Contact – Bruno SALES da SILVA / brunoiaad2015@gmail.com

General information – İstanbul Avrupa Araştırmaları Derneği (IAAD), was established in the city of Istanbul in September 2015, under the form of not for profit Civil Society Organisation (CSO). IAAD main activities are organised in three specific spheres: a) Education and Training; b) societal challenges; c) innovation and technology. IAAD plan and implement an average of 14 activities per year.

Personnel – Four (4) permanent staffs and two (2) non-permanent, part-time staffs, seven (7) associated partners at national level, and 17 experts at EU level.

Target groups – Youth (15-29 years old) and Youth Workers essentially, juveniles (10-13 years old), and adults, more particularly people with Special Education Needs (SEN), NEET, people with fewer opportunities or at risk of marginalization.

R&D, Technology and Innovation – IAAD may engage as non-key expert in surveys and research developments in a series of fields in cooperation with research institutes, universities, enterprises and other related bodies. IAAD is at the interface between the scientific field, the civil society, and a series of economic sectors, driven by education and training, R&D and entrepreneurship, addressing EU Societal Challenges such as:

1) economy (circular, collaborative, bio, grey, blue);

2) societal (innovation, interface with science);

3) employment (gender, inclusion, women, NEET, migrants, individuals and communities with fewer opportunities);

4) Social Science and Humanities (SSH);

5) technology/innovation to improve citizens' daily life (IoT, transports, education, communication).

Migrants/refugees inclusion, cultural heritage and traditions – IAAD promotes specific inclusion programmes targeting the migrant population. Initiatives aim at assisting local and regional communities to increase employability with tailored learning programmes, innovative community development models (community cooperatives), promoting and supporting the capitalization of experiences from elderly generations, linking them with Youth and the ICT sphere.

Societal challenges – IAAD promotes education and training initiatives supported by Non-Formal and Informal Learning (NFIL), by ECVET-based Apprenticeships and Learning Mobilities. IAAD also activates participative dialogue between communities and policy-makers, develops Culture, Arts and Heritage initiatives (dance and theatre plays, festivals, media events), Sports and leisure activities, Community Cooperatives development, Social Entrepreneurship and encourages a variety of grass-root initiatives aiming at fostering pluralism, non -discrimination, tolerance, justice, solidarity and equality between women and men, equity and inclusion.

Access to finance – IAAD develops a series of initiatives to support active citizen’s and Youth’s access to finance through a cooperative model in which each cooperant act as an investor, inspired BY similar models conceptualized in water.org (Gary White) and 826 National (Dave Eggers).

Innovation and technology (ICT) – IAAD foster ICT-based development and implementation of a variety of conceptual approaches such as Circular Economy and Bio Economy, involving renewable energies, Environment conservation and protection, sustainable development programmes, agriculture and natural resources conservation. ICT-based approaches and tools are key features in all IAAD’s initiatives, involving basic tools such as the Internet (Moodle, YouTube, Skype, Google Tools, Mobile Applications), and the internet of Things (connected object).

IAAD’s ICT programmes includes: a) learning activities; b) effective work placements and apprenticeship; c) structured networking with the world of work and policy-makers; d) observatory of best practices on sustainable development policies oriented to labour market demand; e) transfer of innovation with exchange of good practices; f) policies recommendations; g) diffusion at the broadest EU level of effective best practices, case studies and strategies validated.

European background – Europe 2020 agenda; Europe 2020 Societal Challenges priorities such as migration, integration and demographic change, de-radicalisation, drug and other addiction, crime and violence, employment and new growth, culture and citizenship, global justice and stability, and more globally to reverse inequalities; the Paris Declaration on promoting citizenship and the common values of freedom, tolerance and non-discrimination through education.

Quality system – All IAAD’s development programmes are design with a Logical Framework Approach (LFA), and Result-Oriented Monitoring (ROM), using a set of tools and assigned staffs described in the “Project Management and Implementation Handbook” (PMIH). The PMIH encompasses the following key features for evaluation of quality levels: 1) the process; 2) the results; 3) the participants; 4) the dissemination; 5) the impact.