Nevzat Taşcı

Nevzat is creating a viable career path in politics for Türkiye’s burgeoning – but underrepresented and largely disaffected – youth population. He does this by transforming status quo policies and shifting stakeholder mindsets so that powerful gatekeepers and youth themselves recognize the value younger people bring to democracy as elected officials.

Nevzat is activating and enabling more robust youth participation in Türkiye’s democracy. Through his organization Arayüz Kampanyası, he creates new tools and spaces that in turn build new shared norms and mindsets around who is best able to lead. His core insight is that young people need more opportunities to develop deeper connections with each other, the political infrastructure, and democracy itself. Intentional physical spaces where people from different backgrounds and viewpoints dialogue on common problems and build the skills and relationships to address them are therefore essential. By constructing a more level playing field, Nevzat’s efforts are countering the estrangement from participatory democracy that too many Turkish young people experience today.

Nevzat’s model focuses on three things. First, for those aged 18-30 who are interested in running for political office, it helps them build the social and financial capital that is critical to running successful campaigns. Second, it engages current stakeholders to think differently about participation and leadership so that structural barriers to younger people holding elective office are lowered. Campaign advisors, polling companies, political parties and local governments are then catalyzed to change how those in their respective networks reimagine who is qualified to lead. This multiplier effect helps to retool the machinery of Turkish democracy. And third, Nevzat’s model combines research on issues facing youth with advocacy to ensure that decision-makers consider what younger people today care about most. Trust in the system and young people’s place in it strengthen as a result.

Nevzat’s long-term goal is to put flesh on the skeleton of Turkish democracy. He is doing so in a strategic stepwise manner by creating the structural conditions for more accessible and enduring forms of political engagement for historically marginalized segments of the population, starting with youth. His model’s non-partisan stance has already led to new behaviors and relationships among political parties that are now more open to engaging with and enabling youth. As more young representatives enter the political arena, their success and visibility inspire others, creating a ripple effect that encourages even more participation. Several national political parties from across the spectrum have shifted practice as a result. Four municipal governments from across greater Istanbul are doing so, too. In this way, Nevzat is changing the system from within the system and refining an approach to increased participatory democracy that will have profound effects within and beyond Türkiye’s political landscape.

Türkiye has one of the youngest populations in Europe. Those under 30 make up 45% of the population, with those aged 18 to 30 constituting 20% of eligible voters. Anyone 18 and older can run for elected office, but only a tiny number of those under 30 do so and win. Just five of the 600 deputies in the Turkish Parliament come from this age group. Representation at the provincial and municipal levels is similarly limited. Meanwhile, pervasive narratives that dismiss young people’s concerns as less important or assume that older individuals can adequately represent young people’s interests persist and contribute to inadequate representation. This generational disconnect also means that the policies and promises made by older politicians often seem superficial, insincere, or irrelevant to younger constituents. A 2022 study showed that nearly 60% of Türkiye’s young people do not see political engagement or party membership as an effective way to build a better society. It is perhaps unsurprising then that more than 60% of them say they would prefer to move and settle abroad. They don’t feel invested in or heard by their own leaders.

Political parties across the spectrum in Türkiye do make efforts to engage youth and younger voters. They set up youth branches and regularly hold events and festivals to recruit members. They also run youth assemblies to generate discussion about younger voters’ ideas and priorities. But these activities are designed to build party loyalty and positive PR rather than create new pathways for meaningful influence or network access. Municipalities, for their part, launch campaigns celebrating the important role that younger voters play in determining local priorities, but nearly none involve young people in the standard six months of strategic planning that happen after each round of elections. This magnifies the gap between what young people want in terms of access and influence and what is on offer.

Young people keen to launch a campaign for office too often struggle to build the right connections in and beyond their respective parties. Political networks are largely entrenched and as such magnify polarization that social media and its echo chambers feed. A 2020 study found that in more than 4,000 face-to-face interviews, the rates of emotional political polarization across the country are high. For example, more than 70% of respondents said a) they would not want to do business with a supporter of the party they feel most distant to, and b) they would not want a child to marry a supporter of the party they feel most distant to. These disconnects exacerbate young people’s feelings of alienation and disengagement, as do the lack of public spaces where young people can engage each other in meaningful political discourse and debate.

