imece.biz: Volunteer Network Meets the Needs of Healthcare Professionals 

Computer engineer Aykut Türker, software engineer Ceyhan Yıldız and sociologist Barış Esmer had set off with the slogan “Solidarity Will Beat The Virus” and established a solidarity platform to meet the needs of healthcare workers. Saying that their motivations are to be useful and to create awareness, sociologist Esmer summarizes the solidarity projects as follows: “İmece.biz is a platform that brings the needs of healthcare professionals together with the efforts of volunteers. Simply put, we bring the needs of healthcare professionals we gather together with the opportunities of those in the volunteer network.”

Can we get to know Barış Esmer? Who is he? What does he do? 

I am a sociologist, at the same time I have a master’s degree on Political Science, and since I have known myself, I have a concern to “be useful”. Throughout my professional career, I worked on marketing research and marketing strategy in international companies. Then I left corporate life and now I continue my career as an entrepreneur. Besides all this, I am focused on generating value.

How did the idea of founding imece.biz solidarity network emerge? What was your motivation source that led this project to life? And where do you take part in İmece as Barış Esmer?

We have always been looking for doing something useful, and our thoughts and actions have always evolved in that direction. We are close friends with Aykut. Ten years ago, we volunteered together on a search and rescue team and received trainings. Since then, this pursuit have always been a part of our friendship.

In the meantime, when the coronavirus crisis broke out, we learned that our mutual friend Ceyhan Yıldız has also been seeking to do something, and we held meetings with video conferences in a row from home.

With the Stayathome days, elder people over 65 years old could not leave their houses and started to experience difficulties in meeting their needs. So, in order to help them in this situation, we started by reaching them over the phone every day, digitizing their needs and turning the needs into online orders. Our idea of solidarity started to be respected by various brands.

With the spread of coronavirus all over the world, we have seen that it has serious negative effects on the health system and on healthcare workers. We decided to work in this field with the idea that a similar health crisis would be experienced in our country.

Together with my computer engineer friend Aykut Türker and my software engineer friend Ceyhan Yıldız, we established the imece.biz network with the idea of “Solidarity Will Beat The Virus” and started to struggle through the process by strengthening the culture of solidarity. Our motivations are “being useful and creating awareness”.

 “A Platform That Brings the Needs of Healthcare Professionals Together With The Efforts of Volunteers”

Is this a completely voluntary project? Or will employees be involved? What kind of system have you developed? How does the system work?

Actually imece.biz is a platform. A platform that combines the needs of healthcare professionals with the efforts of volunteers. Simply put, we bring the needs of healthcare professionals we gather together with the opportunities of those in the volunteer network. People who visit imece.biz may briefly fill in a volunteer form about them and about what they can do.

Our 10-person volunteer operation team, which we have created entirely from volunteers, gives pre-determined labels to each of these people. For example, “He/she has a private car, can provide logistics support” or “he/she can provide food”.

On the other hand, health workers entering the system fill out a “support request form” and report what they need. Our operations team opens a claim card for every request. In the first stage, we look for a match in the background. It’s great if we find it. If we cannot find it, we immediately transfer the work to our 10-person “internal communication and social media team” which consists entirely of volunteers. There, a suitable image is prepared for the request, and we make our announcements from both internal communication channels and social media accounts and look for matches. During the matching and delivery phase, after making sure with calling them that everything is in order, the most enjoyable part of the job comes that is to announce the tasks we have completed on social media.

Our stakeholders are volunteers and civil society. Of course, there were also brands that contacted us, but fruitful collaborations could not be achieved. Obviously we don’t care about this at all. We believe that organic solidarity and people’s collaboration is the strongest brands in the world. Each of the support we receive from ordinary people is very precious for us. These are genuine supports. The new brand we created together is more than enough for us and its name is Solidarity.

What kind of an awareness did you aim to create?

İmece.biz is a completely voluntary and non-profit organization.

