Akbank's T.R. The "There is a Future in Transformation" initiative, implemented in cooperation with the Ministry of National Education, was brought to the agenda with the "The Future is in Transformation: Advanced Transformation from Office to Classroom" panel held within the scope of COP31.
In the panel held at the Turkish Climate School of the Ministry of National Education at COP31 Green Area; T.R. While the Ministry of National Education Support Services General Directorate Head of Projects and Social Partners Department Gökçen Adanur, Akbank Brand and Communications Head Seçil Demiralp and Environmentally Friendly Green Buildings Association President Emre Ilıcalı were present, the panel was moderated by Akbank Press Relations Manager Sinem Yöndem Bilgincan.
During the session, the role of upcycling in the circular economy, the development of skills required for sustainable production through education, and the impact of public, private sector and non-governmental cooperation were evaluated. Carrying the model that started in Hatay throughout Turkey through vocational training and its contribution to the green-collar workforce of the future were among the prominent topics of the panel.
“Education is a process that all stakeholders must embrace together”
T.R. Gökçen Adanur, Head of the Projects and Social Partners Department of the General Directorate of Support Services of the Ministry of National Education, touched upon the following in his speech: "As the Ministry of National Education, we include sustainability-oriented studies in all our units and activities that will develop children's upcycling skills. Among these, with the program There is a Future in Transformation, the materials from Akbank's offices were turned into school furniture with the efforts of our students in the workshop established in our vocational high school. It made the sustainable production skills of our students from the furniture design department visible. It was hard to believe that the products we saw in the field were upcycled; our students were new." In addition, pre-school workshops were established to give children a sustainable life perspective.
Education is a process that we must approach from a social perspective and manage together with all stakeholders. Increasing the number of projects such as There is a Future in Transformation is one of the best investments we can make in this country for our 75 thousand schools and 18 million students. “I would like to thank Akbank for this cooperation and hope that these projects will increase.”
“There should be a skills target alongside every climate target”
Akbank Brand and Communications Head Seçil Demiralp said at the panel: "In order to scale circular models, a competent and equipped workforce is needed as well as finance and technology. If we want to draw concrete results from COP31, we should also put a skill target next to every climate target."
With There is a Future in Transformation, we have transformed upcycling from being a technique that only gives a second life to materials into a practice that combines education, green employment and social benefit in the same model. This experience, which started in Hatay, will now spread throughout Türkiye thanks to our cooperation with our Ministry of National Education. Our goal is to transform this model into a common skill, production and solidarity platform where young people, teachers and new stakeholders participate.”
From 40 trucks of furniture to 19 thousand 200 school items
“There is a Future in Transformation” started with the idea of transforming office furniture, which was completed during the renovation of the Akbank Headquarters building, into social value. 40 trucks of furniture, delivered to the workshop established at İskenderun Vocational and Technical Anatolian High School in Hatay, were transformed into new school items such as tables, cabinets and libraries, with the guidance of teachers and the efforts of vocational high school students.
19 thousand 200 school furniture produced to date have been delivered to 1,311 schools in Hatay; Contribution was made to improving the learning environment of more than 400 thousand students. The initiative also offered vocational high school youth the opportunity to learn sustainable production in practice and gain professional experience.
Upcycling applications will be enriched in vocational education
Within the scope of the protocol signed between the Ministry of National Education and Akbank, it is aimed to diversify upcycling practices in vocational high schools. 1,080 teachers who are experts in the field of furniture from across Türkiye will participate in the Training of Trainers program initiated in this direction. Teachers, who will improve their competencies in advanced recycling techniques through face-to-face and online training, will transfer the knowledge and skills they have acquired to vocational high school young people. Thus, it is aimed to spread the model that started in Hatay throughout Türkiye, to strengthen the sustainable production culture and to train the upcycling masters of the future.
Akbank's COP31 Agenda
Akbank's "For the World, For All" approach, which it carried to COP31, expresses its determination to develop measurable and scalable solutions that consider economic resilience, social benefit and nature protection together. In this regard, the Bank will continue to announce its financing and cooperation models in strategic areas, especially 'green transformation of the industry', 'sustainable supply chains', 'electrification and sustainable air conditioning' and 'blue financing', at COP31 held in Antalya between 9-20 November.
