Yasemin SALIH
Created Date: November 03, 2024 04:00
Female watchmakers are trained with the ‘Fine Work’ project carried out by Saat&Saat with the support of İŞKUR. Trained female craftsmen are employed in the project. Saat&Saat Technical Manager Mehmet Düzgün said, “Our goal is to have 30 percent of our master team consist of women.”
We put our white aprons on our backs and the lenses on our eyes and sat at the repair table… There are dozens of materials in front of us that were dismantled from various watches, from the dial to the tiny fittings and the winding button. Recently they call it ‘upcycling’. Producing something really useful from products that the old people thought would be ‘necessary to throw away’ seems to be a new ‘discovery’ of the business world in the last 15 years and has created a huge economy. It is expected to reach a volume of 56.8 billion dollars in the world by 2027. This is exactly what we did in the watch repair workshop located at Saat&Saat’s headquarters in Maslak. We also experienced an ‘upcycling’ study in collaboration with the Devridaim Institute. Some of us made necklaces from old watch parts, some of us made keychains… In the end, we said ‘Everyone should do their own job’ and asked our questions…
‘THE WORLD WANTS FINENESS’
The name of the project tells a lot. ‘The World Requires Finesse’ is Saat&Saat’s motto in its sustainability strategy. They focused on the United Nations’ titles “Responsible Production and Consumption,” “Climate Action,” “Decent Work and Economic Growth,” “Women’s Employment,” and “Industry and Innovation.” In the workshop, young girls were repairing the clocks in front of them. They are carrying out a project called ‘İncelikli İş’, together with İŞKUR, designed to keep the watch repair profession, which is about to die, alive with women. We asked Saat&Saat Technical Service Manager Mehmet Düzgün about the outputs of the project. Düzgün pointed out that repair has become a lifestyle again. He said that they have been repairing broken or malfunctioning watches with the masters in the technical service for many years and continued as follows: “Moreover, we repair not only Saat&Saat brands, but also watches from different brands or family heirlooms with the same care. In our Subtle Work project, which we launched in cooperation with İŞKUR in 2023, we provide training for women under the age of 30 and increase the employment of women in the watchmaking profession. Our goal is for at least 30 percent of the masters in our workshops to be women.”
‘THERE IS A SEA MEADOW, DO NOT ANCHOR’
Seagrass meadows, known as the lungs of the seas, have gained more importance recently with the news that ‘Mucilage is returning’. Scientific research shows that seagrass meadows can produce 14 liters of oxygen per day. Last week, a team from İşbank sailed to the Marmara Sea together with the bank’s Sustainability Leader İzlem Erdem. The aim was to follow, together with journalists, the effects of the “Future of the Seas: Seagrass Meadows” project, which was launched with the Turkish Marine Research Foundation about a year ago. İzlem Erdem said, “With this project, we aim to map the areas where Posidonia oceanica seagrasses are located, which is of critical importance for the health of the Marmara Sea, and to clean and protect them from waste. One hectare of seagrass can retain 1,024 tons of carbon per year. In the first year of the project, two new seagrass areas were discovered. This discovery is promising for the decreasing oxygen level of the Marmara Sea. Now we have carried out the eyebolt and buoying phase to increase the impact of the project. “10 buoys placed in the Bosphorus and the Marmara Sea warn boats not to anchor on the seabed where the meadows are located,” he said. By the way, I learned that seagrasses bloom and bear fruit in spring. And there are 60 species, isn’t it amazing…
Selcen has many benefits
THEY PAVE THE WAY FOR WOMEN ENGINEERS
Projects supporting girls in stem fields are making a lot of noise. Faydasıçok Foundation, which set out for this purpose eight years ago, has achieved important things with its “Pearls in Mother of Pearl” program. Selcen Faydasıçok, Chairman of the Board of Directors of the Foundation, recently held a meeting in which she explained where we came from. According to the information he gave, there are 100 female students studying engineering in “Pearls in Mother of Pearl”. They also have two other scholarship programs called Those Who Leave Their Marks and El in Hand. With these programs, which mostly include engineering students, they provide financial and moral support to male and female students studying in different departments of universities. The total number of students in the three programs reached 350. One of the criteria is that students who receive scholarships should mentor those who come after them.
Source: bigpara.hurriyet.com.tr
