When civic space narrowed and rights protections eroded, our partners chose a different path. They acted, built spaces of trust and capacity, supported each other, created campaigns, and kept going.
The Advocates for Change Project backed practical, vital and community-rooted human rights work for nine months across Türkiye: Human rights schools, local cohorts, peer counselling networks, eco-feminist campaigning, youth filmmaking and much more. Along the way we hosted hands-on workshops and thematic gatherings for exchange of experiences, learning and solidarity. What follows are glimpses from a chapter when people persistently reclaimed human rights.
Women changing Marmara
ARMAŞ team, side by side with Prosumer Economy Society, brought together women from across the Marmara Region to bridge feminism with ecological movement. Through workshops and mentorship, women changemakers sharpened their skills and confidence to claim space in patriarchal decision-making arenas and created their own public actions and visibility. They designed campaigns, met decision-makers, set up sub-communities and gathered tens of thousands of signatures on petitions about mucilage, water protection and biodiversity. They not only united local struggles but also amplified women’s voices in environmental debates.
Hope, for us, is action. As long as we continue to speak out, take action, and demand change, hope is alive – and growing.
From documentation to strategy
AYHED team engaged human rights defenders and lawyers in Türkiye’s Southeast on documentation based on international human rights standards, submissions to national and international mechanisms, and strategic litigation. Two tailored guidebooks — Strategic Litigation for Human Rights and a Monitoring & Documentation Handbook — now serve as key references. After the training, one participant was ready to file their first comprehensive submission to an international body: A shift this work was designed to spark.
“The establishment of a network of 100+ defenders was particularly significant, fostering collaboration and solidarity across different cities.” AYHED
Young women stepping in for right to peace
In the Eastern part of Türkiye, young women joined DISA team to explore and shape their own paths as peacebuilders. DISA team created a vibrant public sphere for discussion on the Women, Peace and Security (WPS) and Youth, Peace and Security (YPS) agendas through workshops, podcasts and a pioneering report. Some participants have already begun local advocacy efforts reflecting how experience from shared spaces flows back. Their initiative was particularly timely and vital given the emerging resolution process of the Kurdish issue in Türkiye.
“For the first time in Türkiye, our work highlights young women’s role in peacebuilding through the YPS–WPS lens. It provides both evidence and inspiration for future steps.” DISA
Building an inclusive local safety net in Bursa
Free Colours (Özgür Renkler) team convened social-service professionals and LGBTIQ+ communities to form a network of referral and counselling mechanisms. They produced guides and strategies that could be activated quickly in moments of crisis, demonstrating the power of local trust and preparedness rather than one-off interventions. Through their efforts and countless support and counselling sessions, they have reinforced and expanded LGBTIQ+ community’s resilience. In July 2025, authorities ordered university hospitals to submit medical records of individuals undergoing gender-affirmation procedures, a measure that clearly violated the right to privacy. Together with Kapsama Alanı, the team mobilised their ready-made referral channels to provide swift support.
“This was not only a rapid community response, but it was also the real-life activation of a support system we had worked for months to build.” Free Colours
By us, for us: A national trans+ peer counselling model
Muamma LGBTI+ team brought trans+ people together to co-create a peer counselling network during a period of shrinking access to gender-affirming healthcare and legal recognition. Participants shaped the content, built a guidance manual and mapped hospitals and courts nationwide. The network now operated nationally, linking daily support with data-driven advocacy. They also highlight a powerful sign of multiplier impact: A volunteer peer-counselling service launched by a graduate of their earlier program within another LGBTIQ+ organisation.
One of the most meaningful aspects is the collective empowerment and solidarity that emerged among the participants.Muamma+
Gaziantep´s youth create films and a memory
Nar Sanat team, together with Altyazı Cinema Association, turned the question “What comes to mind when you think of Antep?” from a simple prompt into a collective conversation open to everyone. Over six months, workshops on ethics, storytelling, editing and sound led to six short documentaries. In a city like Gaziantep, where young people have few resources to voice their views on social issues, the project created a safe platform for free expression. The films made by youth are now part of the city’s living memory and some are headed to festivals, reflecting how culture and art can open space for expression when other channels narrow.
‘Over time, we witnessed participants transform into authentic storytellers who narrate their own stories.’ Nar Sanat
Documenting rights violations, amplifying Dom, Abdal and Roma voices
In the earthquake-affected provinces of Adana and Hatay, Civil Dreams (Sivil Düşler) team worked with Dom, Abdal and Roma human rights defenders to document rights violations and lay the groundwork for collective advocacy. Scattered efforts became a coordinated approach that produced credible evidence of discrimination and gender-based violence. Women’s experiences, long invisible in post-disaster recovery, reached wider audiences through a policy brief and direct advocacy visits.
“This work has paved the way for defenders to turn hidden experiences into public voices and to plant the seeds of a regional advocacy network.” Sivil Düşler
Four districts, one fabric of women solidarity
On the eastern edge of Türkiye, in the rural provinces of Hakkari, YUKADER team facilitated women’s rights-based gatherings, supported informal groups to become associations, and opened channels of communication with public institutions. Their team went door to door in villages to listen and map needs, an intensive research effort that informed action plans. Small circles of trust grew into a local network for gender equality, linking women’s voices to decision-makers.
“I’m thrilled that a women’s organization has formed for the first time in our district. I hope that many women participate in and that it continues.” YUKADER’s interviewee
What we’ll carry forward
This project has been a great chance for us to learn alongside our partners: From the strength of peer networks and capacity building and the creativity of local campaigning to the patience required for lasting change, and far more lessons that will guide us ahead. We’ve seen how preparedness can turn crises into coordinated responses, and how local action gains real traction when it connects to systemic advocacy and evidence.
Thank you, all!
Our gratitude goes to the eight unique partners and the communities around them, who have shown how change grows layer by layer and is nurtured by people who keep showing up together. As this chapter closes, we know the enduring fight for human rights and equality continues in countless places. Our main takeaway is simple but powerful: With space, trust and connection, communities craft forms of resilience and rights protection no one could create on their own.