Issue: 20
In the context of the Small Investments Fund, projects that aim to share best practices, preserve biodiversity and its sustainable use, encourage the effective use of energy and use of alternative energy resources and educate people in natural resources management techniques and innovative preservation approaches, are supported. Through this fund, capacity is being built and new job opportunities are being created for the local people by encouraging their participation into projects.
In the context of the second phase of the Small Investments Fund, projects that non-governmental organizations, chambers, private companies and municipalities can apply will be implemented between a 6 months to 12 months time frame and upto 7 to 10 projects will be supported. 264 thousand dollars budget has been allocated for the projects that will commnece from 2007 and continue until the end of 2008 and 20 thousand to 50 thousand dollars will be granted per project.
Projects that are expected to be implemented in Adana (Yumurtalık), Adana (Sugözü), Kahramanmaraş (Geben and Andırın), Erzincan (Ekşisu), Kars (Sarıkamış), Artvin (Ardanuç), Ardahan (Yalnızçam) and Osmaniye as well as in the cities on the route of the pipeline such as Rize, Erzurum, Gümüşhane, Bayburt, Sivas, Kayseri and Hatay will include the fields of converting animal waste into biogas, stucture isolation using recycled materials, energy architecture, ecologic enterprises and ecotourism. In this context, the informatory meetings held on 18-29 June 2007 in these regions, received substantial attention from non-governmental organizations and local administrations.
In the context of the Small Investments Fund that was initiated through the inspiration of Global Environment Fund (GEF) that has been working on the implementation of nature preservation programmes in Turkey with UNDP for the last 10 years, 8 projects with a budget of 325 thousand dollars were supported in the first phase during September 2004 and February 2007.
Sustainable fishing concept is extending to Çıldır
One of the projects that was brought to life under the framework of the Small Investments Fund was “Encouraging Sustainable Fishing in Çıldır Lake”. The project that aims to prevent the existing unrestricted fishing also aims to bring the concept of sustainable fishing to the region.
The Çıldır Lake located between the cities of Kars and Ardahan is the second largest fresh water lake of Eastern Anatolia and is the homeland to a special kind of carp (Cyprinus carpio). However, the lake that most of the local public makes a living of is not enabling this special kind of fish to continue its existence anymore due to the shrinking of reedy areas caused by the outgoing tides in dry seasons and due to unrestricting fishing.
Therefore, trainings were given to local administrations on conscious fishing and making the local public more conscious, teaching hunting monitoring techniques for fishermen, use of appropriate hunting equipment such as using the correct type of nets, and in general encouraging a sustainable concept of fishing. Moreover, fishermen were given trainings on hunting seasons, ovulating seasons, fertility of eggs, pollution linked with industrial, domestic and agricultural wastes, the wrong use of water and wrong hunting techniques and they were warned on what could be expected if fishermen do not abide by the hunting restrictions. In this context, it was decided that Atatürk University will from now on take over the monitoring of Çıldır Lake's ecosystem.
The project that was implemented during 15 April – 15 December 2006 had a budget of 12 thousand 370 dollars and its implementing agency was Preserving and Improving the Çıldır Lake Association.
The call for project proposals that can be implemented under the framework of the Small Investments Fund were made on 4 June 2007 and the deadline for applications is 13 August 2007. To read the call for proposals and application guidelines, please click here.
The low number of women in Turkey's parliament has been causing Turkey to rank among the lowest compared to other countries in the Gender Empowerment Measure (GEM) published along with annual Global Human Development Reports. For example according to the latest GEM Turkey ranked 72 nd out of the 75 countries. However, the number of women in the Turkish parliament was doubled following the general election held on 22 July 2007. Despite the 100% increase, which would probably affect Turkey 's place on the GEM in the coming years, the increase in numbers (from 24 to 50) is still not significant statistically at a parliament with 550 seats. (Please click for the statistical table: Women and 2007 General Election Results)
Women's organizations had been disappointed at the time when the official candidate lists announced due to political parties did not place enough women to the their elections' lists in addition to the fact that the rankings of women at the party lists have been far low than expected by the women's movement in Turkey.
Association for Supporting and Training Women Candidates (KA-DER) stated that the results of the Elections on the side of women is still far from giving a mass voice to the women in the arena of politics while welcoming the women of the new parliament.
