Impact Investing and Civil Society Conference was organized

“Impact Investment and Civil Society Conference” was held on March 29th, 2022 in Istanbul in cooperation with Impact Investment Advisory Board (EYDK) under the scope of “Technical Assistance For Implementation of Civil Society Dialogue and Civil Society Support Programmes“ implemented by the Directorate for EU Affairs.

The conference started with opening speeches addressed by Mr. Ahmet Hakan Atik, Head of Department of Project Implementation Unit at Directorate for EU Affairs; Mr. Ahmet Şimşek, Deputy Director General of Development Agencies, Ms. Duygu Yardımcı, EU Affairs Expert at Directorate for EU Affairs and Mr. Dr. Onur İlhan, Secretary General of EYDK.

In his speech, Mr. Atik, Head of the Department of Project Implementation Unit of the Directorate for EU Affairs emphasized the importance of the planning process of the projects from impact investment perspective and the support to civil society that is provided by the implementer of one of the most deeply rooted grant programmes implemented by Directorate for EU Affairs.

The conference continued with “Success Stories of Horizon Tour” panel which provided tangible information on impact investment processes and the place civil society organizations holds in impact ecosystem. Speakers of the panel that was moderated by Secretary General of EYDK Dr. Onur İlhan were as follows; Mr. Halil Fatih Akgül Chairman Of The Board Of Trustees of Turkish Foundation For Waste Reduction (TİSVA) , Mr. Mehru Aygül Head and Founder of Entrepreneurship Foundation (GİRVAK) and Mr. İ. Renay Onur. Member of the Board of Açık  Foundation

In the second session of the conference, a workshop that is separated into three different study groups “Entrepreneur Philanthropy”, “Impact Measurement and Management” and “Transparency and Comprehensiveness” was conducted. During workshop sessions, 32 different institution expressed their views and suggestions about transformative the role of impact investment on civil society. The contributions of the study groups will be converted into a report and shared with all parties involved.