Created Date: November 22, 2024 12:19
The Teacher Academy Foundation, established 16 years ago by Garanti BBVA with the aim of equipping teachers with the competencies of the age and raising new generations with this vision, touched the lives of 12 million children through 378 thousand teachers. Mayor Tuba Köseoğlu Okçu said, “One in every 65 adults in Turkey is a teacher. As ÖRAV, we have reached one in every three teachers in Turkey, our dream is to reach all teachers. “We are preparing for a new project that will introduce artificial intelligence in 2025,” he said.
November 24 is one of the dates that has a truly special place in Turkey. Although it is not official or religious, Teachers’ Day is considered one of the ‘special days’ with the strongest spiritual value. If you ask any adult in Turkey, they will have a memory that makes them smile. Because November 24 reminds most people of their childhood. According to research, when teachers are mentioned, the first thing that comes to mind for the majority of adults is their first teacher. That amazing person who left a deep mark and worked hard…
The story of why November 24 is Teacher’s Day is also beautiful. The reason behind this is that Atatürk was given the title of Head Teacher on 24 November 1928. In 1981, on the 100th anniversary of Atatürk’s birth, it was decided to celebrate November 24 every year as Teachers’ Day.
In addition to showing love and gratitude to teachers, November 24th also creates an opportunity to discuss everything related to this sacred profession, talk about areas of development, and mobilize common sense to solve problems.
The Teacher Academy Foundation (ÖRAV), which I follow closely, was founded 16 years ago in order not to limit all these to one day. The aim is to make teachers strong in the areas of development that will raise generations that catch up with the times. The foundation established by Garanti BBVA has carried out very effective work, especially during critical periods such as the pandemic. We talked about the philosophy and future plans of the foundation with Garanti BBVA Deputy General Manager and ÖRAV Chairman of the Board of Directors Tuba Köseoğlu Okçu.
Tuba Köseoğlu Okçu
NEW SKILLS HAVE BECOME IMPORTANT
Of course, it is important for a bank to focus on education in its social investment programs, especially in a foundation that includes both a corporate and a voluntary structure. I asked Tuba Köseoğlu Okçu about this philosophy.
“With the understanding of responsible banking, we develop our projects by prioritizing the needs of the society and the expectations of our stakeholders from the bank in a strategically compatible way with our main business areas,” he said and continued: “One of the areas we focus on is education in terms of its long-term effects on social welfare. I can say that our focus on training and development is one of the most sustainable investments we have made for our people. Because in today’s rapidly changing and complex world, new skill sets have become more important than ever. To enable future generations to keep up with the times they live in; The way to create a sustainable world is through qualified education. Moreover, just learning the information is no longer enough; according to the reports of the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO), it is necessary to produce creative and innovative solutions by using the information learned. With this awareness, we established the Teacher Academy Foundation 16 years ago, with a vision beyond its time, centering on the professional and personal development of teachers, who are the most important guides of students after their families in their learning journey.”
According to the information provided by Okçu, the bank’s education investments are not limited to ÖRAV. Turkey Women Entrepreneur Academy, which they have implemented together with Boğaziçi University Lifelong Education Center (BÜYEM) for women entrepreneurs, the Accountable Women program carried out with KEDV and FODER in order to support women who have not yet met with banking services to receive training on basic financial issues and manage their own economies, the seafaring women program in cooperation with TURMEPA. The “Blue Breath Project”, which was initiated to reduce and prevent pollution, was one of the examples that Okçu listed at once.
ONE IN 65 ADULTS IS A TEACHER
The teaching profession has always been an important field in Turkey and one that young people are interested in. The data is proof of this. Okçu also drew attention to this and reminded that 1.2 million teachers in Turkey meet with 18 million students under the age of 18 in schools. Stating that one in every 65 adults is a teacher, he explained the impact of ÖRAV as follows: “As ÖRAV, we have reached one in every three teachers in Turkey with our work, but the more we increase this number, the more it will be possible to expand the support we mentioned. In our research with ÖRAV, we see that one of the most important demands of teachers is to continue their professional and personal development. Teachers are the most important advocates of equal opportunity and social progress in education. We need to see them not only as transmitters of knowledge, but also as leaders who transform society. We develop projects that touch the current needs of teachers by keeping our finger on the pulse. For example, teachers began to encounter burnout syndrome and loss of professional motivation more frequently, especially in the post-pandemic period. Support needs on issues such as managing student behavior and establishing healthy communication with families have also come to the fore in recent years. “ÖRAV’s educator teams offer a dynamic support program to teachers throughout the year through intensive and fast work, seminars and projects on the most demanded subjects.”
According to the data shared by Okçu, ÖRAV reaches teachers in 50 cities today with 324 part-time educators and a central team of 20 people. Saying that they developed 63 projects in 16 years, Okçu said, “We cooperated with many different institutions. He expressed the scope of this impact by saying, “As of 2024, we have touched the lives of 12 million children through 378 thousand teachers.”
ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE PROJECT COMING IN 2025
When it comes to generations keeping up with the times, education titles are of course renewed accordingly. ÖRAV President Tuba Köseoğlu Okçu said that topics such as technology, sustainable environment, social roles and financial literacy will continue to be among the priority areas of both Garanti BBVA and ÖRAV in the coming period. When I said, “So, what’s new in 2025?”, I learned that artificial intelligence is also on ÖRAV’s agenda.
Archer explained his plans as follows:
“We will implement a comprehensive program for the use of artificial intelligence in education in order to improve the digital skills of our teachers and support them in adapting to the needs of the age. Whatever work we do in the new world, it is of great importance to adapt it to the philosophy of computer technologies. We will provide training to teachers on how to convey this understanding to their students. Content is being created on topics such as what artificial intelligence is and how it will enter our lives. At the same time, critical thinking and social and emotional skills that the workforce is expected to have in the future are among the topics we will specifically focus on. We empathize with teachers by trying to understand their needs and prepare our one-on-one mentoring infrastructure to meet their individual needs. We will continue to improve our quality content and innovative application methods in order to improve our ability to represent Turkey internationally. For this reason, we aim to expand our field team with the participation of 100 new part-time educators.”
THERE ARE EDUCATION FESTIVALS IN 81 PROVINCES
ÖRAV organized the Education Festival, which has been held on the occasion of Teachers’ Day for 10 years, in 81 provinces for the first time this year. President Tuba Köseoğlu Okçu said that they provided teachers with moments full of knowledge, experience and solidarity in November with the education festivals held in 81 provinces of Turkey. Okçu said, “We expect 6 to 8 thousand teachers to participate in the Education Festival, where nearly 400 workshops are organized. “The Education Festival, which started in Erzurum on November 2, will be completed in Çanakkale on November 30,” he said.
PSYCHOLOGICAL SUPPORT TO THE EARTHQUAKE AREA
THE big earthquake in 2023 of course affected hundreds of teachers. Tuba Köseoğlu Okçu, reminding that they established a phone line saying “I am with you, Teacher” during this process as ÖRAV, said that they provided psychological support to the teachers in the earthquake zone. Okçu said, “Remembering the healing power of art, we organized applied photography workshops in 5 cities: Malatya, Adıyaman, Hatay, Kahramanmaraş and Gaziantep. “We held the ninth ÖRAV Education Festival in 2023, focusing on the earthquake region, and hosted a total of one thousand teachers from 11 cities affected by the earthquake at our festival,” he said.
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Source: bigpara.hurriyet.com.tr