The public perception survey, aimed at determining the public's approach to women's involvement in politics in Turkey conducted as part of project entitled "Women in Politics" which is being jointly carried out by the United Nations Development Programme and Association of Supporting and Educating Women Candidates Ankara, released in November 2006 indicated positive tendencies of the society towards more participation of women in politics. The survey results have sent important messages to the legislators and leaders of political parties on the urgency of moving in the direction of enhancing women's participation in politics.
'Local Agenda 21 Women' have been pursuing the right of Turkey's women to be elected
Local Agenda 21 Women Councils which have been active at over 40 cities of Turkey, have also been working on the theme of “Women in Politics” nationwide with the support of UNDP, for the years of 2006-2007. They have raised their voice from all over Turkey to the nation calling political parties to be women friendly at the preparation stage of the election lists. By believing women's existence at decision-making levels for all policy areas is a requisite of democracy and by demanding women to have their place at the national assembly with equal participation and in a participatory approach that would lead women's perspective to affect policy making, they have been desicive in sending their messages to the political decision-makers. Their slogans stating their main demands were:
Towards democratic politics together with women…
Let democracy and politics exist with women!
So, let a woman occupy one of the first two ranks in your list!
We, women, want to exercise our right to be elected equally in our country where half of the society is not sufficiently represented at the decision-taking mechanisms/bodies.
(Please click for LA 21 Women Councils' national proclamation text)
LA 21 Women have been a channel for women to participate at city level decision making besides continuosly coming up with incentive policies for women's active participation at local and national decision-making. In this context awareness raising activities and campaigns both at national and international level are being realized.
Take usable medicines you no longer need to pharmacies, which collect them for people in need. Shop virtually on the Internet to prevent pollution related to transportation. Repair things rather than throwing them away...'
These are only a few of the recommendations in a training kit on responsible consumption prepared by the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) and UNESCO.
UNEP Division of Technology, Industry and Economics, and UNESCO Division for the Promotion of Quality Education came together with the support of Media, Ecology and Technology Association (META) in 2002 to produce the training kit, given the fact that half of the world's population consists of youth who play an important role in future consumption patterns. The youth consumer attitudes of today will shape consumption patterns in the future which is why it is important to raise awareness among people for the benefit of future generations as well as the Earth itself.
The training kit that is more in the form of a guide for youth carries forward very interesting recommendations for responsible consumption and environmental sustainability from diets, to transportation and from tourism to energy. It has creative and interesting ideas, along with the more common recommendations of sharing cars, using public transportation or walking where appropriate to reduce pollution.
Here is a summary of the guide for youth:
“Towards Sustainable Lifestyles Training Kit on Responsible Consumption” UNESCO - UNEP, 2002
It has been estimated that if the rest of the world were to consume like the developed world, we would need the equivalent of 4 extra Earths.
Young people today constitute an important group within our consumer societies, and the habit they develop now will play a decisive role in future consumption patterns. Therefore, they deserve special attention in efforts to change our wasteful consumption patterns into ones that are more attuned to sustainable development.
The world's population is expected to increase by 50% by 2050 bringing the grand total of people on this planet to some 9 billion. Half the world's population is under 20 years old and 90% of all young people live in developing countries. Youth is a critical stakeholder in the global economy and will be the main actor and motor for change in the near future.
We should look at what and how we produce and consume. But in order to do so without too much cost, we - as consumers - need:
At the moment, estimates show that our planet is losing an area of fertile land about the size of Ireland every year as a result of overgrazing and deforestation. The more we damage the environment, the more we put future generations and ourselves at risk.
Figures from the WORLD WILDLIFE FUND (WWF) show that the average world citizen requires 2.3 hectares (one hectare is equal to the size of a soccer field) to produce what he consumes every year and then to have a place to dump what's left over. That's 40% more than is sustainable.
Putting priorities into perspective…
The USA ($12 billion) (Human Development Report 1998, “Consumption for human development”
The world's 20% richest people consume nearly 75% of the planet's natural resources. The USA makes up 6% of the planet's population but consumes a staggering 30% of its resources. The wealth of the world's 225 richest individuals equals the annual income of the bottom 47% of the world's population, or 2.5 billion people. Unequal distribution of food is the main reason why there are 800 million undernourished people in the world today.
