I. Introduction and Overview

The Turkish Association of University Women (TAUW) has maintained a high level of activity between 2024 and 2025, focusing on its core mission of supporting women's rights and education through various cultural, educational, and social initiatives. The Association is committed to nurturing resilient, informed, and empowered women leaders for the future, with a significant focus on sustainable growth and impactful projects.

The official website, www.tukd.org.tr is highlighted as a welcoming, user-friendly, and clearly navigable platform that effectively communicates the value proposition to members.

II. Membership and Organizational Development

TAUW employs a sustainable, forward-looking strategy for membership growth, primarily centered on students receiving bursaries.

• Bursary-Based Recruitment: Students who receive bursaries are viewed as future members. They are invited to join and, upon graduation, are offered a three-year grace period on membership dues. This approach has proven sustainable, with most participants becoming paying members after the grace period.
• Wider Outreach: Membership is also increased through personal invitations extended to friends, neighbours, relatives, and family members, fostering multi-generational participation (e.g., mothers and daughters).
• International Connection: New members are welcomed with an emphasis on the benefits and responsibilities of connecting to an international chain of university women.
• Organizational Milestones:
  • 75th Anniversary: A gala dinner celebrating TAUW’s 75th anniversary was held on December 19, 2024, in İstanbul, attended by the Board and 100 members from all branches.

• • General Assembly: The General Assembly Meeting on January 13, 2025, resulted in the re-election of the previous board and most members to serve for another term.

III. Key Programs and Projects

A. Financial and Educational Support (SDG 4: Quality Education)

TAUW's main program focuses on providing crucial financial and educational support to young women.

• Friendship Bridge Project: This initiative provided scholarships to over 2,000 female students in 2024-2025. A secondary goal is to offer mentorship to these students.

• Career Training: The TAUW Education Committee and Career Club Educators organized a 6-week program, "Planning My Career During My University Years," from February 25 to March 31, 2024, for all TAUW bursaries.

• "Hope to the Future" Project (İstanbul Branch): This mentorship program, supported by a GWI BRPID 2024-25 Grant and implemented across eight branches in 14 cities, connected 72 female university students with 322 children in their hometowns. The goal was to empower the students as role models and inspire children toward higher education. Activities covered topics including:
  • Social and cultural experiences
  • Children’s rights and gender equality
  • Environmental awareness
  • Media and social media literacy
  • Healthy living

• Girls' Education Advocacy: The "Hope to the Future" project is also explicitly committed to ensuring girls in rural areas continue their education, aiming to challenge cultural norms that lead to early marriage or labour.
• Fundraising Runs/Marathons: Branches in İzmir, İstanbul, Bursa, Eskişehir, and Antalya participated in the Step-by-Step Campaign under the theme “Let Girls Get Education- Let Them Touch Life,” raising funds to provide a one-year scholarship for 85 university students.

B. Earthquake Relief and Rehabilitation Efforts

Following the devastating earthquake on February 6, 2023, the Association mounted a significant solidarity and relief effort.

• Essential Aid: Nearly 100 truckloads of essential supplies, tents, and containers were successfully delivered to Hatay, with a focus on women, children, and individuals with disabilities.
• Emergency Scholarships: Emergency funding was mobilized to provide scholarships to nearly 600 female university students affected by the earthquake, which will continue until their graduation.
• "WOMEN’S SETTLEMENT": Türkiye's first-ever "WOMEN’S SETTLEMENT," consisting of 25 containers, was established in the Mağaracık district of Samandağ, Hatay, to address urgent shelter needs and lack of privacy, particularly for women who had lost spouses and children.
  • A complex of four containers, supported by the Air Liquid Fund, was established within the settlement, including two digital study units, one psychosocial support unit, and a guest accommodation unit for visiting lecturers.
  • The settlement hosts seminars on women’s rights, health, family communication, and entrepreneurship.
• TAUW Secondary School: Construction of an environmentally friendly, “TAUW SECONDARY SCHOOL” with eight classrooms in Serinyol, Hatay, has been completed and is scheduled to open soon as part of the healing and rehabilitation process.

We participated the first General Assembly of the Hatay Branch in April 2025

C. Advocacy and Legal/Social Awareness (SDG 5: Gender Equality)

TAUW branches conducted projects and initiatives to advance gender equality and combat violence.

• Television Violence Study (Antalya Branch): A follow-up project, “Study of the Frequency of the Violence Scenes and Gender Equality Approach of the Most Popular Domestic Television Series,” was initiated in June 2024.
  • The Final Report, ready by the end of October 2024, was presented on November 25, 2024, at a Panel Meeting titled “Do Television Series Provoke Violence,” co-organized with Akdeniz University.
  • The findings were shared with the television industry and disseminated through media.
• "Basic Legal Conversations for Women" (Samsun Branch): In collaboration with the Samsun Bar Association, this project provides fundamental legal knowledge, with a focus on civil law and violence against women, delivered directly to women in their communities.
• Active Woman Citizenship Education Series (Bursa Branch): A series of educational sessions, held with expert partners, covered labor law, child protection in legal cases, rent and social security law, and insurance disputes, engaging approximately 50 to 70 businesswomen and community members per session to increase legal literacy.
• "SAFE WOMEN’S LIVING NETWORK" (Hatay Branch): Launched to combat gender-based violence and child abuse in Hatay, this project addresses the unique needs of women in the post-earthquake environment, including the lack of privacy in container settlements and the increasing female labour force.

Modular Training on Gender Data and Statistics workshop

IV. Cultural and Recognition Activities

• International Day of the Girl (October 11th): The Antalya Branch annually hosts a contest for female secondary school students themed, "My Future is in my Hands," with categories for poetry, painting, and composition. The event includes an award ceremony and a presentation to raise awareness about girls' rights.
  • The results of the "Hope to the Future" project were also announced on International Day of the Girl (October 11, 2025).

• International Day for the Elimination of Violence Against Women (November 25): The Ankara Branch organized a themed event, including a keynote speaker on “Being Young in the New World,” as part of UN Women’s Orange the World campaign.

• Annual Awards:
  • The headquarters holds a "Pioneering Woman Award Ceremony" to honor women in media, sports, academia, arts, and science, with an additional honorary award on March 8th.
  • Branches give annual awards to honor "Leading women who contribute to regional development."

• Cultural Programs: Regular activities include book club meetings, film screenings, theatre performances, concerts, a project (Mina’s Children) promoting women's contributions to the arts, and a 5-month seminar program on human psychology. English Courses are also offered on an ongoing basis at different levels.

V. Partnerships and Collaborations

• Funding Sources: TAUW is funded by the Bridge to Türkiye Fund, Women Sociologists Association Fund, and Baltaş Group Consultancy.

• Key Collaborators: The Association primarily works with municipalities and universities. Collaborations include organizations such as Kagider, Kaisder, Kadının İnsan Hakları Yeni Çözümler Derneği, and CEİD.

• International Engagement: Nine members attended the University Women of Europe (UWE) General Assembly and Conference in Albania in 2024.

• Republic Day Celebration: On October 29, 2023, the 100th Anniversary of the Republic of Turkey was celebrated with visits to the First Grand National Assembly and Anıtkabir, followed by co-sponsoring the “From Bullets to Pens in 100 Years” reception led by KAİSDER.

• We welcomed the New Year with a celebration-themed scholarship meeting, where Flo Corporation generously provided boots and coats as gifts for our students. The event was especially honoured by the participation of İmren Aykut, Türkiye’s first female minister.