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Citigroup Inc. (NYSE: C)
June 24, 2008
Turkey: Citi and Sabancı University Cooperate in Community Internship Program
Citi and Sabancı University are cooperating in the Community Internship Program(CIP), which aims to provide human resource support to Turkish Civil Society organizations (CSO) as well as to encourage Turkish students to contribute to the communities they live in.
Sabancı University, with the support of a Citi Foundation grant, is working with 20 universities to recruit interns for the project. A total of 135 students applied for the program: 94 students from 20 universities, (Ankara, Boğaziçi, Çanakkale 18 Mart, Çukurova, Doğus, Dokuz Eylül, Ege, Galatasaray, Gazi, Istanbul, İstanbul Bilgi, Karadeniz Teknik, Kocaeli, Koç, Marmara, ODTÜ, Sabancı, Selçuk, Yeditepe, Yıldız Teknik Universities) will work with 22 Civil Society organizations, with each intern working for one month during the summer break. The duration of the program is 4 months, June through September.
Besides enabling students to acquire CSO experience during vacation and supporting the human resources of NGOs, the internship program contributes to CSOs' long-term growth . Nurturing young leaders, applicants' interest, commitment and experiences were key recruiting criteria. Depending on the differing needs of the CSOs, from 2 – 10 interns have been assigned to each organization. They all attend an orientation on CSO's' roles and functions for society, projects, and operational status. All student interns are required to submit a report after the 1 month internship, covering what they have experienced and what they see as the needs for civil sense and ways of social participation.
"Citi has been supporting the ‘Citi Community Scholar Intern Program' for last 30 years in the U.S.," said said Steve Bideshi, Chairman, Citi Turkey. "Turkey is one of the first countries outside the U.S. to implement this program. I expect this program to provide support to NGOs but also to create awareness amongst youth on the importance of NGOs in our society."
"One of the difficulties that local CSOs face is the development of human resources," said Zeynep Bahar, of Sabanci University, who is in charge of planning and management for this program. "I am very pleased that this program will give a chance for Turkey's students to build interests in CSOs' roles and to develop leadership skills."
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Citi
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