The ARI Movement, founded in 1994, takes a four-pronged approach to building a strong Turkish civil society: To establish a new understanding of volunteerism for Turkish youth and encourage them to adopt the values of participatory democracy; To develop an informed civic voice through education and seminars; To assist in the formation of institutes as a vehicle for the creation and dissemination of information; and to encourage structural and intellectual change in the social and political arenas.

As a non-partisan research and advocacy organization, ARI Movement was created on the civic society participatory model.  We are working to for an improvement in the way the Turkish populace processes decisions and views government.  The modern Turkish state inherited a weak civil society; one where citizens expected benefits from the state but never saw the need to put anything back in.  Thus, in recognizing this weakness, we work to educate Turks on how to improve their society by democratic devices.  We are in a sense training those who can and will serve as future agents of change.  

The ARI Movement, founded in 1994, takes a four-pronged approach to building a strong Turkish civil society: To establish a new understanding of volunteerism for Turkish youth and encourage them to adopt the values of participatory democracy; To develop an informed civic voice through education and seminars; To assist in the formation of institutes as a vehicle for the creation and dissemination of information; and to encourage structural and intellectual change in the social and political arenas.

As a non-partisan research and advocacy organization, ARI Movement was created on the civic society participatory model.  We are working to for an improvement in the way the Turkish populace processes decisions and views government.  The modern Turkish state inherited a weak civil society; one where citizens expected benefits from the state but never saw the need to put anything back in.  Thus, in recognizing this weakness, we work to educate Turks on how to improve their society by democratic devices.  We are in a sense training those who can and will serve as future agents of change.  

The ARI Movement has four entities operating under its umbrella.  The Economics and Foreign Policy Forum, works with political leaders and public opinion makers on the interconnectedness of economics and Turkish foreign policy decisions, stressing the need to take a holistic approach to seeming independent policy decisions. The main mission throughout 2004 of the Forum is to enhance the likelihood of Turkey’s beginning accession negotiations with the EU at the end of the year. Genç ARI is our youth participation wing, working on several large and small scale initiatives aimed at bringing Turkish youth into the political fold.  Our goal is to instill a sense of civic duty among young people to shape Turkey in the way they see fit.  Turkish Policy Quarterly is our quarterly journal featuring scholars and practitioners in Turkish domestic and foreign policy as well as regional development.  Each issue has a specific topic authors write about, the latest on the evolving foreign policy of the European Union and how Turkey’s foreign policy can, must, or will change along side it.  The journal is in its third year.  The Media Institute monitors Turkish print and broadcast media for ways that it can be further liberalized and rendered socially responsible.

The ARI Movement also runs goal-specific projects on local development and participation, notably the EU Commission supported Human Rights for All project, which publishes booklets, holds seminars in Anatolian provinces, and evaluates the changing conversation of human rights in Turkey, both with respect to the populace and the government.  ARI Movement is also publishing the Europa Handbook project, a student agenda including basic information on the EU for 15-18 year old Turkish youth.  We also have exchange programs with US and Israeli organizations organized annually to increase mutual understanding among future leaders. Several EU training programmes are held in Anatolian provinces, supported by the UK, Danish, and Dutch diplomatic missions. Annually, we hold a security and cooperation conference focusing on specific regional contests and their impact of the Turkish security dialogue.  Traditionally, the conferences have addressed security issues with neighboring states, but as a new foreign policy evolves for the EU, the US, and other important regional blocks, we have taken a much broader interpretation of Turkish security interests.