Eat and drink as healthily as you can:
Eating chicken instead of beef means 15 times less environmental damage per serving. One person following a meat-free diet prevents more than 4,000 m2 of trees being destroyed per year.
Reduce use of chemicals:
By 2005, for the first time in history, more people will live in towns and cities than in the countryside. Unfortunately, air pollution has become one of the defining features of city life. Air pollution has led to a sharp increase in the number of people suffering from asthma and allergies in cities. In extreme cases asthma sufferers often have no choice but to stay indoors when smog levels are high.
An effort to clean up the air:
Avoid congestion, polluted air, noise:
Tourism has a huge impact on our planet and is the world's largest industry. According to the World Tourism Organisation, global international arrivals will reach almost 1 billion by 2010 (500 million in 1993).
Reduce impact as tourists:
In recent years there has been a dramatic increase in waste production. On average, every person living in a developed country throws away 1kg of rubbish every day. This average does not mean equal distribution in waste production/disposal. Europeans, for example, each year generate around 2,000 million tonnes of waste. Over 40 million tonnes of this is classified as hazardous. Over the last six years, the amount of waste generated has grown by 10% a year.
We have to find long-term ways of preventing waste for two basic, yet crucial, reasons:
Nearly 113 billion cups, 39 billion eating utensils and 29 billion plates are used and discarded in the USA every year - and half of them are made of plastic. India generates a total of 4.5 million tonnes of plastic waste. The offending substance is usually polyethylene (what plastic bags are made of) and takes up to 100 years to decompose.
Use less and redesign products (ecodesign; designing products using a ‘circular approach' - which is known as ‘cradle-to-grave' -taking into account their entire lifecycle from creation through use to disposal) to minimise and prevent waste:
Repairing, reusing and recycling need to become second nature to us in commercial and daily life. This will help to minimise and prevent further environmental damage; avoid unnecessary use of our natural resources; conserve energy and bring down pollution levels. For every ton of paper recycled, 17 trees and 21.000 litres of water are saved. In addition, air pollution is reduced by 30kg and landfill waste by 2.3m3. Recycling can also play a major role in reducing solid waste by using it to manufacturing new products.
Reduce the amount of waste we produce in our everyday lives.
Remember the 5 R's of recycling:
Global energy use has risen by almost 70% during the last 30 years. Energy use is predicted to increase by 2% every year for the next 15 years. The amount of oil consumed worldwide in a single year took nature a million years to create. It is estimated that oil reserves could run out in 60 years.
We need alternative, renewable energy sources.
Space and water heating together account for 75% of a household's fuel bill. Rising energy costs should make us increasingly energy aware.
Save energy in the home:
“If the current international rules continue as it is, poor countries will start to perish in the following 30 years”. These words were echoed by Harriet Schmidt, High Representative for United Nations Least Developed Countries (LDCs) at the “Making Globalization work for the Least Developed Countries” Conference held on 9-10 July 2007 in Istanbul.
Ministerial and senior officials from 50 LDCs came together in Istanbul to exchange views and develop strategies for integrating the poorest nations into world economy. Main topics discussed were trade and investment – in order to gain advantage in world trade and to draw more foreign investments – energy, technology and agriculture.
During the conference leaders highlighted that although least developed countries are the ones who benefit the least from the advantages of globalization, they are also the ones that feel the most negative effects. Harriet Schmidt, High Representative for United Nations Least Developed Countries stated that LDCs form 12% of the world population but only receive 2% of foreign investment. Schmidt stated that these countries are left behind the walls and added that migration policies that are not established well enough causes qualified labour force to migrate to richer countries.
Among other participants were UNDP Administrator Kemal Derviş, Turkish Foreign Minister Abdullah Gül, Turkish State Minister Kürşad Tüzmen, President of Union of Chambers and Commodity Exchanges of Turkey (TOBB) and the Foreign Economic Relations Board (DEİK) Rıfat Hisarcıklıoğlu, President of the 61st Session of the United Nations General Assembly Haya Rashed Al Khalifa and Deputy Director General of the World Trade Organization Valentine Rugbawiza.
