Message from the Founding President

In Pursuit of Equality, Justice, Solidarity, and Peace:

The Five-Year Journey of SES Equality and Solidarity Association

We established the SES Equality and Solidarity Association (https://sesdernegi.org/) with the aim of advocating gender equality, achieving the Sustainable Development Goals set forth by the United Nations (UN) in 17 areas, and thereby creating an ideal country and world where equality, justice, and peace prevail.

Our main objectives were to uphold two fundamental values: Equality and Solidarity.

We advocate for equality in all areas, with a particular focus on gender equality, and we promote solidarity. We believe that any social change can only be achieved through organized struggle based on solidarity.

Five years ago, we embarked on a journey by founding SES Equality, Justice, Women Platform to bring a fresh feminist perspective to global developments as part of the women’s movement in Turkey and the world. While observing how the mainstream media, driven by patriarchal regimes both in Turkey and around the world, has distanced itself from factual reporting, we aimed to follow developments with an objective and solution-based journalistic approach. Our desire is to amplify the voices of the unheard, track the footsteps of those fighting against the patriarchy, and archive the actions of women’s movements.

Driven by the need for a media approach focused on gender equality, we strive to foster a profound shift in thinking and bring about an intellectual transformation through our publishing activities at the SES Equality, Justice, Women Platform. Through our digital and social media channels, our mission is to shed light on women’s struggles, amplify their achievements, and support the visibility of women’s leadership in various fields. Despite the polarized climate of our nation, we remain committed to using a constructive, unifying, embracing, and egalitarian language. We firmly advocate that gender equality and secularism are indispensable pillars of democracy.

We bring our activities to life through the financial support and collaboration of different individuals and institutions. We have not accepted any financial support that could hinder our freedom or compromise our impartiality. Our financial reports have been audited by the independent auditing firm, Ernst&Young, to ensure transparency and accountability, which are fundamental values to us.

In this booklet, we hope to share the brief story of our journey in pursuit of equality, justice, solidarity, and peace.

We hope this journey will excite you, increase your hope, and inspire courage within you.

SES Equality and Solidarity Association

Gülseren Onanç

SES

We advocate for equality and solidarity in order to achieve Gender Equality and Sustainable Development Goals, and we undertake projects in line with this purpose.

Our MISSION

We support active citizenship and solidarity in order to achieve Gender Equality and Sustainable Development Goals.

Our VISION

To become an effective, respected, and inclusive civil society organization among national and international civil society organizations over the next 10 years in order to reach the 2030 Sustainable Development Goals by increasing Gender Equality.

WHAT WE ADVOCATE FOR:

  • To understand and act upon the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) established by the United Nations (UN) in 2015, individuals, civil society, businesses, and governments must come together.
  • Advocating for and implementing the SDGs is not the sole responsibility of governments; it also requires organized activism by engaged citizens.
  • Support should be provided to empower women comprehensively, with a special emphasis on strengthening their presence in public spaces and politics to achieve gender equality.
  • Young women leaders should be encouraged and supported, particularly in addressing critical issues such as Sustainable Development and Climate Change.
  • We should promote and support Social Innovation and Social Entrepreneurship to reach the SDGs.
  • Effective utilization of digital media is essential to foster deeper thinking and increased courage.
  • We need a media approach that focuses on the women's perspective to achieve gender equality. By leveraging digital and social media tools, we can ensure the visibility and leadership of women.