YHP Türkiye – I am a teenager
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Location
Middle schools in Istanbul, Sakarya, Kırklareli, Bolu, Sinop, Eskişehir, Ankara, and Denizli.
Timing
2013 – 2016
The local context
Adolescence is a sensitive and critical period in human development, marked by rapid emotional, social, and psychological changes. Supporting teenagers in recognizing themselves, gaining emotional awareness, managing anger, and breaking the cycle of violence contributes significantly to the mental and social wellbeing of future generations.
Our objectives
- Support adolescents in understanding the changes specific to their teenage years and help them recognize their emotions.
- Provide training in anger management to break cycles of violence and enhance resilience.
- Increase awareness of children’s rights and motivate students to build a positive outlook for their futures.
Our focus
Adolescent emotional literacy, violence prevention, and empowerment.
Our programme
The ‘I am a teenager’ (Ben Ergenim) programme was launched as a collaborative effort between AstraZeneca Türkiye, the Ministry of National Education, and TOÇEV, one of Turkey’s leading NGOs in child education.
Through interactive workshops and seminars held in middle schools in Istanbul, Sakarya, Kırklareli, Bolu, Sinop, Eskişehir, Ankara, and Denizli, students participate in exercises supported by creative materials such as modelling clay and balloons. Parents and teachers receive guidance through dedicated seminars. Each school is visited three times over the academic year, and both students and their families receive booklets and posters designed to reinforce the lessons. A special series of adolescent-themed cartoons are distributed to help convey key messages to students in an engaging and relatable manner.
Our achievements
The project has reached 2,762 students through workshops, with a total participation of 9,170.
Research was conducted with 923 students randomly selected from participating schools, while seminars also engaged 579 parents and 190 teachers. The results showed a meaningful decrease in violent tendencies among students, with average pre-training scores dropping from 42.60 to 41.51 post-training. In addition, training sessions resulted in significant declines in feelings of hopelessness and loss of motivation, showing clear improvement in students’ outlook toward the future.
Our partners
TOÇEV (Foundation for Educating Children with a Reading Passion)
TOÇEV is one of the leading NGOs in Turkey that work in child education. TOÇEV provides lifelong education facilities and aims to help parents raise their children as individuals with social awareness and who take an active role in their social lives and see a positive future.
Further information
For information on other previous country programmes see: