artist or collective to produce and exhibit works focusing on specific aspects of discrimination, fostering a spirit of solidarity among emerging artists. We also aimed to strengthen the local artist network through thematic talks and experience-sharing sessions featuring artists from both İzmir and Eskişehir. The exhibition “Az Öte”, held between December 28, 2024, and January 5, 2025, attracted strong interest from local audiences and other cultural and artistic actors. In addition, the artists produced a documentary video capturing the collaborative creation process, and a comprehensive exhibition catalogue was published, featuring all exhibited works and texts.

 
Implementing Organizations:
Çekirdek Eskişehir – @cekirdekeskisehir
Eskişehir Metropolitan Municipality Equality Unit – @eskisehirbb
Paper People Project – @paper.peopleproject
Sakin Okul Association for Education, Culture and Arts – @sakinokul
 
Participating Artist Initiatives:
Bidon Collective – @bidonkolektif
Buşone Fanzine – @busonefanzin
Co-Operative Art – @co.operativeart
Eldem Art Space – @eldemsanatalani
Oda Art – @odaartt
Online Art Project – @onlineartproject
OPUS XI – @opusonbir

A collaborative initiative was carried out in Eskişehir to strengthen the participation of young women from underserved neighborhoods in civil society through artistic expression. A small group of young women, at high risk of experiencing discrimination, was formed in two neighborhoods—Emek and Fevzi Çakmak—both shaped by internal and external migration. Gaining access to these communities proved to be challenging, and the support of local community centers (Belde Evleri and Halk Merkezleri) played a crucial role. All workshops and gatherings were hosted at Odunpazarı Municipality’s Emek Halk Merkezi, which also supported access and outreach efforts. We organized workshops with the participants focusing on gender roles and enabling them to express the issues they face in their own neighborhoods. Following this phase, the participants collectively decided to produce short videos as a form of creative intervention, which led to the development of a mini video documentary. As part of fieldwork carried out with the women in their neighborhoods, we identified specific urban spaces—such as streets that were difficult to walk or places where they felt unsafe. The production workshops also created a space for dialogue, where the participants conducted interviews with other women in the neighborhood and listened to their experiences. With the support of an expert editor for the post-production phase, these efforts culminated in a 20-minute documentary video. On February 19, 2025, the video was screened in a public event attended by women from various neighborhoods, along with representatives from the municipality and civil society organizations, followed by a discussion of the process and outcomes.

 
Implementing Organizations:
Çember Civil Initiative Association – @cemberdernek
Eskişehir Metropolitan Municipality – Equality Unit – @eskisehirbb
Eskişehir Metropolitan Municipality – Youth Center – @ebbgenclik
Odunpazarı Municipality – @odunpazari
Tepebaşı Municipality – Center for Social Equality – @tepebasibeltr

In Atgirmez, a neighborhood in Mersin where families face layered forms of deprivation and are compelled to live and work in seasonal agricultural areas, a series of art-based workshops were held with children. The aim was to collect their ideas, experiences, and suggestions related to access to education, and to amplify their voices across Mersin through a creative form of expression that would raise awareness about this ongoing rights violation. Workshops included an interactive storytelling session held both in Atgirmez and on the Mersin coastline, a mapping activity focusing on children’s spatial experiences of accessing agricultural fields, and plaster sculpture sessions. At the end of these workshops, children were encouraged to express their dreams about access to education by designing scarecrows, transforming these symbols into imaginative, future-oriented figures. The project concluded with a public exhibition on April 23, 2025, held in the playground next to the Marina in Mersin, titled “Scarecrows Dreaming the Future”. The exhibition featured scarecrows and miniature sculptures created by the children, as well as informative booklets and videos documenting the process. It was accompanied by a specially prepared informative brochure addressing the barriers to quality education for children working and living in seasonal agricultural settings. This initiative served as a powerful example of creative intervention, encouraging collaboration among municipalities, civil society, and cultural actors to address the challenges faced by children in accessing education within the context of seasonal agricultural labor.

