SUPPORT FOR PARTICIPATING SHORT-TERM TRAINING AND COURSES IN ABROAD

The results of the application for 2013 3rd term In-Service Training Activity under the scope of Comenius and Grundtvig Programs carried out by the Ministry for EU Affairs Turkish National Agency were announced.

Within the scope of the mentioned activity, 278 citizens including teachers, civil servants, academicians and representative of NGOs will participate to the theoretical and practical courses in different fields of education in European countries and will have the opportunity to have information on European school education and adult education. Within the scope of in-service training activity which has been carried out by Turkish National Agency since 2004, 4400 citizens were supported until now and they had the opportunity to participate to short-term training and courses in European countries.

Within the scope of 2013 Call for Proposal, the dead line of the applications for 3rd term In-Service Training Activity was 17 September 2013 and 616 applications in total were received for both programs. Following the evaluation, 27 applications were approved and approximately 720.000 euros were allocated. Thus, the support for in-service training activity by the Turkish National Agency in 2013 reached to 2.3 million euros.

Examining the results on a provincial basis, it is apparent that within the scope of 2013 3rd term call for proposal, our citizens working in institutions in Istanbul, Ankara, Kocaeli and Antalya showed much more interest to the programs.

Minister for EU Affairs and Chief Negotiator Egemen Bagis stating that he was sure that our citizens who would participate to In-service Training Courses in abroad would best introduce our country, culture, treasures and the contributions of Turkey to EU, said the followings:

“The number of those who have gone to Europe since 2004 by benefiting from the programs of Turkish National Agency reached to approximately 370.000. By the end of 2013, we will send 70 thousand citizens to abroad.

By means of the programs carried out by Turkish National Agency, we see that Turkey and Europe became much closer to each other. This actually means that through our educated, qualified and visionary beneficiaries, prejudices towards Turkey in Europe are being removed gradually. During these programs, our participating citizens represent Turkey in Europe with their background and qualifications; they actually work as the ambassadors of Turkey.

Within the scope of “In-Service Training Support” activity carried out under School Education and Adult Education Programs, grant support is provided to short-term training and courses in Europe, to which our citizens desire to participate. Thus, our citizens are able to go to Europe for education for their vocational and personal development without spending even a penny. I would like to congratulate all successful participants of “In-Service Training Support” activity in 2013 and wish them success.”