The South East Anatolia Region Social Development Programme for Youth was carried out between May 2001 and August 2006 due to insufficient education and vocational training opportunities, high level of unemployment and the lack of social, cultural and leisure activities in the region. The stakeholders of the project were the Turkish Republic, United Nations Development Programme, the executive institution is Presidency of GAP Regional Development Administration, and implementing institution is Youth Association for Habitat.


The program targets youth by setting up local youth and culture houses, forming social and culturally interactive platforms and enabling young people to participate in decision-making processes.


9 Youth and Culture Houses have been established in Diyarbakır, Mardin, Adıyaman, Şanlıurfa, Batman, Şırnak, Kilis, Gaziantep and Siirt that have to be established within the context of the Social Development Programme for Youth. Youth and Culture Houses have an important role in stimulating youth to be more social and open-minded. In its first 3 years it was aimed to affiliate approximately 400 young people to youth houses and to reach out to 9000 young people via different activities, in 5 years more than 50.000 young people were empowered through the South East Anatolia Region Social Development Programme for Youth. During this period, more than 100 young people had a chance to share their experiences that performed in Turkey with the peers attending international meetings in Europe, Mediterranean and Middle East.


South East Anatolia Region Social Development Programme for Youth composes an important basis in the European Union harmonization process of the Region. The program enables young people to make their own decisions, to develop friendship skills, to resolve contradictory values, to make free choices regarding employment and develop active-citizen roles in their region.


In addition to these, the second phase of the program initiated in 2005 aimed at economic development and employment of young people. Within this context, internship facilities and e-monitoring opportunities were developed and vocational training was undertaken for youth. Youth and Culture houses carried out 11 projects that were supported by EU Youth Programme. Through these projects, Youth and Culture Houses have provided an out resource for youth activities in the region.

Within the framework of the Socio-Economic Development Programme, sub-projects were developed. Through the e-coaching programme, professionals from different fields carried out consultancy training to 30 young people. Within the internship programme, internship facilities have been developed in relationship with the chamber of commerce and industry. Young people were offered internship opportunities from different companies in the region and some of them were later employed by these companies.


In Siirt, through the protocol developed with the Siirt Governorship, Turkish Republic Presidency of the GAP Regional Development Administration, Sancar Denim A.Ş and Youth Association for Habitat, 600 young people were trained on vocational trainings in order to be employed later in Sancar Denim A.Ş Factories.


The youth of the Social Development Programme for Youth actively participates tin Local Agenda 21 National Youth Parliament activities.