Understanding Turkish NGOs' Digital Technology Use in Helping Refugees in Turkey

Turkay B., Turkay S.

CHI Conference on Human Factors in Computing Systems (CHI), Glasgow, United Kingdom, 4 - 09 May 2019, (Full Text)

  • Publication Type: Conference Paper / Full Text
  • Doi Number: 10.1145/3290607.3312984
  • City: Glasgow
  • Country: United Kingdom
  • Keywords: Syrian refugees, Turkish NGOs, digital technology use
  • Ankara University Affiliated: Yes

Abstract

According to the UN Refugee Agency, there are about 22 million people considered refugees around the world. Since the beginning of the Syrian crisis in 2011 alone, approximately 11 million Syrians left their homes and sought refuge in other counties, mostly nearby countries such as Lebanon and Turkey. There are more than 3.7 million Syrian refugees in Turkey. Non-governmental organizations (NGOs) have a critical role in refugees' lives, their access to services, and integration into communities. In this study, we investigated the barriers NGOs encounter in their work with refugees and the types of information communication technologies they use in the process. Semi-structured interviews with participants from eight Turkish NGOs revealed that digital technologies have a fundamental role in their activities. They use them in three main ways including as tools to help them become knowledge brokers between Turkish communities and refugee communities. Our findings provide insights on NGOs' digital technology use and pave a path for future studies.