“VALUE TO TURKEY” INVESTMENTS BY TÜRK TELEKOM

Türk Telekom, Turkey’s leading company in communication and convergence technologies, adds value to social life with “Value To Turkey” social responsibility projects implemented throughout the country, in addition to the investments on technology, infrastructure and human resources.

In addition to giant social responsibility projects carried out nationally such as Books on the Phone, Türk Telekom Schools, Türk Telekom Internet Houses, Türk Telekom Sports Clubs and e-Billing Forests, there are also more than 100 local social responsibility activities organized by Türk Telekom provincial directorates within the scope of “Value To Turkey” project. Türk Telekom received more than 80 national and international awards during the last three years with the social responsibility projects it has implemented.

Click to find out more about Türk Telekom's Corporate Social Responsibility projects.

BOOKS ON THE PHONE

Boğaziçi University Technology and Education Laboratory for the Visually Impaired (GETEM) and Türk Telekom started the first telephone library of Turkey. Books on the Phone Project offers hundreds of audio books to visually impaired Türk Telekom customers free of charge through their home phones by calling 0 800 219 91 91.

The visually impaired customers of Türk Telekom have free access to audio books with their passwords given to them after registering to GETEM. Books on the Phone Project will only be available through the home phones and the users have options including selecting the book of their choice, resuming the previous session in their next call or skipping back and forth between the chapters.

TÜRK TELEKOM SCHOOLS

Educational facilities have been constructed all around Turkey within the scope of Türk Telekom Schools Project implemented by Türk Telekom for investing in future. The project was implemented by the Ministry of National Education and Ministry of Transport, Maritime Affairs and Communications and involves 76 educational buildings. Türk Telekom Schools Project is one of the biggest social responsibility projects ever implemented in Turkey related to education and has provided educational opportunity for more than 30 thousand students.

Türk Telekom Schools Project has been rewarded with “The Best Social Relations Program” awarded by League of American Communications Professionals (LACP) in 2008, while it has received certificate of achievement in “The Best Social Responsibility Communications Program” and “The Most Sustainable Communications Program” categories. The Project has been chosen as “The Most Successful Project in Telecommunications” in 2009 at the European SABRE Awards organized by Holmes Group, the US-based published or Holmes Report, one of the most respected magazines of the communications sector. The project has also been rewarded with “The Best Corporate Social Responsibility in Education” award in 8th Golden Compass Public Relations Award organized by Public Relations Society of Turkey (TÜHİD) and rewarded as “The Best Social Responsibility Project in Europe” award by International Business Awards. Türk Telekom Schools Project has been nominated for the Great Award in Galaxy Awards 2011, considered as one of the most important awards of the world in product and service marketing.

TÜRK TELEKOM INTERNET HOUSES

Türk Telekom establishes internet houses offering free internet service throughout the country. To date, total 1.000 Türk Telekom Internet Houses are opened each with broadband internet access and average 20 fully equipped computers throughout the country.

E-BILLING FORESTS

Türk Telekom implemented e-Billing Forests Project for leaving a livable environment for the next generations. e-Billing Forests Project was implemented for encouraging the use of e-Bills and increasing the awareness on environment and is also the appreciation of Türk Telekom for its customers using e-Bills instead of paper bills. There are 17 different types of trees, by considering the seasonal differences in Turkey, in “e-Billing Forests” spread out to Turkey with the total of 100 thousand trees.

e-Billing Forests Project has been chosen as “The Best Institutional Communication Project” by (Chartered Institute of Public Relations), as well as “The Most Environmental Institutional Social Responsibility Project” by 8th Golden Compass Public Relations Awards, “The Most Successful Environmental Project” by International Business Awards and “The Best Public Relations Project” by IPRA (International Public Relations Association).

TÜRK TELEKOM AMATEUR SPORTS CLUBS

Acting with the impact of sports in terms of developing Turkish youth’s abilities for communicating with their environment, Türk Telekom trained more than 30 thousand young athletes within 10 years with the investments made for sports infrastructure. Türk Telekom still supports more than 4.000 athletes in 27 branches from basketball to fencing, athletics to ski and tennis with 48 sports clubs in 46 cities. Among these athletes, there are hundreds of youth elected for the national team, represented Turkey internationally and became the source of pride with various rankings in international competitions.

LISTENING TO THE HEARTBEAT OF MARMARA

“Listening to the Heartbeat of Marmara” Project aims survival from a possible earthquake in Marmara Region with minimum loss of life and property and Türk Telekom implemented this project in cooperation with Boğaziçi University Kandilli Observatory and Earthquake Research Institute. The project will allow real time monitoring of all seafloor seismic activities including micro-fractures with the earthquake monitoring stations deployed under Marmara Sea. The project includes 5 seafloor earthquake monitoring stations, for which 57 km of fiber optic cables were used, as well as 10 terrestrial broadband earthquake monitoring stations deployed around Marmara Sea and is a first in the world by being deployed in an inner sea and enabling real time data flow.

SMOKING CESSATION POLYCLINICS

Türk Telekom supports its employees in quitting smoking with “Smoking Cessation Polyclinics” established in parallel to Smoke Free Air Zone practice. The project is among the leading projects in the world and Turkey due to the size of the employee mass served. The polyclinics serve to all Türk Telekom employees and their family members in Turkey.

The nicotine addiction level of Türk Telekom employees, who want to receive support from the polyclinics for quitting smoking, is determined. The damages caused by nicotine to the lives of the employees are also measured with lung X-ray, respiration functions and various blood tests. Following all these tests and examinations, the best treatment method for the employee is determined. The project offers the treatments for free and the employees quitting smoking are awarded. The number of the employees, who have quitted smoking with the support received from the polyclinics during the first year of the project, has been more than one thousand.

TÜRK TELEKOM SEARCH & RESCUE TEAM (TTAKE)

Türk Telekom Search & Rescue Team (TTAKE) is a civil defense action operating under Türk Telekom and completely consisted of Türk Telekom employees based on voluntariness. It is an application based on providing aid to any victim of natural disaster, natural accident and other negative conditions within the scope of its competencies and possibilities. TT Search & Rescue Teams work in any kind of rescue operations in entire Turkey and even at overseas within the scope of its authority; share information with the other civil defense teams and receive trainings on relevant topics. The Teams also provide training on earthquake, natural disasters, first aid etc. and contribute in raising the awareness of the public by organizing the handing out of the training brochures and booklets telling about the rules need to applied in case of any disaster.