FOCUS : GOOD IDEAS

In its third year , HP IDEA brings specialized training to teachers and students in Türkiye as the country recovers from a natural disaster .

by garage staff photographs by derv i s ay

WHEN A MAGNITUDE 7.8 EARTHQUAKE devastated cities across southeastern Türkiye and northwestern Syria earlier this year , killing tens of thousands of people and leaving others in need of shelter and aid , 13-year-old Medine uprooted her life . She was forced to leave her hometown of Adıyaman — the southern Turkish city was one of the worst affected by the earthquakes — and come with her mother to Istanbul .

Medine — shy , with dark hair and thick-rimmed glasses — missed her friends , her father ( who stayed behind ), and the school she loved . She struggled with anxiety .

Sitting in a spearmint-colored chair in a classroom at her new school , she speaks mostly in English to a reporter , except when talking about the earthquake . She says only , “ I am afraid of it ,” and even in Turkish , she can ’ t describe it . “ It was awful for me ,” she says finally . “ It still hurts me .”

Recently , though , she ’ s found one escape : reading fantasy books , like Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets . “ It makes me feel relaxed ,” says Medine , who ’ s in seventh grade . Medine ’ s newfound love of books is a result of a project designed to foster both better ( and more ) reading , as well as improve behavior , in students at the Özel Yenidoğu Okulları Çekmeköy Kampüsü school , located on the eastern side of the Bosphorus on the outskirts of Istanbul . The reading program was created as part of the HP IDEA ( Innovation and Digital Education Academy ) program by Sümeyye Alpay , a fourth- and fifth-grade English teacher at Medine ’ s new school . She says she wanted to address behavioral issues she ’ s seen among students in her classroom as well as reignite their interest in school , especially among those who say they prefer on-screen entertainment like video games to in-person interactions .

Transforming teachers ’ thinking HP IDEA is intended to empower teachers with digital skills and an innovation mindset . Launched in 2020 , the program is offered in six languages across nearly 20 countries in the Middle East and Africa , and will soon expand into Central and Southern Europe . This year , HP announced its 25th HP IDEA cohort in Angola , the first to be taught in Portuguese . The program is based on frameworks and

Students outside the Özel Yenidoğu Okulları Çekmeköy Kampüsü school , above .

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