The Association of the Civil Society Development Centre (STGM) was founded in 2004 by a group of civil activists who are working to strengthen civil and participatory democracy in Turkey. With its headquarters in Ankara, the STGM has four local NGO support centres in Adana, Denizli, Diyarbakır and Eskişehir. The primary goal of the STGM is to support non-governmental organisations in their capacity building efforts so as to ensure their active role in participatory democracy. This support does not take the form of direct monetary assistance, but rather through efforts to help local organisations build capacity in their respective fields. STGM has a well defined target group: local NGOs that are active in the fields of gender, children, human rights, youth, environment, rights of the disabled, cultural rights / culture and arts. STGM gives priority to it’s target group NGOs by providing such support as strengthening civil networks, enhancing dialogue among NGOs active in different fields and helping these organisations in their lobbying activities and campaigns. The STGM is an independent non-governmental organisation registered as an association which conducts different activities in line with its objectives and underlying principles.