CDR is relaunching its CDR Youth program this year to enable young people to participate in local decision-making processes. Following the workshops held in Trabzon, Rize, and Istanbul in 2023, and Kayseri, Mersin, and Kahramanmaraş in 2024, this year’s series will expand to cities across the Marmara and Central Anatolia regions.
In October 2025, workshops will take place in Kocaeli, Bursa, Eskişehir, Ankara, and Tekirdağ, where participants will learn about municipal councils, local governance, and democratic participation, while developing policy ideas addressing youth poverty, housing, and gender equality. The program aims to empower young people not only as listeners but as active and visible contributors to their communities.
In past editions, CDR Youth 2023 participants documented the housing crisis experienced by university students and explored the issue of brain drain in the Turkish Parliament, while CDR Youth 2024 participants analyzed post-election municipal councils in Kayseri and Kahramanmaraş, produced short films, and conducted surveys with young lawyers. This year, participants will again highlight the issues affecting their cities and develop projects to address them.
A key innovation of this year’s program is the introduction of online forums: in the first, a youth expert will share insights and experiences with participants, and in the second, young people will present their own project ideas online. These sessions will help amplify the visibility of youth-generated ideas across different cities.
Workshop Dates:
• 13 October 2025 | Kocaeli – Luxor Garden Hotel
• 14 October 2025 | Bursa – Levor Hotel
• 15 October 2025 | Eskişehir – Dedeman Park
• 16 October 2025 | Ankara – Radisson Blu Ulus
• 22 October 2025 | Tekirdağ – Granbella Hotel
Applications:
cdr.org.tr/youth
CDR continues its efforts to amplify young voices and strengthen their role in participatory democracy across Türkiye.
