186 Eroğlu, D. Cohen, J.H., Sirkeci, I. (eds.) (2016). Turkish Migration 2016 Selected Papers. London: TPL. Chapter 24. Voluntary Work in the Active Aging Experiences of First Generation Immigrant Turks Living in Netherlands Ferhan Saniye Palaz 1 and Yusuf Adıgüzel 2 Introduction Although there have been studies in recent years which have been conducted on “Turks living abroad,” it is doubtless that more comprehensive and deep prospecting studies are required. Approaches focussing on health conditions in discussing aging should be dispensed with and social facts that “aging as immigrants” involves should be highlighted. It is from a sociological perspective that the master’s thesis on which the present work is based deals with the phenomenon of aging while still an immigrant. This narrower text discusses issues of the elderly’s participation in community voluntary work as part of social activities. The theme of active aging is the foundation on which the evaluation of the old age period is built in this study. Reports of OECD, the EU and WHO were used after the relevant literature of social sciences were examined. As a last step before our field work, a “local” study was conducted to determine the current policies and practices about the elderly welfare and active aging and reports of the Netherlands Institute of Social Studies (SCP) funded by the Netherlands government were referred to. Thus, the social context in which those aging as immigrants in the Netherland are located was evaluated in detail from international to national conditions. A qualitative research was conducted in the field work with a semi-structured questionnaire. In addition, observations were carried out in institutions and centres that the elderly individuals often visited. Considerable amount of time was spent with the elderly and official interviews were conducted with the authorities to collect data. 53 old people were interviewed during the field work. 8 of them were excluded from the study because they were not appropriate for the features of the group in focus. Following five pilot interviews, a 40-member study group was interviewed. The average session took 30 minutes. Identities and belonging are not regarded as important for the study on account of its content and context. For this reason, ethnic identities were disregarded during the research process. All the elderly who immigrated to the Netherlands from Turkey are identified as “Turkish” in the study. 1 Istanbul University, Faculty of Letters Sociology Department, PhD Candidate. E-mail: ferhanpalaz@gmail.com 2 Associate Professor in Istanbul University Faculty of Letters Sociology Department. E-mail: yusufadiguzel@yahoo.com Acknowledgement: Findings in this study are based on the master’s thesis of Ferhan Saniye Palaz submitted in 2015 under the supervision of Yusuf Adıgüzel. https://tez.yok.gov.tr/UlusalTezMerkezi/ tezSorguSonuc Yeni.jsp.