Putting Education on the National Agenda: Education Reform Initiative as a Civil Society Experiment

May 29, 2019

On May 29, Columbia Global Centers | Istanbul hosted Professor Üstün Ergüder, Chair of the Executive Board of the Education Reform Initiative (ERG) and former President of Boğaziçi University, as part of its ongoing Distinguished Leaders Speaker Series at Columbia University's Studio-X Istanbul, in partnership with the Columbia Alumni Association of Turkey. Professor Ergüder was introduced by Columbia Alumni Association of Turkey co-leader Ege Duruk, CC '07.

In his talk on “Putting Education on the National Agenda: Education Reform Initiative as a Civil Society Experiment,” Professor Ergüder spoke about how he and his colleagues established ERG in 2003 and its evolution in time. A good example of Turkish civil society, ERG is an independent and not-for-profit think-and-do-tank. 

“ERG contributes to systemic transformation in education for development of children and society through sound evidence, constructive dialogue and critical thinking” said Professor Ergüder.

Evidence-based decision-making processes in education concerning stakeholder engagement and ensuring access to quality education for all children are the key elements of systemic transformation, and he believes that this approach is what makes ERG distinct.

The talk was followed by a Q&A session, wherein the audience had an opportunity to interact with Professor Ergüder and learn more about ERG. They also shared insights on the current state of Turkish national education as well as problems and possible solutions.