Young MÜSİAD, the youth organization of the Independent Industrialists' and Businessmen's Association (MÜSİAD), has become the most active youth civil society organization with its events held throughout the quarantine period that has continued since March.

Since the beginning of March, the majority of Turkey has been staying home due to the coronavirus (COVID-19). Adapting to the digital transformation from the very beginning of the pandemic, Young MÜSİAD has moved all its national and international activities, especially committee meetings, to digital platforms. Young MÜSİAD has organized events through its 56 branches in Turkey and 29 representatives abroad, making it the youth civil society organization that organizes the most events in this field.

Young MÜSİAD, which quickly launched its activities since the first COVID-19 case in Turkey in March, has brought together leading figures from Turkey's academia, industry, and business worlds through its "Enjoyable Conversations" series online.

Commenting on the work carried out by Young MÜSİAD, Young MÜSİAD President Yunus Furkan Akbal said the following:

“Following the spread of the coronavirus pandemic, people began spending more time in digital environments. As Young MÜSİAD, we wanted to turn this negative situation into an advantage and began working towards this goal. We managed our processes with 192 events held across Turkey throughout the pandemic.

Following the first case in Turkey, we led the way in digital events with a live broadcast on YouTube with ARZUM CEO Murat Kolbaşı.

Furthermore, through our online events, we brought together members from the political world, including AK Party Deputy Chairman and Party Spokesperson Mahir Ünal, Deputy Minister of Trade Rıza Tuna Turagay, Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs Yavuz Selim Kıran, and Deputy Minister of Youth and Sports İhsan Selim Baydaş.

We Brought Distinguished Figures Together with Young Entrepreneurs

We organized an online event titled "Enjoyable Conversations." In our programs, we introduced our members to many prominent figures, including Birol Güven, a well-known figure in the TV series Çocuklar Duymasın (Children's Duymasın) and 80'ler ('80s'); Prof. Dr. Nihat Hatipoğlu, an indispensable figure in Ramadan programs; and leading figures in economics, Prof. Dr. Kerem Alkin; as well as Prof. Dr. Nevzat Tarhan, Yusuf Yeşil, and Murat Çiçek.

With the Innovation and Entrepreneurship Academy, we launched "Online Project Cycle Management" training to support our members' development in this area and, thus, enable them to write long-term projects.

We continued our 3T (Know, Introduce, Trade) program, one of Young MÜSİAD's most important projects, throughout the pandemic. To increase communication among our members and increase our trade volume, we moved this project online. Thanks to this project, we clearly observed that trade among our members increased even during the pandemic. Furthermore, to contribute to the personal development of our members, we organized a Coronavirus & Diction workshop with Aliexpress Türkiye CEO Yaman Alpata on Effective Communication and Diction, and Project Management. With our e-Export program, we focused on e-commerce and e-export, which have become particularly trending during this period. Through online surveys, we measured the impact of COVID-19 on entrepreneurs and determined the steps we would take to address this. During this process, we added France, Strasbourg, and India to our existing international branches, bringing our total to 29.

We Established a Roadmap for the Pandemic by Organizing International Events

For our ongoing international projects, we held online consultation meetings with both our World Presidents and our Young MÜSİAD members. With the participation of our sister country Indonesia and representatives from 21 countries, we discussed Youth Unemployment and Solution Proposals, sharing Türkiye's early measures and successful strategy during the COVID-19 pandemic. At the meeting, which was attended by the OIC Indonesia Youth Board, the ICYF, and the Indonesian Chamber of Commerce and Industry, we also highlighted the assistance our country has provided to 30 countries. We also reiterated our values, which are on the verge of disappearance, through the Zimem Book. We responded to the Red Crescent's call for blood donations and, along with all our members, supported this campaign. We extend our gratitude to our Board of Directors, Branch Presidents around the world, Committee Chairs, and valued members for their dedicated efforts during this challenging time.

Our fight against the coronavirus is far from over. We will continue to act in accordance with the rules without compromising precautions and implement numerous projects to help our young brothers and sisters become more informed and experienced.