The Trip

What is the best way to organize a trip?

Preparation

The more thoroughly a trip is planned, the more lasting are the impressions it will leave behind. Preparing well includes not only learning about the destination but also giving adequate consideration to the situation of Turkish migrants here in Germany. This groundwork should be done within a stable structure that can be integrated into school or group activities, such as regular meetings in working groups. We expect groups to have already thought about how they will prepare when they submit their application, and that they communicate their ideas to us when they apply. Enough time for thorough preparation must be planned in between submission of the application and the trip itself. Trip reports from other groups are available as a reference in the Foundation office.

More tips:

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Trip preparation PDF

Meeting partner groups

Visiting a partner school or group and staying with individual host families can give young people very good insight into everyday life in Turkey. Unfortunately, we can no longer provide funding for partner groups visiting Germany, except in exceptional cases. We do pay for the travel and stay of the Turkish group when the groups meet at our Afacan meeting center, an ideal place for groups to get together.

Another possibility is small-group visits to family members of the participants who are from Turkey. These visits prove to be especially intense.

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PDF New regulations for school partnerships

Coming together in the village

In the past we, together with Gençtu, set up work camps in Turkish villages. This was always a very special experience for young people from Germany. Unfortunately, we have had to terminate the program because of the way Turkish villages have changed in recent years — the villages have shrunk significantly and the schools where our groups generally stayed have all closed. Gençtur is no longer able to set up work camps for us.

Coming together with and in the city

A trip to Turkey is hardly complete without a few days in a big city. City kids are quick to get their bearings in other big cities, and they will find plenty that is very familiar to them — particularly in terms of consumer products. These kinds of discoveries can, in turn, sharpen their perception of differences.

One powerful and enjoyable way of getting to know a city is for small groups to plan city walks together. Even while they′re still here in Berlin, young people can make use of the Internet, travel guides or their own or friends′ previous experiences to choose places worth visiting — following criteria they develop themselves

Cities also offer opportunities for community service. The groups can be introduced to people who work in social projects such as kindergartens, street children projects, etc. and learn about the innovative approaches at work there. Several groups have had positive experiences of this kind.

Coming together in Afacan

We have been running the Afacan meeting center in Turkey since 2004 and we want the groups to make use of it — for relaxation, reflecting on the trip thus far, coming together with other groups (whom we support financially, see above) and for continuing education. For this reason, we usually only fund trips to Turkey that include a stay in Afacan.

Prices for room and board at the meeting center are in the two-star hotel range. All proceeds go directly to covering operating expenses. Groups have the choice between bed and breakfast, half board and full board.