Istanbul Bilgi University Human Rights Law Research Center organised the Anti-Discrimination Training Seminar within the framework of the project “Combating Discrimination in Turkey through Documenting and Reporting”. The target audience of the training seminar entitled “Anti-Discrimination Training Seminar: Concepts, Legal Framework, Monitoring and Documenting” was lawyers who provide professional or voluntary legal counselling to civil society organisations, trade unions and civic initiatives who conduct activities to combat discrimination based on race or ethnic origin, religion or belief, disability and sexual orientation and are directly involved in monitoring and documenting cases of discrimination.

The Seminar was held in Istanbul on 21-23 January 2010. The aim of the seminar was to help lawyers strengthen their capacity in monitoring, documenting and reporting cases of discrimination and particularly taking legal action in theses cases. The seminar also aimed at encouraging participants to cooperate in future monitoring and documentation activities and creating an environment for exchange of information and experience particularly for those who work on different bases of discrimination. 

In the three-day training seminar, the participants were familiarised with the concepts and definitions of discrimination, identification of discrimination, national and international non-discrimination legislation, complaint and control mechanisms, discrimination in employment, litigation mechanisms and methods and principles of monitoring and documenting cases of discrimination. During the training seminar, the anti-discrimination training manual developed under the framework of the project was used as the primary resource material. Turgut Tarhanlı, Burcu Yeşiladalı, İdil Işıl Gül, Ulaş Karan, Kenan Çayır and Kübra Doğan Yenisey from Istanbul Bilgi University contributed to the seminar as speakers and trainers. Güler Polat from the Istanbul Bar Association Commission on the Rights of the Disabled, Kazım Genç from the Alevi Bektashi Federation and Yasemin Öz from Kaos GL presented practices in monitoring and documenting cases of discrimination and exhibited precedent court cases. 

The overall objective of the project is to reveal ongoing discrimination practices and to strengthen the mechanisms that work towards combating discrimination in Turkey. 

The design of the project took into consideration the significant role of civil society organisations in safeguarding human rights and fundamental freedoms and in combating discrimination. The project aims, therefore, to enhance the role of civil society in addressing discrimination based on race or ethnic origin, religion or belief, disability, and sexual orientation. In order to reach this objective: 

1. Already established networks developed by NGOs and trade unions in combating discrimination will be enhanced and the establishment of new ones will be encouraged, 
2. The capacity of NGOs, trade unions, and lawyers who particularly focus on combating discrimination will be raised in monitoring and documenting cases of discrimination, 
3. The level of awareness on the existence as well as the significance of discrimination in Turkey will be raised. This will be possible particularly through the production of monitoring reports prepared on four grounds of discrimination. 

This project is implemented by Istanbul Bilgi University Human Rights Law Research Center and is funded by the European Instrument for Democracy and Human Rights (EIDHR)-Turkey Programme. Global Dialogue supports the project with co-financing.