Issue: 30
In their press release, youth NGOs stated that they support the recommendations brought forward by the 2008 Human Development Report: Youth in Turkey – published by UNDP – in developing a holistic and comprehensive youth policy with the active participation and contribution of the public and private sectors as well as NGOs.
The youth NGOs stressed that youth with their successes, aspirations and projects make up the dynamics of Turkey and noted that developing, protecting and expanding these dynamics are crucial. Youth NGOs stated that youth are the architects of the Turkey they want to see in the future and that investments needed to be made in youth to ensure a better Turkey in the future. The supporting NGOs stated that ensuring equal participation into societal and political activities was one of the ways to increase life quality and warned the government not to see youth as a “problem that needs to be solved”.
Youth NGOs reminded that Turkey’s young population – with its 12 million young people – is more than the total population of many European countries but that Turkey was one of the rare countries that did not have a youth policy and urged the government to address this potential by taking into consideration the recommendations made in UNDP’s 2008 Human Development Report and by accepting the active engagement of youth NGOs in establishing a youth policy.
Some of Turkey’s leading NGOs that supported the report and called the government to take action are: AEGEE, Alternative Life Association, Arı Movement, Educaide, Youth Federation, GSM-Youth Services Centre, International Children’s Centre, Social Responsibility Association and Community Volunteers Foundation.
The general objective of the Eastern Anatolian Tourism Development project that commenced in April 2007 is to reduce regional disparities through the support of an alternative income other than agriculture. The specific aim is to introduce tourism in the region as an alternative economy as the Çoruh Valley has a great potential for nature related sports such as trekking, rafting and bird observing and has a rich cultural and historical heritage with its churches and mosques as well as its rich biodiversity.
In this context, the first lodgings for tourists have been established in the Sırakonaklar village of İzpir and Uzundere district of Çoruh Valley and started to give its first bed&breakfast service in May 2008. During the first 14 months of the project, edible fruits, bird inventories and trekking routes were determined, trainings on organizational capacity, project development, guidance, camping, bird watching guidance and entrepreneurship were given and the Çoruh Valley was promoted through festivals and printed materials such as brochures. In late May, a high level delegation consisting of project partners from UNDP, Efes Pilsen and the Ministry of Culture and Tourism General Directorate of Investments and Enterprises visited the region to assess the progress at the project field.
In the upcoming period, the implementors of the project will focus on giving trainings on vocational skills, establishing of more accomodation facilities in the region, organizing events, providing consultancy to local people for business development and promoting the region at potential markets.
The Eastern Anatolia Tourism Development project is a very good example of public and private sector partnership and contributes to the development of a sustainable economy based on tourism. The project will continue for another year.
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In the context of the campaign with the slogan of “One Youth Representative for Each Assembly”, efforts will be given for ensuring at least one youth representative in each provincial council or municipality.
300 people from 81 cities and representatives of youth assemblies attended the 4th Ordinary General Meeting organised by UNDP, United Cities and Local Governments Middle East and West Asia Section (UCLG-MEWA) and Youth for Habitat. At the meeting attended by State Minister responsible for youth Murat Başesgioğlu, Head of Department at the Ministry of Interior General Directorate of Local Administrations Mustafa Yardımcı, UNDP Istanbul Programme Manager Hansin Doğan and Local Agenda 21 National Coordinator Sadun Emrealp as speakers, regional presentations, discussions, workshops and a roundtable meeting on “The Role of Youth in Localizing Millennium Development Goals” were held this year similar to previous years.
Moreover a reception was organised in the context of the 19th May Commemoration of Atatürk, Youth and Sports Day, the Local Agenda 21 National Youth Parliament film was shown, stands exhibiting the works of local youth assemblies were established and folk dance shows were realized. The reception was attended by former Minister of Labour and Social Security Yaşar Okuyan, Undersecretary of the Ministry of Energy and Natural Resources Selahattin Çimen and President of the Turkish Parliamentarians Union Hasan Korkmazcan.
The meeting ended with the identification of the Local Agenda 21 National Youth Parliament Education and Coordination Group, the award ceremony for the best youth assembly and the reciting of the 19th May Declaration (in Turkish) at the Turkish Grand National Assembly on 20 May 2008. The Local Agenda 21 Diyarbakır Youth Assembly was awarded as the best youth assembly of 2008.
The Local Agenda 21 National Youth Parliament was officially established in May 2004 at a summit attended by 297 delegations from 75 cities however the groundwork of its establishment was realized at a summit organized in 2003 with the participation of youth aseemblies and youth houses – that were established in Turkey’s various cities since 1997 by Youth for Habitat and Local Agenda 21 Youth Association – in order to establish a national network among each other. The fact that youth do not have a say in the preparation and implementation of youth polices, that they are distanced from the processes of planning, decision-taking and implementation and that they are not equally represented in the government and other institutions resulted in establishing a platform by bringing together these youth assemblies in order to ensure that they participate in local administrations thus having a voice.
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Becoming a better corporate enterprise is not easy, and many businesses find the first step overwhelming, even daunting at times. The Global Compact Office in New York has therefore recently published a guide titled “After the Signature” to guide companies that have newly signed the UN Global Compact in assisting them in their first steps and during their journey as a Global Compact participant.
“After the Signature” aims to offer guidance in making the Global Compact and its principles part of business strategies and operations by steering businesses through the major elements of participation and helping them develop strategies that will lead businesses to success. It will not only ensure that businesses understand what is expected of their participation but will also enable them to maximize the benefits of what the Global Compact membership offers. Understanding and implementing the ten principles of the Global Compact will enable businesses to build trust in new markets, engage in responsible business practices and promote sustainable development.
