Strengthen Communities. Together

The Koç Volunteers Movement facilitated significant support by enabling the participation of Koç Group employees in activities in earthquake-affected areas and Hope Cities. More than 1000 employees from 46 Group companies took part in volunteering activities and various projects were carried out in Hope Cities.

The activities organized spanned a wide range from guidance seminars prior to central exams to welcoming events and to the activities of the drama clubs of the Group companies. Koç Volunteers continue volunteering to support the social life in Hope Cities.

“Women’s Solidarity Centers” operating in partnership with UN Women and civil society organizations incorporate spaces such as textile and cooking workshops to increase women’s participation in the economy and help them build on their existing skills. These centers also offer counseling and training services to support women’s recovery processes. Women have the opportunity to generate income by improving their existing skills in the workshops at the centers.

Customer Service Centers established by Group companies provide the opportunity to work and to build a career while living in Hope Cities. The establishment of customer service centers in Hope Cities has enabled many young people affected by the earthquake to go through the application and training process and secure full-time employment. Hope Cities offer not just temporary settlement but also employment opportunities, thus providing time. Youth for individuals’ empowerment.

While Hope Cities is an example of rapid urban planning to meet post-disaster housing needs, it has also been a project involving planning, procurement, purchasing, logistics, operations, coordination, partnerships, and the contributions of thousands of employees through the Koç Volunteers Movement.
 

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• Future Workshop-1: 1-day workshop that targets at deeply exploring the different perspectives on future and technology.
• Future Workshop-2: It is a 1-day workshop that includes futuristic methodologies. Participants work on future scenarios, understand the trends and their impact. At the end, each participant prepares a personal manifesto to imagine their role in their desired future scenario.

The programme helps Koç Group employees, our ecosystem of suppliers and distributers to get familiar with the rapid change in technology and its impact on our business and daily lives. These tools are disseminated through 120 volunteer employees as well as more than 80 volunteer distributors. We aim to reach out to all of our employees, as well as nearly 10,000 distributors and young people in the communities across 17 cities. While introducing this concept at Group level, we also channel our community investments in the same direction for a larger impact.
 

The main outcome of the programme is “School-Company Collaboration Model” which puts forward the major components of collaboration such as on-the-job trainings, mentorship opportunities as well as establishing labs at schools with up-to-date technologies.

Yet, with the adoption of Industry 4.0 technologies, there is an emerging need to update the Model and support students learn 21st century skills. In order to achieve this, Koç Holding is partnering with the Ministry of National Education and IBM to develop a sustainable business-school partnership model and strengthen the vocational training ecosystem in line with 21st century skills.

Accordingly, in specifically designed workshops, students, teachers and industry representatives from Koç Group companies and IBM work together to develop innovative solutions to complex problems with design thinking methodology. As an important outcome of the process, students had the chance to apply this approach in real life with the industry representatives. In 2019 they designed a washing machine in these workshops. Throughout the process, a specific physical space need has emerged to conduct these workshops. Therefore, a design thinking lab has been designed in the context of vocational training for the first time and it will set an example to other vocational schools.

As a HeForShe Champion, we initiated a movement within the Koç Group companies, where creating role models could play a significant role in changing people’s minds. Our Group companies developed programs in line with the needs of their respective sectors, including outreach activities to attract and retain women for manufacturing and engineering jobs, as well as specially designed trainings to support women reach senior management positions.

Also, as part of a global movement, we were able to leverage the power of our brands to reach out to consumers with gender-sensitive communications. It was the first step to position gender inequality as one of the top priority areas within the Group and to that end develop a holistic approach to address the challenges and overcome gender biases. In this context, we developed a Guide to Gender Equality in Communications. We reached out to an extensive audience including our employees, individuals in the value chain, as well as specific groups like marketing and communications experts and agencies to shift gender norms in Turkey. In order to mainstream the approach introduced by the Guide, we partnered with the key stakeholders including Turkish Industry and Business Association (TUSIAD), Advertisers Association, Advertising Foundation, Association of Communications Consulting Companies, Public Relations Association of Turkey and Association of Corporate Communicators.

In 2019, we received Sustainable Business Awards by Sustainability Academy Turkey, in the field of Sustainability Communications with the works carried out in Gender Equality in Communications.

This initiative aims to extend the scope and increase impact by promoting digital transformation processes.

As part of the initiative, 19 different civil society organizations (CSOs), working issues around environment, education, human rights, women, youth and disadvantaged groups, shall be provided with the opportunity to design and implement their digital transformation processes based on a concrete project foundation.
The first phase of the programme started in October 2020 and lasted for 3 months, CSOs have worked with professional mentors, in an intensive training program on various topics in order to actualize their technology-based solutions. In the second phase of the programme selected CSOs receive financial support in addition to a chance to participate in a 24-week one-on-one acceleration program in 2021.

A variety of expertise from international and national bodies brought together for the initiative. Koç University Entrepreneurship Research Center (KWORKS) is the national implementation partner of the Acceleration Program in Turkey, whereas StartUp Grind  as one of the largest global entrepreneurship association is the international partner of the programme. In addition, UNDP experts and Koç Group’s Digital Transformation leaders have contributed to the initiative by working in close collaboration with the CSOs.