Nevzat uses several strategies to ensure that more younger people feel connected to, invested in, and represented by Turkish democracy. He combines direct service training with partnerships that scale indirect impact to ensure that more aspiring young leaders can launch viable political campaigns. He collaborates with municipal offices and political parties to shift their approach and mindset in order to ensure there are fewer barriers for young people. And along with colleagues, he conducts research and youth policy advocacy to build a stronger evidentiary base to convince current decision-makers that youth voices matter, and to ensure greater opportunity for young people to help lead.

Arayüz offers a comprehensive capacity-building program for young people to help them develop the social and financial capital they need to successfully run for office. This includes free training sessions on topics such as campaign planning and tools, fieldwork, and public speaking led by expert strategists and consultants whose customary fees would otherwise make their counsel out of reach. This enables access free from financial burdens that could otherwise slow a young candidate’s efforts. And because participants are not asked to pay for these trainings, each cohort is selected by Arayüz staff from a pool of applications. Representation from a wide range of parties – including the ruling AKP and leading opposition CHP – is prioritized to ensure that the non-partisan space Nevzat and his team cultivate is filled with dialogue and problem-solving. This approach has the corollary effect of eventual “backstage” democracy; by bringing future leaders from different political parties together and enabling them to form personal and professional relationships across otherwise polarized partisan political lines, Arayüz’s programs are sowing the seeds for collaborative – rather than primarily divisive - political work.

Nevzat and his team also organize networking events, which serve as platforms for young candidates to meet influential figures from sectors including academia, media, and civil society. Party deputies and local councilors attend, too, which enables young participants to start cultivating relationships with key figures and helps party leaders shift mindsets about younger candidates’ abilities. Strategists, consultants, pollsters, and campaign surveyors are also introduced to aspiring leaders. Intergenerational dialogue results, creating new avenues for participants to build both social and financial capital.

Seventy-seven aspiring leaders from eight different political parties were part of Arayüz’s first training cohort. Thirty-eight of them went on to run for office in the country’s most recent rounds of elections. Although quantitatively limited, this work scales quickly and deeply and shows proof of concept amidst a system inhospitable to young politicians. Qualitative feedback highlights how valuable these trainings are to participants. Some credited Arayüz for their own promotions within their parties, and with shifts in how their leaders saw younger party members and their ability to contribute. Nevzat will launch the second training cohort in September this year and expects a similar number of participants.

Efforts to date have contributed to an increase in younger people elected to office. There are now 23 mayors under the age of 30 across various municipalities. Additionally, 5% of city councilors in Istanbul and Ankara are now under 30 years old. And to ensure that these young leaders continue to advocate for fewer barriers for those that follow, Nevzat has started a memory research project through which data and anecdotes from Arayüz’s trainings are collected. These will be synthesized so that a record of learning and inspiration can be shared with graduates, political parties, and other CSOs working with youth. Nevzat thinks these documented experiences will effectively illustrate for a broader audience how and why his new approach works.

Arayüz has built a broad network of partnerships with municipal offices, political parties, and CSOs that share a common goal of increasing youth participation in politics. These partnerships provide structural support and create opportunities for young candidates to gain visibility and credibility. Nevzat has also developed and shared a toolkit with municipalities to ensure greater inclusion of younger voices in officials’ strategic planning. A partnership with Küçükçekmece Municipality in western Istanbul will see the development of a kit to better engage young aspiring politicians prior to the next election. Kadıköy Municipality is set to do the same. This creates a new funding stream for Arayüz while scaling stronger participatory frameworks.

Goodwill agreements that Nevzat asks each political party to sign before local and national elections aim to ensure that fewer barriers for young candidates are normalized. At least three of Türkiye’s main political parties shifted their own rules to ensure lower thresholds for younger candidates in 2023 and 2024, including waiving the fees required to run in local elections. And at least one of these parties has found that as a result of its cooperation with Arayüz, the percentage of its candidates under the age of 30 has risen from 9% to 20%. Arayüz helped to develop the inclusion of new youth-related guidelines in party policy documents prior to the most recent elections.