It is a formation that acts with a sense of social responsibility, always putting the sense of “us” in front of the sense of “me”. I think we can summarize the awareness we aim to create.

“We Think Collaboration Is The Strongest Brand In The World”

What kind of feedback have you get after starting this solidarity movement? Who are your supporters and stakeholders, can you briefly mention them?

Our stakeholders are volunteers and civil society. Of course, there were also brands that contacted us, but fruitful collaborations could not be achieved. Obviously we don’t care about this at all. We believe that organic solidarity and people’s collaboration is the strongest brands in the world. Each of the support we receive from ordinary people is very precious for us. These are genuine supports. The new brand we created together is more than enough for us and its name is Solidarity.

“Accommodation is a Big Problem for Healthcare Professionals”

What requests have you received from healthcare workers up until now, and which of these requests have you been able to meet?

We’ve received various demands. Mainly demanded materials have been visors, remote thermometers etc. Visor has been the most demanded thing. Recently, there has been an increase in demands for clothing such as uniforms and slippers. Besides, accommodation for healthcare professionals is a big problem. Health workers know that they pose a risk to their families and do not want to go home. But this was the hardest demand for us. In addition, there are things that are widely used in the emergency rooms such as tea and coffee machines that are needed due to long working hours. To meet them is another pleasure for us. Lucky us if we could help them put a smile on their faces or cheer them up in those short breaks.

How was the project received by the healthcare professionals and how were the feedbacks?

Of course we have received many feedbacks. For example, health workers send us fun photos they take with the products we deliver. Their beautiful words and smiley faces make us very happy.

What should those who want to join İmece and volunteer do?

Volunteers can reach us through our website imece.biz and from our accounts on Instagram, Facebook, Twitter and LinkedIn. 

“’Run and Hide’ Reaction Has Become A Habit For White Collar People”

How can you interpret the imece.biz solidarity movement you have established as white collar people and the point it has reached now?

İmece.biz is a structure that focused on white-collar employees as a volunteer force in the initial stage but it has met hundreds of members from different socio-cultural structures during the process. We are very pleased with the point we have reached, but in fact, everything could have been different when we thought about the potential. One of the two possible reactions to the crisis “run and hide” has become a habit for white-collar workers. The other possible reaction which is to “get up and fight” predominates among mostly young people, women responsible for domestic labor and even retirees.

 “The Duty Falls To Us, Meaning To Civil Society”

What kind of a benefit do you think you will get from the civil society in the coronavirus process where social solidarity increases in all areas?

The first crisis produced by this system that overthrows the world’s settings is the coronavirus crisis. It is the first but we all know that it will not be the last. So we have to be prepared. It is obvious how the world’s dominant system and those who are the wheels of the system react to the climate crisis which is blatantly obvious and is actually the main cause of the pandemic that is on the agenda. So the duty falls to us, meaning to civil society. If we can organize our grassroots solidarity against the disasters we will encounter, we may have a chance to create a better future for our children. Otherwise there is solid scientific evidence that this would not be possible.

 “You Have To Make Eye Contact With The Person You Rally To”

In Turkey, you can measure the sense of individual donations. How do you evaluate the approach to individual donation and the bond established with this feeling?

We think that financial donation develops kind of a “give-and-go” relationship between the donator and his or her conscientious responsibility. Therefore, we do not accept this kind of donation. Donating from a bank account or texting from one’s couch creates some sense of redemption in people, but what we want is to take responsibility for the whole thing. So you should make eye contact with the person you helped, or at least hear their voice. You have to get out of that couch to deliver that help. Only then will you fulfill the requirements of solidarity ethics.

Finally, what would you like to say to your volunteers and those who want to become new volunteers?

We think that the way to overcome difficulties is not to confide our wills to an authority, but to organize our individual wills for solidarity. For this reason, we started to strive in our own way and got out of our comfortable seats to make our world a better place. We invite everyone to this struggle.