Birlikte Kariyer is a development program designed for young talents, particularly hearing-impaired university students and recent graduates, to enable them to make a strong and equal start for their career journey.

The program sees that participants are equipped with certified online trainings on topics such as communication, interview techniques, corporate image, self-expression in business life, conflict management, negotiation and persuasion styles, which are critically important in the early stages of a career. The contents of the training are designed with a broad perspective in consideration of the needs of participants from various universities and departments.

Through Birlikte Kariyer, we aim to reduce the structural barriers that hearing-impaired young people face in their career journeys and support their access to equal opportunities. We intend to provide participants not only with professional skills but also with self-confidence, visibility and the power to forge their own path.

We believe cultural and artistic development is an integral part of social development. Based on this belief, we launched the Women Stars of Tomorrow Education Support Fund as part of the Istanbul Music Festival. We have expanded our long-standing collaboration with the Istanbul Foundation for Culture and Arts since 1990 with a social impact approach focusing on the development of young female musicians.

This program we have been running since 2018 enables us to support talented young female musicians to develop their international careers in the fields of instruments, singing and conducting. Musicians who receive undergraduate or postgraduate education abroad, who wish to participate in masterclasses, orchestra auditions or international competitions, or who need support in purchasing instruments can benefit from this fund.

The young musicians we support have the opportunity to share the same stage with veteran artists such as İdil Biret, Ayla Erduran, Ayşegül Sarıca and Gülsin Onay during the Istanbul Music Festival. We see that such ensemble performance contributes to their professional development, visibility and international career journeys.

In our 75th anniversary, we launched the 11 Libraries in 11 Provinces project to provide safe and qualified learning spaces for children in earthquake-affected regions. We intended to strengthen children's access to education in post-disaster conditions and contribute to equal opportunities in education.

We established modern, content-rich libraries designed with the needs of children in mind at schools in provinces affected by February 6 earthquakes. We designed these libraries not only as spaces that provide access to books but also as places where children can feel safe, reconnect to learning and improve their imagination.

The positive impact created by the 11 Libraries in 11 Provinces Project encouraged us to continue our efforts under the TSKB 100th Anniversary Republic Libraries initiative. While fulfilling our initial commitment by opening libraries in 11 different provinces within two years, we further expanded the project and have now established libraries in 14 provinces.

Through this initiative, we continue to create lasting social impact that prioritizes the long term development of children in the post earthquake period while supporting equal opportunities in education. We believe this project has enabled us to build not only spaces but also hope.

We launched Equal Steps in cooperation with BCSD Türkiye to strengthen women's employment and promote a culture of equal opportunities in the workplace. This platform offers a guide to organizations desiring to take concrete steps in the field.

We designed Equal Steps as a digital library. We have created a resource space where you can find good practices, roadmaps, standards, legislation and current research from Türkiye and the world at the same place. Through our social media channels, we share developments with a focus on equality through a wide network of stakeholders and create a common learning environment.

The impact of Equal Steps in this field was also recognized internationally. In 2020, we were listed as one of the 30 best applications among over 450 development banks at the Finance in Common Summit.

We do not see Equal Steps solely as a digital platform. We see it as a strong stance enabling every step towards equality in the business world to contribute to social transformation.

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We believe in the great potential of women's participation in the economy for the welfare of the country. Based on this belief, we launched the Empower Through Education Scholarship Fund in cooperation with the Turkish Education Foundation. As part of the program, we support junior and senior female students studying at universities.

We do not only extend financial support to our scholars but also prepare them for business life through mentoring support. Our aim is not only to contribute to students' educational processes but also to support them to make a stronger and better equipped start to their career journey upon graduation. The mentoring process prepares the ground for our scholars to discover their own potential and take more solid steps into the business world.

Inclusiveness Ambassadors is a transformation program we have implemented to place the understanding of an equitable, accessible and respectful working environment at the heart of our corporate culture. Under this program, we bring together volunteering TSKB employees who want to play an active role in inclusive transformation by embracing the Bank's values together.

As part of the program, participants take part in awareness trainings to strengthen the awareness of inclusiveness in communication and behavior, particularly in disability. At workshops focused on experience and empathy, we discuss how inclusiveness can be reflected in daily business life, and we deliberate on in-house development areas to prepare the ground for new practices. We design this process not as a one-time training but as a journey of learning and transformation that continues at regular intervals.

With Inclusiveness Ambassadors, we aim to strengthen the inclusive approach not only through policies but also through behaviors and internal interactions. We want TSKB employees to be part of the transformation through their own experiences and plan for this transformation to spread throughout the organization.