“After the Signature” also contains a section on the three steps of creating, sharing and submitting a “Communication on Progress” that companies are required to prepare in order to portray the progress made by a company in internalizing corporate policies as well as for their accountability, transparency and more importantly for their continous improvement.
The guide also sheds light on maximizing companies’ engagement by reflecting on partnerships, local networks, advocacy and awareness, policy dialogues, learning and collective action.
“After the Signature” was also translated into Turkish by Ayşegül Hatay and was published with the support of the British Council.
The Global Compact that was officially launched in 2000 is a voluntary international corporate citizenship network that brings together the private and the public business sectors as well as various UN agencies and the civil society to meet the challenges of globalization. The Global Compact operates around ten principles in the fields of human rights, labour, environment and anti-corruption in order to put an end to discrimination of work force and to increase environmental sustainability. The signatories of the Global Compact integrate these ten principles into their business strategies for transparency and sustainable development and prepare regular reports on their stance. Today Global Compact has over 4 thousand participants in 100 countries.
One of these projects is the “One Drop, Thousand Yields” project developed by Balıkesir University Faculty of Science and Letters (BİYOÇEV), Paşaköy Directorate of Agriculture and Credit Cooperative and Pamukçu-Aslıhan Tepecik Plains (prairie) Irrigation Union implemented in western town of Balıkesir. The project aims to implement the use of drip irrigation in Paşaköy pilot area instead of traditional irrigation methods and to prove that the same amount of productivity in agricultural products or more can be achieved with drip irrigation as well thus encouraging local farmers and producers to use drip irrigation.
In the context of the project, the plantation fields were identified and cleared, their soil analysis were realized, 3 different vegetables including pepper, corn and tomato were planted, in order to demonstrate that drip irrigation increases productivity not only in one product but several products. The first hoeing was realized and a panel was organised to introduce the project to local farmers and to highlight the importance of drip irrigation. In addition, a drip irrigation system was established and a Green Nature Association was established to facilitate the communication and sharing of information among neighbouring villages.
Towards the end of the project, the products that have been harvested will be compared with products obtained using surface irrigation. The comparison will include criteria such as the height of plants and the number of their flowers. The results will be reported. Other future activities will include organizing panels to share the results of the project and to raise awareness among farmers and producers followed by a Harvest Festival that will take place in August 2008.
Through the project, the implementors of the project aim to increase the number of farmers and producers who use drip irrigation, thus decreasing the use of excess water and loss of land. The project that commenced in March 2008 has a budget worth 12 thousand 500 dollars and will end in August 2008. Other institutions that support the project are Balıkesir Plains Irrigation Union, Provincial Directorate of Agriculture, General Directorate of Agriculture and Credit Central Union of Turkey, Public Waterworks Administration and Balıkesir University.
The Life Plus Youth Programme supports innovative, creative, participatory and sustainable projects developed by youth aged 16-26 and encourages youth to design projects that will find solutions to environmental and societal problems. The Life Plus Youth Programme gives 3 thousand to 30 thousand dollars for each project.
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The President of the UN General Assembly Srgjan Kerim, during his official visit to Turkey between 7-10 May, held contacts with President Abdullah Gül, Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdoğan and Foreign Minister Ali Babacan. The main issues the leaders took up were the global food crisis, the recent tragedy in Myanmar and the UN reform.
During his contacts with Prime Minister Erdoğan, Kerim stated that the global food crisis “is an issue where articulate and well coordinated action on the part of all Member States of the United Nations is necessary” and added that he expected the international Task Force set up by UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-Moon to make an immediate assessment on the scope and nature of the crisis as well as an evaluation on what should be done.
Regarding the deadly cyclone that left an estimated 1.5 million people in Myanmar in need of humanitarian aid, Kerim reiterated the urgency for the authorities in Myanmar to fully cooperate with the international community and in particular with the UN.
The UN Reform was another issue Kerim discussed with Prime Minister Erdoğan as well as President Gül. The leaders agreed that the UN Reform needs to be a more profound reform.
During his contacts with Foreign Minister Ali Babacan, the two officials focused on the activities of Turkey in support of the UN peacekeeping activities and the Alliance of Civilizations Initiative. Ali Babacan reminded that Turkey will be hosting the Forum of the Alliance of Civilizations in April 2009.
Kerim also drew attention to the potential Turkey has in playing a unique role in development issues as a middle-income country with a clear interest in the affairs of the least developed countries.
During his stay in Ankara, Kerim also delivered a lecture at Bilkent University on the role of the UN in the era of globalization. Kerim also highlighted the need to change the way international organizations operate in a new global environment and pointed out that speed was more important than size in crisis situations. Kerim added that the traditional balance of power had to give way to a new understanding based on an equilibrium of shared interests. Kerim stressed that in this regard, the UN provided the most suitable framework due its broad global agenda, universal membership and a unique convening power.
On the other hand, the International Task Force which consists of the heads of key UN agencies, the World Bank and the International Monetary Fund (IMF) as well as of experts from around the globe held their first meeting on the global food crisis in mid May 2008 in New York. The Task Force that is working on a comprehensive plan to tackle the rise in food prices will present its action plan at a food summit in Rome in June 2008. The Task Force has also established a new website to provide updates on its activities. (please click here to view the website). The Geneva-based UN Human Rights Council on the other hand also held a special session on the food crisis in late May.