Pi Youth Association is a youth-focused non-governmental organizationbased in Izmir, Turkey.

Pi Youth Association (PIYA) is a youth NGO established in 2014 to enable young people in Turkey to develop
knowledge, skills, positive attitudes and behaviours. PIYA implements the decisions of
the European Union, the Council of Europe and the United Nations in the field of youth. The association also maintains its activities taking into account universal sensitivities, global principles and principles relating to human rights, participation and environmental issues. The main topic of work is youth rights, youth issues and participation.

The organization works at three levels: local, national, and international.
At the local level, it organizes activities in its offices, and at the same time has partners with whom it collaborates in its city. The partners are primary schools, middle and high schools, municipalities, youth centres and universities. All activities organized by volunteers are open to the local population and are free of charge.

Currently, the association has 8 full-time employees, 2 part-time employees, 3 interns and about 150 volunteers. It also currently has 12 long-term volunteers and 1 short-term volunteer from the European Solidarity Corps (ESC).

The majority of the volunteers come from France. Indeed, two French youth organizations regularly send them
volunteers under the ESC programme. Volunteers mainly organize local activities such as
French conversation clubs, the promotion of French culture and values with European citizenship in
the framework of the Erasmus Plus and ESC programmes. The volunteers not only organize activities, they also help to strengthen partnerships with French organizations.
In addition, CES volunteers organize French conversation clubs at Dokuz Eylül University, one of the oldest public universities.

The Pi youth association mainly participates in EU-funded projects, such as Erasmus+ and the European Solidarity Corps. Through these projects, it can introduce EU values and promote living together.

The CES volunteers it hosts, from Estonia, France, Germany and Poland, promote social and cultural diversity using non-formal tools, particularly during cultural evenings. These activities are organized in different regions of Izmir, which has a population of 4.5 million, and in particular with the city’s disadvantaged neighborhoods. Through the workshops of the CES volunteers, the association helps them to develop their personal and professional skills while offering them different exchange opportunities such as Erasmus+ and the CES projects. In this way, residents can learn about the values of the EU.

Laurine, a French CES volunteer, also helped establish partnerships for the organization, and presented the Pélico project at a festival. She organizes French conversation clubs with children aged 7 to 11 in primary schools. As she has experience in civil society, including French civic service, she offered to share her knowledge with the local population, especially with children.

Ms. Begüm İntepeler, President of the Association, is responsible for maintaining and executing all relationships
with local project stakeholders, such as public institutions and industry members
private sector (e.g. local municipalities, MEB public education centres, the Training Institute
İzmir’s professional network, etc.). It already has contacts with primary schools whose language of instruction is the
French.