Signatures Sealed Between Aydın Doğan Foundation and UNICEF: New Protocol Aims to Empower Girls and Create Safe Spaces

The Aydın Doğan Foundation (ADF) and UNICEF have signed a cooperation protocol aimed at empowering girls and creating virtual safe spaces in earthquake-affected regions. The projects will focus on scaling up training programmes to prevent child, early and forced marriage through young leaders and providing safe virtual platforms in areas impacted by the earthquake.

The protocol was officially signed by ADF Chairperson, Arzuhan Doğan Yalçındağ and UNICEF Representative, Paolo Marchi. It aims to make progress in two critical areas: expanding educational efforts to prevent child, early and forced marriage and empowering girls and creating virtual safe spaces in earthquake-affected regions.

UNICEF will provide training for Aydın Doğan Foundation's young leaders, focusing on preventing child, early and forced marriage and empowering girls. These trained young leaders will pass on their knowledge to younger peers, reaching a broader audience of girls. This peer-to-peer model will amplify the impact of the training and raise societal awareness.

Another joint initiative centers on establishing virtual safe spaces in earthquake-affected areas. These platforms will provide girls and women with a secure, supportive environment to access critical information.

Highlighting the long-term partnership with UNICEF, ADF Chairperson Arzuhan Doğan Yalçındağ stated, “We have collaborated with UNICEF on numerous meaningful projects over the years. With these new initiatives, we have the chance to reach even more girls and make positive changes in their lives. We are pleased to work with UNICEF, an organization with extensive international experience, to support girls in achieving their dreams. Through this collaboration, we aim to create meaningful transformations in the lives of thousands of girls we reach.”

UNICEF Representative, Paolo Marchi, emphasized ADF’s contributions, saying, “Through our Virtual Safe Space platform, specially designed for women and girls, UNICEF provides secure access to interactive information on different topics. The platform aims to empower girls while helping those who have experienced violence access nearby support services”. ”