World Bank Hosts Turkey 2005 Development Marketplace Competition Finals and Award Ceremony

Ankara May 4, 2005— The World Bank Ankara Office hosted yesterday the final round of the Development Marketplace 2005 Competition and it’s Award at Middle East Technical University (ODTU) Culture and Congress Center.

World Bank’s Development Marketplace Program helps promote innovative development ideas through grant giving. In a competition open to all Turkish Non Governmental Organizations (NGOs) and Civil Society, the World Bank and its partners (Middle East Technical University, Open Society Institute (OSI), Union of Chambers of Commerce and Maritime Industry (TOBB), European Union Commission Turkey Delegation, MNG Kargo, Microsoft, Philips, Wall Street Institute, Hurriyet IK, Infomag, NTV, Yenibir.com) awarded start-up funds to ideas that test new approaches to Social Progress and Inclusion on the way to Europe.

All together 765 proposals were submitted. After a two round selection process, 35 proposals that fell under the theme of: Social Inclusion and Progress on the way to Europe- have been selected to make it to the finals.

During the Innovation day, the finalists had the opportunity to display their projects and were interviewed by an independent jury panel. Winners were selected in the Grand Jury meeting that was composed of 21 jurors representing the different sectors and segment of the Turkish Society.

In addition to the Innovation Competition, the event included a Knowledge Forum held on the same day that allowed about 200 participants from all over and representatives of the donor agencies to share knowledge, foster networks and find new avenues for collaboration. Discussions were centered around the following topics Workshop focused on Social Responsibility on Corporate Level: Linkages between Private Sector and the NGO World" which highlighted what is currently happening in Turkey in terms of Private Sector-NGO relations. During the Forum experts Philips, Wall Street Institute, TOBB, III^rd Sector Foundation of Turkey, and Private Sector Volunteers Association spoke about their experiences.

In his opening remarks, Country Director for Turkey Andrew Vorkink stated: "At a time when the world is racing to achieve better social and economic growth and Turkey racing to become a member of the European Union, the need for creative and innovative partnerships is greater than ever. This is why the World Bank decided to host the Development Marketplace Competition in Turkey this year under the title of "Social Progress and Inclusion on the way to Europe".

At the opening ceremony of the event, Minister of National Education Huseyin Celik stated that this was a first of its kind competition in Turkey. "It is extremely important to host events like this in our country which promotes creative thinking and innovation".

The following projects will receive seed funding to implement their creative ideas and projects within the 12 months ahead:

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