Suna’nın Kızları launches "Summer Institute" program in cooperation with Koç School

Suna’nın Kızları, in collaboration with Koç School, has launched the 'Summer Institute' program. İpek Kıraç, the founder of Suna’nın Kızları, while explaining the purpose and goals of the Summer Institute, said, 'This program is indescribably special and exciting for me. It's because I am witnessing the realization of a dream, we had for bringing girls together, allowing them to learn from each other, and empowering them together.'

The 'Summer Institute' program organized by Suna’nın Kızları, initiated under the umbrella of the Suna and İnan Kıraç Foundation in 2021 by İpek Kıraç to preserve and advance the educational efforts, values, goals, and vision of the businesswoman Suna Kıraç, is taking place with the participation of 40 girls aged 14-18. The participants of the program, organized in cooperation with Koç High School and the Şanlıurfa Governorship, consist of 20 girls from Giyimli Village of Şanlıurfa, who are at different stages of mainstream education, and 20 girl students from Istanbul who continue their education at Koç High School. The program aims to introduce the girls to safe learning opportunities, become learning companions to each other, jointly solve the problems they encounter, and gain lifelong skills that will support their empowerment.

The program's content is being developed and implemented with the support of the Solution and Support Communities of Suna’nın Kızları, which include TEGV, Pera Museum, BoMoVu, Şehir Dedektifi, AÇEV, and the Teachers Network (Öğretmen Ağı).

The program, which takes place during the first week in Şanlıurfa followed by two weeks in Istanbul, includes inspiring encounters, cultural tours, design-thinking, and well-being workshops as part of its supportive and empowering activities. Following the Şanlıurfa and Istanbul phases, the program will continue to monitor and support the girls' development with mentoring, school attendance, cooperativization, and transition to work life programs.

Inspiring encounters and cultural tours:

The first part of the Summer Institute was held in Urfa from June 8-15. The girls living in Giyimli hosted their sisters who came from Istanbul. Hosted by the Şanlıurfa Governorship, as well as the District Governorships of Harran and Halfeti and the GAP Regional Development Administration Presidency, the children met with women entrepreneurs, cooperative members, professionals, and experts in rural development to learn about the role and support opportunities for women and girls in rural development.

During the eight-day program in Şanlıurfa, the children were supported to be a community that can support each other and produce joint solutions to problems. This was done through Suna’nın Kızları Well-being Program and the Design Thinking Program by the Teachers Network, with TEGV Sevgi-Erdoğan Gönül Education Park hosting the children for program activities.

They also experienced the natural and historical cultural assets of Şanlıurfa together during the first week they spent together.

The Istanbul program lasted 2 weeks:

The girls from Giyimli village started their journey to Istanbul on July 16. The program, where girls from Giyimli and Koç School had the chance to engage with each other's lives, dream together, and create a vision for the future while learning from each other, took place in Istanbul and continued until July 28.

The girls from Şanlıurfa, who settled in the dormitories of Koç School, experienced something entirely new. In the Istanbul program, just like in Şanlıurfa, they met with women experts from whom they could draw inspiration for their region. They interacted with academics, artists, athletes, entrepreneurs, and representatives from various professional groups. They participated in projects and social activities that supported their learning with their peers from Istanbul. Over the 13 days spent in Istanbul, the girls made new discoveries and will continue on their learning journey at the Summer Institute, following their return home, in line with their own choices.

İpek Kıraç: 'We aim for the connections established at the Summer Institute to turn into lifelong learning companionships.'

İpek Kıraç, the founder of Suna’nın Kızları, while explaining the purpose and goals of the Summer Institute, said, 'This program is indescribably special and exciting for me. It's because I am witnessing the realization of a dream we had for bringing girls together, allowing them to learn from each other, and empowering them together. And behind the story of this dream, we are all present... There is Giyimli Village, Koç School, there are Suna’nın Kızları...

In a note my mother wrote to me, she said, 'I want you to have the freedom of choice I never had.' This is a journey that continues across generations. I took it over from my mother, and my dream is to develop educational opportunities that will enable all girls and women to have the freedom of choice that my mother wished for me. With this program, we aim to help girls realize the opportunities and options they have to continue their academic life, to discover vocational and life skills they can use in their daily lives, and to understand that continuing to learn is not just about school and academic success."

Emphasizing that graduates of the Summer Institute could eventually take initiative in the development and implementation of this program, İpek Kıraç said, "In fact, all of us are taking on the role of a bridge between the past and the future. We are building upon what previous generations have done. I am striving to ensure that the dreams I inherited from my mother continue to develop. I am advancing along the path she charted. The girls participating in this program can become role models for future generations. With the Summer Institute becoming a sustainable program, over the years, many girls can come together under the vision of Suna’nın Kızları to act as ambassadors of change," she says.