Doğa Derneği
Izmir, Turkey
Begüm is a Fulbright scholar and graduate of the LL.M. program for 2023-2024. As a Kaufman Fellow, she will work with Doğa Derneği (Nature Association), an NGO in Turkiye focused on climate change, biodiversity and environmental rights. Her work will concentrate on discovering strategic litigation opportunities and empowering local lawyers interested in filing climate and environmental cases on behalf of local communities.
Begüm was a student advocate at Harvard Human Rights Entrepreneurs and Incubator Clinic, working on forced labor and climate justice. Collaborating with inspiring clients launching new projects and strategies, she learned the basics of community-centric lawyering, systems lawyering and creative approaches to litigation. She also participated in the United Nations Forum on Business and Human Rights, representing Harvard Human Rights and Business Student Association (HuB), and served as an editor at Harvard International Law Journal. Before beginning her LL.M. at Harvard, she worked in litigation and arbitration as a lawyer registered in Istanbul Bar. Begüm is excited to apply her experiences as a litigation lawyer along with new skills refined at Harvard Law School to strengthen climate and environmental litigation in Turkiye.