TURKEY

Doret Habib receives an award for a project that encourages young people with Down Syndrome being employed

Doret Habib receives an award for a project that encourages young people with Down Syndrome being employed

On May 25th, the “16th Golden Compass Turkish Public Relations Prizes” were awarded to winners by the Public Relations Society of Turkey (TUHID). In “NGO Awareness” category Turkish Down Syndrome Association received an award for its project “I am Independent Because I am Working”. Chairman of Turkish Down Syndrome Association Fulya Ekmen and the Association’s strategic communications agency Doret Communication Consultancy’s President Doret Habib received the award. 

Speaking about the project, which is a first in Turkey, Doret Habib highlighted the importance of ensuring young people with Down Syndrome get a job. “There is a prejudice among people and especially employers that people with Down Syndrome do not grow and always stay a child. Since employers did not see any precedents, they did not want to hire these young people with Down Syndrome. Therefore, these young people who did not have the opportunity to work had to stay home. By raising awareness within the society, we overcame this prejudice and changed people’s perceptions. Since 2012, we have been supporting this employment programme. 46 young people with Down Syndrome in 13 cities have been hired by 11 different firms. This is the first long-term project in the employment field.”

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