Defining the situation of LDCs, UNDP Administrator Kemal Derviş stated that as international rules do not support the development of LDCs, these countries can not reflect their weight and their voices and can not realize many necessary reforms because they can not cooperate. Derviş added that it was very important for LDCs to cooperate with international private sectors in particular as the private sector would be the engine of growth and said that there was no reason for 2 billion people to live in poverty when there are enough technological developments and resources to help them. Adding on to the words of TOBB President Rıfat Hisarcıklıoğlu that Turkey is substantially increasing its humanitarian and development aid to LDCs every year, State Minister Kürşad Tüzmen stated that Turkey's trade with least developed countries increased to 2 billion dollars in the last 4 years and that the total trade volume with African countries rose from 5.5 billion dollars to 11.8 billion dollars and that Turkey feels a sense of responsibility for these countries.
Derviş emphasized that by hosting this conference in Istanbul, Turkey proves that it is already a “world citizen” and is determined to maintain its aids.
Part of the suggestions made during the conference were a need to mobilize resources, establishing a trade system that encourages development, building capacity to compete in world markets, establishing national development strategies taking into consideration each country's background, coordinating and negotiating mechanisms in order to tackle climate change and a need for a human rights based approach to development. The conference was jointly organized by UNDP and the United Nations Office of the High Representative for the Least Developed Countries, Landlocked Developing Countries and Small Island Developing States (OHRLLS)
KEMAL DERVİŞ: "LDCs MUST HAVE A STRONGER VOICE"
UNDP Administrator Kemal Derviş addressed the Least Developed Countried Conference in İstanbul. His speech is as follows:l
It is a great pleasure to be here with you in Istanbul , my native city. I must say it is also a special pleasure to follow His Excellency Benjamin Mkapa. He delivered a wonderful speech; I agree with his message and I will try to complement it. I got the chance to know His Excellency during the UN High-Level Panel on System-wide Coherence deliberations, and I dare say he has become a friend, and he already was a mentor for many of us.
I. Voice, participation, and power of the LDCs
The first message that I do want to reinforce is the need for voice, participation and power: the Least Developed Countries (LDCs) must have a stronger voice and must participate more in an overall reform of the international architecture, the international governance system, within the United Nations and more broadly. Without that voice and without that participation, many of the reforms and many of the paths we are trying to find cannot be realised. We do live in a world where of course problems are always local and citizens feel them locally. But the international system constrains and determines a lot of things and unless the LDCs have that voice, unless they have their weight in the international institutions, unless they can cooperate and coordinate among themselves to express that voice, I think many of these reforms will not take place. There will be a lot of talk, as President Mkapa said, but not much action. So I do hope that this conference and other meetings of this sort mean that you will work more closely with each other and also with us your partners in the United Nations system to develop that new architecture and to make sure that the needs of the citizens of LDCs are really felt in the international institutions.
II. Resource mobilization
The second point I would like to make is the importance, still, of resource mobilization. A lot of promises are made at summits such as the G8, 2005 World Summit and other summits, and there has been some progress I must say since the late 1990s. But that progress is now slowing down in terms of aid flows going to LDCs and in fact to development in general. As you probably know, the numbers published by the OECD-DAC for 2006 show an actual decline for 2005 and the projections of ODA for 2007 are that there will be another decline. So, far from the accelerated increase that the messages that the G8 summits and elsewhere were giving us, we are actually seeing a small decline. Now of course the numbers are complicated: debt relief is part of it, and debt relief is accounted differently in different countries, so one has to be careful in the way we judge them, but overall the situation is not good and we need to redouble our efforts at the United Nations and elsewhere.
President Mkapa rightly underlined that if the debt relief given through the multilateral development banks is not replaced by new resources which will allow these banks to lend and provide new grants for development, then in fact debt relief would lead in the long-term to a decrease in resources in development, rather than an increase.
III. Trade and development
The third topic which is important is trade and development. The Deputy Secretary-General of the World Trade Organisation, Ms. Valentine Rugbawiza, is here with us and gave us her message: trade remains extremely important. A trade system that truly encourages development, that truly gives developing countries and LDCs in particular, not only access to world markets but the capacity to compete, is I think critical in the development agenda. Here too, progress has been very slow, if not nil. We are at a critical stage, we hope still that there will be a breakthrough that will truly take into account the need of the LDCs, but unfortunately success is very far from assured. It is frustrating for all of us who are interested in development, to see those who preach free trade and liberal markets sometimes take the most drastic protectionist measures in rich countries, measures that completely falsify the workings of markets and cut down the opportunities for developing markets; and it happens again and again.