 
Implementing Organizations:
D5 Art Space – @d5sanatortami
Kültürhane – @kulturhanemiz
Mersin Metropolitan Municipality – Social Cohesion Center – @mersinbuyuksehirbelediyesi
Maya Association – @mayadernegi
Mersinefil – Mersin Cinema Association – @mersinefil
Tarsus Women’s Council – Women’s Assembly – @tarsuskentkonseyikadinmeclisi

At the end of the "Wellbeing in the Fight Against Discrimination: Local Network Development Workshop", held in Diyarbakır with a focus on individual and organizational wellbeing as a means to sustain anti-discrimination efforts, two key models for collaboration emerged.

One of these was implemented by a working group under the name “The Wellbeing Network Project.” The group began its work with the belief that it is essential to continue thinking about the concept of wellbeing—and particularly organizational wellbeing—from a decolonial perspective, and to open up this space through multi-sectoral collaboration. Within this framework, and hosted and coordinated by the municipality, a two-day workshop was held to assess the wellbeing needs of local actors. The goal of the workshop was to reflect on wellbeing policies grounded in dignity, equality, care, and solidarity—both in the internal operations of municipalities and in their public-facing services. Bringing together municipal staff and civil society workers, the workshop created a space for dialogue and mutual learning. Based on the outcomes of the workshop, the working group now aims to develop concrete policy proposals rooted in local needs and to design a sustainable project that will carry forward the work on wellbeing.

 
Implementing Organizations:
Sur Municipality – @sur.belediyesi
Diyarbakır Metropolitan Municipality – Department of Culture and Social Affairs – @dbbkultur
Rengarenk Umutlar Association – @rengarenkumutlardernegi
 
Supporting Organizations:
Association for Cultural Research for Peace (BAKAD) – @barisicinkulturel
Women’s Solidarity Association – DAKAHDER – @dakahder__

The second collaboration model arose from participants’ recognition of the healing and relationship-strengthening power of wellbeing work, alongside their observation that, as local actors deeply engaged in intense rights struggles, they were often unable to provide each other with sufficient support. In response to this need, the participants proposed a shared space within the project framework where everyone could contribute and offer what they can to support each other’s wellbeing. This led to the launch of the “Wellbeing Exchange Program”, a program encompassing wellbeing activities in eight different contexts, where municipal staff, civil society workers, and cultural-artistic actors mutually support one another.

 
Traditional Clothing Fashion Show + Erbane & Govend Workshop from Decolonial Perspective- Women’s Culture, Art, and Literature Association (KASED) @kasedjin
Self-Care: Pelvic Floor Work with Women- Önce Çocuklar Association @komeleyazarokan
Psychosocial Support through Art Workshop- Mordem Art and Ecological Life Association @mordemsanat
Meeting Through Artistic Expression: Joint Music Workshop- Ma Music Center @mamusicenter
Institutional Solidarity: Financial Management Training for NGOs- DAKAHDER (Women’s Solidarity Association) @dakahder__
Wellbeing for Women by Bicycle- Amed Women’s Bicycle Group @amed_kadinbisikletgrubu
Local Network Development Meeting & Concert- Amidart Culture and Art Community @amidart_

We concluded the project with the Harvest Meeting held at Nesin Mathematics Village, which brought together 26 representatives from Eskişehir, Adana, Mersin, and Diyarbakır. During this three-day gathering, local collaboration experiences in combating discrimination were shared, and in-depth discussions were held about the initiatives carried out in each city.

We organized sessions to evaluate the challenges and advantages of working together as equal partners among local government units, civil society organizations, independent artists, and cultural institutions across the four cities. Additionally, we reflected on how three-sector collaborations in each city can be sustained and further developed.

Moreover, given the increasingly difficult context for rights-based work within civil society, we discussed ways to strengthen intercity, institutional, and cross-sector solidarity opportunities to collectively address the shared challenges.