• How would you introduce this project to someone who is not yet aware of the Mokoros Project?

Mokoros is an R&D and social enterprise project, that does not require any instructors, to produce fun and accessible learning tools founded by some friends came together. It aims to provide the information people need, especially for the topics that can create public benefit such as ecology, gender equality, in a way they can learn by themselves within the framework of equal opportunity. We plan to do this by producing games, videos, interactive media tools, learning programs and materials, and experience areas.

• What kind of problems, needs, goals, concerns, affections, motives did you have in the beginning and construction process of this project? What were the main motivations to start Mokoros Project?

We have been thinking about learning processes and styles for a while. Alternative learning methods to formal education caught our attention. Especially we saw that non-hierarchical and participatory-oriented trainings are very valuable and non-formal learning methods are very remarkable and useful. Moreover, we realized that learning from peers without a direct learning purpose is also a good resource. At this point, problems arise about accessibility and equal opportunities. These kind of trainings are very limited and only few people can benefit from them. We want to spread these trainings so that people can learn by themselves or from their peers. In this way, we want to create resources that anyone could tap in and benefit from.

• What kind of problems did you encounter until this point? And what processes did you experience and what kind of solutions did you develop to overcome them?

Every work we do as Mokoros is also a learning experience for us. In every project we do, we try to find creative solutions by doing various research to deal with different problems. Until now, we have completed a fairy tale themed pictured book making game called Binbir Kare (1001 squares). We had some problems with establishing the rules for the game. Yet, as the project progressed we have made simplifications and solved the problem. Then we made the Mokoros Calendar with the support of Sivil Düşün(an NGO). We have ended up with a calendar that the dimensions and content were too large. For our future endeavours in calendar design, we will pay close attention to this issue as we had experienced difficulties with its printing and distribution. We managed to overcome these both by developing our network and with the support of volunteers. We designed a game for DRC called “Space Fiction”. This was supposed to provide a wide range of age groups with a learning experience in science and technology. That’s why we had to do a lot of research in a short time ourselves. We are currently dealing with an animation project that supports children in creative artistic productions. We again move forward by solving the problems and learning through experience in this regard.

• What have you found on the road until the project reached this point? What do you hope to find for the future?

In a sense, we see ourselves as a research and development company. That’s why we learn new things in every new task. We encounter a lot of people who support us in our every project. It encourages us and boosts our enthusiasm by a great amount that people voluntarily support us. We have received very positive feedback about the work we did so far. We look forward to present accessible learning tools to our users in every field we can, by improving our communication and establishing partnerships with different stakeholders in the future.

• What kind of interactions did the magazine project  and its process create in your close circle? What kind of reactions did you get?

Our close friends supported us in every aspect during this process. We always go for their opinion first about every task we do. Afterwards, they also give their support to us for the content, mechanics, testing, creating relationships, distribution and extension. Again, I would like to thank our friends and volunteers who supported us.

• In what direction do you want to advance Mokoros in the future? What goals do you have?

We want Mokoros to continue to work on this vision with many stakeholders in many different fields. We want to be beneficial to the society in equality of opportunity in education, accessibility and quality of education. We want to produce tools that enable people to have a learning experience without instructors about issues that create public benefit.

• Do you have any calls for solidarity regarding specific project challenges?

We want to increase our relations with our volunteers. We especially need the support of volunteers to improve Mokoros. That’s why we plan to create a learning community composed of volunteers and us. We plan to call this in 2021. We would be very happy if anyone would like to show solidarity with us about this.

• Any last words?

If you review our website and follow us on our social media accounts, we would be very happy.

_{Interviewer: Tevfik Hürkan Urhan}

_{Translated from the Turkish original by Tevfik Hürkan Urhan}