IV. Policy space
The fourth message that I would like to give is about policy space. After decades of studies and research in development, it is quite clear that there is no one truth, no one single model that works for everyone. Countries are different by their geography, by their history, by the structure of their economies, by their assets, their locations; therefore it is absolutely necessary that each country, looking at their own particular circumstances, chooses a path to development that reflects the needs and the necessities of that particular country. Of course, in choosing that path, in choosing that strategy, it is very important to look at international experience and I think that organizations such as mine, the United Nations Development Programme, can bring a lot of the experience to bear, and share with our development partners what has worked, what has not worked; we can analyze the reasons of failure and of success and in choosing the national development strategy in each country, these experiences are invaluable. But then taking all that into account, I think that each county - the citizens in each country and societies in each country- have to choose their own path, and have to be free to do so, free to choose it in a way that it is truly a national path and truly a national strategy.
V. Migration and development
A fifth point I would like to make, and we haven't talked about it too much this morning, is migration. Migration is part of globalization; just as capital flows impact on all economies, human migration impacts on all economies. And here too it is very important that the international community as a whole gets together and looks at issues relating to migration and development. I do not think it is acceptable – it is understandable – but it is not acceptable that each country sets migration policies entirely in its own interests. When rich countries decide on migration policies, on their acceptance of migrants from abroad, they have to take into account the broader picture: the trade picture, the skills picture and the needs of developing countries. This is far from being done; migration is viewed purely from a rich country perspective when the debates and laws take place. It is important that developing countries bring their analysis, their interests, and their way of looking at it, to bear on the international discussions. Migration can of course benefit all: migrants can improve their lot; they can relieve labour market pressures in poorer countries, but is very important that some of them come home after acquiring skills, and that the flows of migration are regulated with incentives and with policies that allow migrants who have acquired high skills to come home. It is also important that the human rights of migrants are respected all over the world, and that there is a code of conduct that we can all support.
VI. Climate change and development
In terms of some of the policy issues, I do believe that climate change is now becoming one of the topics of this first part of the 21st Century. It is no longer a question mark scientifically: climate change is happening – slowly - but it is happening. It is slow, but it is accelerating, and I don't think we can deny that it does represent a major challenge to the human community. It is also now established that human economic activity - the emission of heat trapping gases - is a cause of climate change. As you know, some years ago there was a debate on this within the scientific community; some denied that there was a link between carbon emissions and what was happening with the climate. Today, 95 per cent of scientists agree that there is indeed such a link, and that the large carbon emissions that have occurred in the past – the so-called carbon debt that rich countries have to the world community, about 70 per cent of the total carbon in the atmosphere – represents a real challenge for the future. It is also true that, of course, much is being added to the carbon stock and therefore an overall multilateral approach is required to deal with this problem.
The LDCs are unfortunately in a situation where they have not been contributing to the past problem; they are in no way responsible for the carbon debt that exists in the atmosphere, perhaps only very marginally and they are not even contributing to it very much today and yet the climate projections show that it will be many LDCs who will be most affected, and affected within our lifetimes – not a hundred years from now – by some of the effects of climate change. So it is an issue that we have to focus on. LDCs have to create coordinating and negotiating mechanisms so that they bring their weight to bear also on this discussion.
VII. The United Nations development family and LDCs
In terms of the United Nations development family, all the organizations, not just UNDP, are, I think, your organizations and we want to work very closely with you. Of course, we are working with rich countries, with middle income countries, and in that context I think our biggest contribution is to bring the facts to bear, to have the analysis, and to try to generate compromise solutions that will be favourable to development and that will be in line with the basic values of the United Nations.
Here let me end on two notes, and again I have to agree with His Excellency Benjamin Mkapa, coming after him is not easy because his message is so strong. I do believe that the fundamental values of the United Nations, of the UN Charter, of human rights, are fundamental human values to which we have all subscribed. It does not mean that one system has to resemble the other, or that social or political systems should be imported wholesale from developed countries. But I do believe that it is important for all countries – developing countries, low-income countries – to strongly support a human rights based approach to development that puts the human being and human development – the woman, the child, the man- at the centre of our concerns. I do not believe that any compromise on that helps the cause of developing countries. I think that developing countries must say very loudly that we are as committed to human rights as developed countries, or as anyone else in the world. I do want to underline this. Everywhere there remains human rights problems; we have to build our capacities to deal with it, all these problems cannot be solved overnight, but the message should be: we want to solve them, we want to advance them, and we want to put human beings at the centre of development.
