Human Rights Fellowship at Joint Council

Through a collaborative effort with the National Democratic Institute and Freedom House, we are pleased to announce Onur Yilmaz as Joint Council’s Legislative Fellow beginning on April 10th.

Onur is a founding Board Member of Gündem: Çocuk! (Agenda: Child!), a Turkish non-profit organization that advocates for children’s rights and works towards the universal adoption and implementation of the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child. Onur received his Master’s in Human Rights at Hacettepe University Institute of Social Sciences in Ankara, Turkey, where he is currently a Doctoral candidate.

Onur is one of thirteen accomplished and influential professionals working in the Turkish parliament, government ministries, local government offices, and civil society groups chosen to participate in a prestigious exchange program meant to promote greater citizen engagement in the legislative process. These legislative fellows are a part of a wider State Department-funded program which will sponsor Turkish MPs visiting the U.S. in the fall, as well as reciprocal visits by U.S. fellows to Turkey this summer and in Spring 2012.

Joint Council is very honored at being selected to participate in this program. We look forward to Onur’s participation in Joint Council’s work, to assist him in developing his skills and to benefit from his work in children’s rights.