“Coexistence Workshop” in İzmir

We talked to Yelda Şimşir from Agora Coexistence Workshop, who carries out studies for the needs of different target groups within the scope of inclusive urban policies in İzmir, about their operations and the pandemic process.

When was the Agora Coexistence Workshop founded, can you tell us about the foundation of the workshop?

Agora Coexistence Workshop was founded in September 2016 by Izmir Metropolitan Municipality Social Projects Directorate to support the culture of coexistence through psycho-socially supportive and empowering group studies, educational, social and cultural activities for different target groups throughout the city.

At the point of transforming the multicultural and multi-identity structure of the city into a richness, it is very important to carry out studies to create areas that will provide collective contact between individuals with different origins who live in the city as well as areas where they would produce and share collectively.

Where does the workshop carry out its works? Why did you choose this region?

Agora-Basmane region, where the Agora Coexistence Workshop is located, is one of the most migrated and socio-economically disadvantaged regions of İzmir, as well as an important prototype of the city’s multi-cultural and multi-identity heterogeneous structure that existed throughout history.

We think that, at the point of transforming the multicultural and multi-identity structure of the city into richness, it is very important to carry out studies to create areas that will provide collective contact between individuals with different origins who live in the city as well as areas where they would produce and share collectively.

For this reason, we carry out the works that support the culture of coexistence starting from the center of Agora-Basmane and keeping on carrying them out throughout the city.

Who did you mainly carry out your work with? What kind of work do you do with these groups?

We diversified our work according to the needs of different target groups.

During the four-year period, we’ve conducted social gender workshops with adults, communication works with adolescents, women’s health education program, women’s human rights education program, psycho-drama study, workshops supporting migrant women with a body-oriented approach and cooperative and entrepreneurship trainings.

With children and young people, we’ve organized gender workshops, workshop for empowerment of girls with a body-oriented approach, adolescence and youth health trainings as well as photography, cinema, sculpture and puppet trainings and workshops.

We’ve organized workshops with universities, bar associations, high schools, different non-governmental organizations and professional groups on issues such as peace culture education, prejudices and discrimination, marginalization, hate speech, gender inequality, sexual orientation and discrimination against gender identity, and discrimination against refugees.

We’ve carried out studies to establish an inclusive urban policy by establishing coordination and collaborations with the other units of Izmir Metropolitan Municipality.

We carried out capacity strengthening studies for non-governmental organizations and corporate employees working in similar areas. Since 2019, we have set up two study network groups on discrimination and child studies, aiming to strengthen the knowledge capacity of the trainers who are already working in the field of discrimination and children, to increase the sharing of experience and to introduce new productions through joint studies.

We have carried out all these studies in cooperation with NGOs, local governments and other public institutions working in the similar fields.

Adaptation to online studies was faster than we expected. This has made some resources, activities and training accessible beyond the perception of time and space. Although we think that it will never replace the effects of face-to-face studies and encounters, digital access resources will be used more from now on.

How did the Covid-19 process affect your works? We know that you continue your online studies, how do you evaluate the effects of the online meetings in this period where face-to-face studies are not possible?

With Covid-19, we continue to work from home as well. It is a challenging period for us as the works we usually carry out has mostly been face to face and by interactive methods. But we still try to continue our workshops with interactive methods as much as possible over the internet. Adaptation to online studies was faster than we expected. This has made some resources, activities and training accessible beyond the perception of time and space. Although we think that it will never replace the effects of face-to-face studies and encounters, digital access resources will be used more from now on.

Of course, it should not be forgotten that all these studies are only valid for groups who have digital accessibility. With Covid-19, there are many groups whose living conditions are getting harder, whom we cannot reach, whose digital access is limited or who do not have a safe home environment, who have difficulties to reach basic food and hygiene needs, who are unemployed or continue working in difficult conditions with unemployment risk and therefore whose priorities and needs differ.

The belief that we are all victims of the same virus has once again concealed the fact that many people cannot fight the virus under equal conditions.

What are your suggestions to deal with the negative effects of the epidemic process?

The epidemic has greatly deepened the inequalities vulnerable groups (women, children, people with disabilities, refugees, lgbt, etc.) have been exposed to among the society. Even if the quarantine process ends, this inequality will continue to deepen with the soaring economic crisis. Unfortunately, the epidemic has not only increased the physical distance along with the survival reflex, but also prevented us from seeing existing inequalities. The belief that we are all victims of the same virus has once again concealed the fact that many people cannot fight the virus under equal conditions.

At this point, while trying to cope with the negative effects of the epidemic process, we think that it is very important to establish a strong solidarity that we accept each other with our differences, based on the fact that we all have the right to live in a free, equal and dignified world.

In addition to all these, it is very important to carry out more studies that reveal socio-economic and cultural differences, needs and inequalities, to develop new policies to combat discrimination and inequality, and to maintain advocacy activities in order to avoid getting away from the right-based perspective while taking protective measures in situations such as disasters and epidemics. 

We hope that we’ll realize that the cure for these difficult days is to fight together for each other and we can further increase our solidarity in quarantine and afterwards. Our wish is to overcome the Corona days and be together side by side and grow hope together…