VIII. Partnerships between middle income countries and LDCs
Finally, my last message today is that I think it is very important that there is a strong partnership between Middle Income Countries and LDCs. There is much that has happened in Middle Income Countries – in Asia, in Latin America and indeed, in my own country Turkey - much that went well, much that didn't go so well; there is a lot of experience. Sharing those experiences between Middle Income Countries and LDCS is, I think, extremely important. Often the problems of a middle income coun
The 2007 report released on July 2 by the United Nations Secretariat Department of Economic and Social Affairs aims to provide an update of the UN system and the general public regarding the Millennium Development Goals that were agreed in 2000 by all UN Member States. The report plays an important role in highlighting what has been achieved and what needs to be achieved as it is already the halfway point for realizing the MDGs that has a 2015 target date.
Although there is still much to be done, the report underlines the fact that there has been development in certain indicators such as poverty, health and education. Unfortunately these developments are not spread evenly across the globe. Africa for example has benefited the least regarding the goals.
The report shows that while there is substantial progress in certain goals such as achieving universal primary education, - enrolment to primary education has increased to 88% in 2005 – and promoting gender equality and empowering women, other progresses are still slow. The lack of employment opportunities for young people, gender inequalities, rapid and unplanned urbanization, deforestation, increasing water scarcity and high rates of HIV are still obstacles faced by all communities. Achieving MDGs in countries that are in a situation of conflict or post conflict needs even more effort as it is more difficult to make long-term strategies for these countries. However as the UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-Moon states: “We will have time to reach the Millenium Development Goals – worldwide and in most, or even all – but only if we break with business as usual. We cannot win overnight. Success will require sustained action across the entire decade between now and the deadline. Nothing less will help to achieve the Goals”.
In addition to showing disparities among countries by using statistical information, the Millenium Development Goals 2007 Report also makes recommendations. The report underlines the importance for political leaders to take urgent action and apply inclusive sound governance, increased public investment and capacity. Comprehensive national strategies and mobilizing resources are also needed in this regard. The report reiterates that all governments need to double their efforts in implementing strong leadership policies and strategies and that financial and technical support needs to be made available with the support of the international community.
The report uses wide sets of data gathered by a large number of international organizations as well as other UN agencies in illustrating comprehensive global assessment.
In an era where almost everything is controlled and operated by computers and digital equipment, not everyone is benefiting from the latest information and communication technology (ICT). Today the use of ICT is seen as a parameter for development as it helps to enhance many services that a State offers such as education and health. But where ICT is not used as necessary a “digital gap” occurs which is what Senior Advisor to the United Nations Üner Kırdar's latest book “Humanizing the Digital Age” is about.
“Humanizing the Digital Age” edited by Üner Kırdar is really a comprehensive compilation of declarations submitted to the “Impact of the Information Revolution on Global Developement: How to Humanize the Digital Age” conference organised last may in Kadir Has University in Istanbul and incorporates various authors from different backgrounds dealing with ICT with each of them focusing on the impacts of the information revolution from different perspectives whether it be in terms of emerging market economies or human development. Although the book is written by different authors, it was published as a “UN publication” with the joint efforts of UN Global Alliance for Information and Communications Technologies for Development, UNDP Special Unit for South-South Cooperation (SU/SSC), Kadir Has University, Istanbul-Turkey, Fordham University, New York – USA and ESADE University, Barcelona-Spain.
Commenting on the book, Üner Kırdar stated that the key to success in the information age is to invest in people thus carrying them to the level of the information age, and that it is very important to place human at the centre of the information age. Kırdar added that the number of people using internet and accessing information had to increase all over the world.
Üner Kırdar answered the questions of New Horizons regarding his 17th book “Humanizing the Digital Age”.
UNDP Turkey: The title of your book is quite interesting. What should one make out of this title?
Üner Kırdar (Ü.K.): We wanted to highlight the importance of the existing irony by contrasting “digital era” and “human”. Ofcourse in the scope and aim of the book we could have also chosen to use “The Impact of Information Age to Human Development”.
