Turkey introduces TIKA’s Experience Sharing Program

Turkish aid agency TIKA on Sunday introduced its 2018 Experience Sharing Program, which aims to instill in Turkish students a sense of volunteering with various projects across the world.

This year, the Turkish Cooperation and Coordination Agency (TIKA) will send around 500 Turkish students to 30 countries between Sunday and Sept. 8, within the framework of its 2018 Experience Sharing Program. These students will take part in nearly 100 projects and activities in their host countries.

The students will be taking part in projects in Niger, Albania, Bosnia Herzegovina, Burkina Faso, Algeria, Djibouti, Chad, Morocco, Ghana, Georgia, Cameroon, Montenegro, Kazakhstan, Kenya, Colombia, Lebanon, Macedonia, Mozambique, Namibia, Uzbekistan, Romania, Senegal, Serbia, Somalia, Sudan, Tanzania, Tunisia, Jordan, Moldova and South Africa.

The program will give students an opportunity to observe TIKA and Turkish non-governmental organizations' efforts in their host countries.

They will participate in the implementation of projects linked to renovation and reparation of schools, orphanages, libraries, and places of worship, as well as providing them with equipment. The students will also join social, cultural and humanitarian aid activities.

TIKA aims to give a unique experience and a sense of global awareness through its volunteering programs.

Bilal Erdoğan, World Ethnosports Federation President, also addressed the students during the event.

"You will be proud of your country and president, and [Turkish] institutions when you see how valuable the name of Turkey, TIKA and [Turkish President] Recep Tayyip Erdogan is in the countries you visit," Bilal Erdoğan said.

He also said that although Turkey was the world's largest 17th economy, it was the number one country in providing humanitarian aid across the world.

According to the Development Initiative's (DI) Global Humanitarian Assistance Report, Turkey was the most charitable country in 2017, spending almost $8.1 billion in humanitarian aid.

The Experience Sharing Program includes interaction between university students in Turkey and the youth living in different regions of Africa, Asia, Balkans and the Middle East, where TIKA is supporting development projects. It also aims at building "friendship bridges" between the students.

The program was first organized in 2017 by TIKA in cooperation with Turkish Airlines, Anadolu Agency, and state broadcaster Turkish Radio and Television (TRT).

Last year's program was attended by 220 students, who visited 19 countries and fulfilled 28 projects.

The students visited Libya, Algeria, Tunisia, Ethiopia, Somalia, Tanzania, Kenya, Senegal, Guinea, Cameroon, Niger, Chad, Sudan, Burkina Faso, Ghana, Uganda, Jordan and Lebanon.