Arayüz also engages in evidence-based advocacy by commissioning research studies in partnership with academia and polling companies. A core motivation is to ensure a broader knowledge base that actors in Türkiye and other countries in the region can access to inform their outreach to younger voters and aspiring leaders. Arayüz then presents data-rich findings to stakeholders. Eleven publications since the organization’s founding have focused on topics such as the obstacles faced by young aspiring leaders, the role of youth in local politics, and how best to represent young people. Targeted outreach to municipalities in greater Istanbul influences their planning and has cultivated more inclusive youth engagement strategies in at least one. And three national polling companies have shifted their approach to and understanding of younger voters and the challenges young politicians face thanks to Arayüz’s research. Nevzat’s interpersonal skills translate into frequent public speaking opportunities to further engage political parties and others. And a regularly recorded talk show - entitled Mesele Gençlik (It’s About Youth) – that is published on Arayüz’s YouTube channel creates space for open dialogue on issues important to young people between and with party leaders and politicians.

Current Arayüz funding includes grants from the European Union, and foundations in Türkiye and elsewhere in Europe. A future target to help diversify this funding is the Turkish diaspora, given the recent trend of young professionals who are disillusioned with their limited voice leaving for international work. Nevzat hopes to meet at least 40% of the organization’s funding needs in this way and believes engaging diaspora communities will also serve to keep them connected to positive change in the country.

Arayüz’s geographic focus to date has been in Istanbul and Ankara. But Nevzat’s own upbringing in central Anatolia motivates him to scale the Arayüz methodology to all corners of Türkiye and more broadly in the region. He aims to ensure that youth representation in both local and national assemblies in Türkiye reaches at least 10% over the long-term. Before the next round of elections in 2028, Nevzat will enlist additional party signatories to his goodwill agreement to ensure fewer barriers for young candidates are codified broadly. He is also laying the groundwork for three-year contracts with other CSOs to co-develop resources that will boost youth political participation in communities in and beyond Istanbul.

Nevzat believes that his approach to engaging younger leaders from across the political spectrum can be adapted into a list of steps that CSOs and municipalities in other polarized democracies can adopt for greater cohesion and understanding. And once his model has irreversibly shifted access for those aged 18-30, Nevzat wants to adapt it to help other minoritized and underrepresented groups across the country gain more political power.

Nevzat grew up in Kayseri in central Anatolia. His parents were religious, yet his father’s work as a mechanic meant that all sorts of people would come to his shop for car repairs. Nevzat recalls that the shop was constantly filled with conversation, and that a shared interest in fixing cars pushed difference to the side. His dad’s skill at building relationships with every customer left a lasting impression, especially given that during the school day, Nevzat would see classmates shun Kurdish students simply because they were Kurdish. His dad made clear how a shared problem could unite people who might not otherwise engage – and how crucibles of conversation regardless of difference could thrive.

Nevzat’s high school years proved a second influence on his journey as change agent and social entrepreneur. Nevzat and his classmates didn’t realize how few extracurricular opportunities were available at schools in their region until a teacher held auditions for a debate club and took those selected to a tournament in the coastal city of Izmir. Nevzat was one of those chosen and spoke a lot with those he met. He quickly realized that peers from Izmir and elsewhere had experienced more opportunity with extracurriculars than he and his own classmates had. Bothered by this inequality, and by the inability of his region’s schools to remedy it, Nevzat returned home and worked with a few friends to research how best to ensure Kayseri students had the opportunities they deserved.

Upon moving to Istanbul for university Nevzat expanded these efforts by helping to launch Simurg, a citizen sector organization dedicated to ensuring that more schools and students across Anatolia had access to skills-building extracurricular activities. Building awareness of this need amongst elected officials was key. But Nevzat soon grew frustrated. Finding officials in Kayseri and elsewhere who were open to partnering with Simurg proved difficult, and when he focused specifically on younger officials who he thought would likely have more sympathy for and interest in the work, Nevzat discovered that there weren’t any. He could not believe that no one in their 20s was in city, regional or national government. It was his first introduction to the problem he would soon commit himself to solving.

Nevzat’s post-university work as a researcher on democratization projects and elections provided him with a deep understanding of Türkiye’s political landscape. These experiences, coupled with the outreach he continued to do for Simurg, enabled Nevzat to develop his skills as a communicator capable of understanding and addressing diverse perspectives. He briefly considered running for political office himself but realized that getting elected could limit impact to his constituency alone. Nevzat wanted instead to create something that would enable many others in their 20s to run for and win political office. This would help to launch a movement that could shift both practice and mindsets so that younger people could effect lasting change.

Nevzat’s commitment to youth representation is both a professional endeavor and a personal mission. His ability to bring together diverse groups and cultivate collaboration to address the shared problem of representation means he has created and scaled his own ‘mechanic shop’ in Istanbul, Ankara, and beyond.