UNDP Turkey: How did you decide to write this book?
Ü.K.: Since the 1980s I have published 15 books that study and examine the relation between “development” and “human” and I have organized various “round table” meetings and conferences. Through the contribution and outcomes of all these events the meaning and the importance of today's “human development” was defined. But the world is going through a new evolution since the last 10-15 years: “Digital Age” technologies... The importance of the role these technologies play or will be playing was first determined at a round table meeting 22 years ago with the theme “The Human Dimension of Development” in 1985 in İstanbul. Since then these technologies have genuinely become a revolution in the context of human development. The countries that benefited from these technologies and place “human” at the focal point of its development, gained effective and clear outcomes. As an example we can show Ireland, Finland, Sweden and Iceland in Europe; Republic of South Korea, Malaysia, Taiwan and Singapore in South Asia and India and China in the last 5 years. Last year we organized a conference on this issue hosted by Kadir Has University in Istanbul. This book reflects the findings of that conference.
UNDP Turkey: How would you define the point of view and outcomes of this book?
Ü.K.: The book explores how much power and benefit the countries using the “Information Age” can gain and exhibits how countries that are left outside this revolution can fall behind. The key to success, development and power in our globalizing world is dependent on people equipped with information and communication technologies to have efficiency and creative and competitive qualities. Countries that invest on a human's education and health, on his reseacher skills and life-long renewal of information will be lucrative both in terms of its individuals and as a society.
UNDP Turkey: Where do we stand today in the context of “human development”?
Ü.K.: The aim of our studies in the 80s was to prove that it is a necessity to always place “human” at the focal point of every problem and that “human” is not only the “means” of development but rather the “aim”. Because until the 1980s “humans” were just seen as an auxiliary resource in development economy. Through our works and “Human Development Reports” the importance of development with a human dimension started to be understood. With the new information technologies revolution, the success of such a development model was better understood and proven. The reason for this is that the revolution in information and communications effected human dimensional development in three areas:
These new technologies, paved the way for an efficient new “services sector” based on human information and abilities to be created. This new sector constitutes 65% of the world's total national product and is the source for new employment opportunities. I believe that this fact carries great importance for Turkey. The biggest problem that Turkey will face in the next 10 years is realizing an “employment-friendly development” and providing fruitful new job opportunies to unemployed youth today as well as the 4 million newcomers that will cross over from being a student to working.
UNDP Turkey: Are there any examples regarding the point we have reached today?
Ü.K.: The most realistic and beneficial cooperation that could be realized among developing countries would be to draw upon the lessons, experiences and good practices from the Republic of South Korea, Malaysia, Taiwan, Singapore, India and China all of which have been very successful in the information age revolution. This also applies for our country that aims to become a full member of the European Union. For example, Ireland was one of the poorest countries in Europe 20 years ago but following its implementation of its education system based on new technologies as a “national development strategy” it is now the fastest developing country in the EU. During this process, the national income per capita of Ireland tripled. Due to unemployment rates, Ireland was one of the countries that exported the most people, today however it has become a country that exports high technology products. Employment opportunities have increased 70% and more than 2 million people were given new and profitable job opportunities.
Another country that could be set as an example is the Republic of South Korea. In 1965 Turkey's national income per capita was 350 dollars a year whereas South Korea's was 107 dollars a year. But because South Korea followed a development strategy based on education and new technologies like Ireland, this figure rose to 17 thousand 380 dollars in 2005. South korea was on the 5th place according to UNDP's 2005 Success in Technology Index while Turkey ranked 120th. Again according to this index, South Korea invested 2.5% of its national income for research and development purposes while Turkey only spent 0.7% of its national income on research and development. In South Korea 68 people out of a 100 make use of the internet while this figure in Turkey is only 8. The same year South Korea had 633 patents while Turkey only had 1 patent. However, despite these negative data, a very important opportunities window can open for Turkey in the next 10-15 years. In this process, a large proportion of Turkey's population will grow out from being a “child” to being youth who are “eligible to work” whereas in Europe the young generation will fall to its lowest level. If Turkey applies “Information Age Development Strategy with a Human Focus” to its national policy in this time period, it can become one of the important centres of the EU's service economy. But this is only dependant on us gearing up our youth with European languages and information technologies.