Meie välisvabatahtlik – Emre Can Dalyan

15.12.2022 / Optional, RNTK areng, Rahvusvaheline noorsootöö

Who are you?

I was born on June 6, 1998, in Turkey. At a young age, I had to move a lot due to family problems. However, this situation made me a self-confident person who can adapt quickly to the environments I enter. When I was 14, I graduated from high school far from my family. This situation taught me to cope with responsibilities at an early age and what I can do when I am alone in life. During my first year of high school, I lived in a dormitory. Here I made friends from different cultures from various provinces and my circle expanded.

My acquaintance with Non-Governmental Organizations; happened because of an injustice I suffered during my high school years. I met the world of civil society when I asked for help from a non-governmental organization that carries out Rights-Based Youth Studies. When I was 17, I was deemed secular as Turkey’s youngest Founder of the Metropolitan Youth Assembly. During this task period, we developed projects for young people between the ages of 14-30 to take an active role in local decision-making mechanisms.

Some of these projects are;

  • Supporting financial literacy,
  • Supporting Entrepreneurial Young Women,
  • To encourage the use of sports fields,
  • They were projects to explore different regions of Turkey.

After realizing projects in these areas, I received an invitation letter from the National Youth Parliament to represent my city, Tekirdağ, in the parliament, and I had the right to represent my city for the first time. When I was 19 years old, I became one of the youngest Candidates for Parliamentary Candidates in Turkey because there were not enough young people in the National Assembly and their voices were heard.

At the age of 21, I graduated from the university in Political Science and Public Administration in another city. Since I realized that youth work is insufficient here, I took the representation of a capital-based association and established the first youth association in the city. Here, together with the local youth under the activities of the association;

  • Project writing training,
  • Youth Rights Meeting,
  • I carried out projects for the Strengthening of the International Peace Network.

After realizing projects in these areas, I received an invitation letter from the National Youth Parliament to represent my city, Tekirdağ, in the parliament, and I had the right to represent my city for the first time. When I was 19 years old, I became one of the youngest Candidates for Parliamentary Candidates in Turkey because there were not enough young people in the National Assembly and their voices were heard.

At the age of 21, I graduated from the university in Political Science and Public Administration in another city. Since I realized that youth work is insufficient here, I took the representation of a capital-based association and established the first youth association in the city. Here, together with the local youth under the activities of the association;

  • Project writing training,
  • Youth Rights Meeting,
  • I carried out projects for the Strengthening of the International Peace Network.
What inspires you?
If I talk about the things that inspire me, getting to know and discover new places and different cultures has always inspired me. I am a person who likes to learn on the spot by trying. I feel more motivated in these situations.
Why did you decided to come to do ESC in Estonia?
The reason I chose Estonia was that my first international friends were Estonians and created different feelings for me. When I first met them, I was trying to chat with a dictionary in my hand, but they encouraged me that I could communicate with foreign cultures and that I could speak without using a dictionary. I saw Estonians as my family. And here I participated in the project.
What joy does living in Estonia bring to you?
Since my arrival in Estonia, I have not had any problems adapting. The people here have always been friendly and helpful to me. Also, the fact that they are very excited about teaching the cultural structure of Estonia triggers my excitement to learn new things even more
What are the challenges?
It can be difficult not to get used to the winter conditions enough and to miss the warm and beautiful smells of Turkish cuisine from time to time.
Interesting things/ thoughts you have noticed?
Frankly, I found it very interesting to walk in the snow after the sauna experience among the interesting things. 🙂 And in addition, the fact that the houses are in the forest, away from other houses and in the dark is one of the interesting things :))