The main goal of the Spark for Women project is to empower women through IT education and soft-skills’ training and give them a higher possibility of getting a job in the business world, letting them to get economically independent and more conscious on their rights and roles within their society.

1. Bridging the IT
knowledge gap in
Turkey
Presentation_ID © 2007 Cisco Systems, Inc. All rights reserved. Cisco Confidential 1

2. Some Facts about Turkey
Population: almost 70 million
Young Population: median age 28 years
High unemployment rate: 14,5 % much higher among younger
people and women
Poverty issue: population below poverty line 18%
Internet expanding: Internet users: 26-28 million (2009)
IT Market in 2009: 27,5 Billion USD
IT market in 2010: 30 Billion USD
(apprx 8% growth whereas this is 1% in Europe)
Highest demand for advanced networking
technology experts in Europe (IDC2005)
Presentation_ID © 2007 Cisco Systems, Inc. All rights reserved. Cisco Confidential 2

3. What is SPARK (Youth Movement in
Informatics)?
 Aim: improve the level of IT expertise among
youth while encouraging volunteerism.
 A youth movement where young instructors
teach networking skills to economically
disadvantaged and unemployed young people.
 In a unique example of volunteerism, NetAcad
trainings are given by the youth for the youth.
Presentation_ID © 2007 Cisco Systems, Inc. All rights reserved. Cisco Confidential 3

4. SPARK in numbers
Initiated in 2006;
Has graduated over 2.400 people so far;
Takes place in 25 cities scattered all around
Turkey using Habitat Centers for Informatics;
Active in over 20 different cities in Turkey,
Has over 300 NetAcad volunteer Instructors,
Providing Cisco IT Essentials and CCNA I and II
Trainings for free
Presentation_ID © 2007 Cisco Systems, Inc. All rights reserved. Cisco Confidential 4

5. SPARK Project Partners
An increasingly powerful social responsibility project that
is run in partnership with Habitat Center for Governance
and Development, UNDP, and Cisco in 2006.
Presentation_ID © 2007 Cisco Systems, Inc. All rights reserved. Cisco Confidential 5

6. Partners of SPARK
40,000 members around Turkey
Project Management
Government connections
Bringing IT companies together
UN Volunteer – 4th year
Developing more initiatives around SPARK basis
Presentation_ID © 2007 Cisco Systems, Inc. All rights reserved. Cisco Confidential 6

7. SPARK Model
SPARK SPARK Regional Cisco NetAcad
Graduates Academy Graduates
IT Essentials CCENT To train students
Academies Academies and general public
NetAcad Participants
Presentation_ID © 2007 Cisco Systems, Inc. All rights reserved. Cisco Confidential 7

8. Instructors and Training Performance in Years
Presentation_ID © 2007 Cisco Systems, Inc. All rights reserved. Cisco Confidential 8

9. What’s in it for Instructors?
NetAcad graduates can apply
 Instructor fast track course
 Work as volunteer instructors to teach underserved
communities in their area
 Immediate work experience
 Deepening knowledge of Networking Technologies
 Be internationally valid Cisco Certified Instructors
 Building bonds with their peers
The best way to learn is to teach.
Presentation_ID © 2007 Cisco Systems, Inc. All rights reserved. Cisco Confidential 9

10. Some More Opportunities
For the communities
Bridging the digital gap for underserved
communities
Encouraging Volunteerism
Acquiring a profession for the disadvantaged
For NetAcad
A global network of NetAcad volunteer
instructors
A forum for further idea generation and
program development
Grow the program in areas that are usually
difficult to reach
Presentation_ID © 2007 Cisco Systems, Inc. All rights reserved. Cisco Confidential 10

11. With NetAcad the participant…
•gets up-to-date and hands
on knowledge on network
and IT,
• learns about team work,
• joins the world’s biggest e-
learning community,
• gets ready for the
internationally valid
certification examinations
•Acquires a profession
Presentation_ID © 2007 Cisco Systems, Inc. All rights reserved. Cisco Confidential 11

12. Presentation_ID © 2007 Cisco Systems, Inc. All rights reserved. Cisco Confidential 12

13. Presentation_ID © 2007 Cisco Systems, Inc. All rights reserved. Cisco Confidential 13

14. Presentation_ID © 2007 Cisco Systems, Inc. All rights reserved. Cisco Confidential 14

15. Spark for Women
www.bilisimdekadinhareketi.com/en
Presentation_ID © 2007 Cisco Systems, Inc. All rights reserved. Cisco Confidential 15

16. Women in Turkey – Facts
 Women’ active participation to labor force: 26%
 Women employment rate: 22%
 Gender Gap Index: When compared with European
countries, in areas of economic participation, equal
opportunities, access to education, and political
participation last quartile
 UNDP Gender Report: Out of 157 countries, Turkey: 79th.
Presentation_ID © 2007 Cisco Systems, Inc. All rights reserved. Cisco Confidential 16

17. What is Spark for Women?
 Main aim:
Empower women through IT education and soft-skills trainings;
Facilitate women’ integration to active labor force;
Encourage women to have their economic independence
and empower their social conditions by being more conscious
of their rights and roles within their society
 3 main pillars of the Project:
IT Essentials Train the Trainers Training(70 hours)
Resume writing and Interview Techniques Seminars(3 hours)
Labor Law and Common Law Legal Trainings (3 hours)
Presentation_ID © 2007 Cisco Systems, Inc. All rights reserved. Cisco Confidential 17

18. Project Target in Numbers and by Region
 Provide 6 IT Essentials Train the Trainers Education in
different cities of Turkey Total: 120 women IT
instructors
 Wide geographical scope- pilot cities: İzmir,
İstanbul, Diyarbakır, Denizli, Artvin;
 Each Instructor will train minimum 20 other women
in their region
–Target: 2400 women graduates
Presentation_ID © 2007 Cisco Systems, Inc. All rights reserved. Cisco Confidential 18

19. Survey Results
The participants have been;
% 91 Utilizing the info they got in their daily lives
%34 Help the participants in finding a job
%70 Have started following IT industry developments both in Turkey
and world
%85 They know the concept of ‘social responsibility’
%80 Want to enroll in a Project run in a spirit of volunteerism
%81 Want to widen the scope of SPARK project
Presentation_ID © 2007 Cisco Systems, Inc. All rights reserved. Cisco Confidential 19

20. SPARK has contributed to participants in other
dimensions as well
Presentation_ID © 2007 Cisco Systems, Inc. All rights reserved. Cisco Confidential 20

21. More than 70% project participants say
 They find NetAcad trainings highly beneficial;
 Want to continue their trainings in IT;
 To pursue a career in IT industry;
 That SPARK project has been highly important for
their career choices.
Presentation_ID © 2007 Cisco Systems, Inc. All rights reserved. Cisco Confidential 21

22. bilisimdegenchareket.com
bilisimdekadinhareketi.com/en
Presentation_ID © 2007 Cisco Systems, Inc. All rights reserved. Cisco Confidential 22