A two-year project aimed at protecting young migrants from the risks of addiction concluded with a closing meeting held at Sepetçiler Mansion. The project, conducted jointly by Marmara University, the Municipality of Oslo and the University Medical Center Hamburg-Eppendorf, involved 150 young migrants.
Cihad Demirli, Deputy Minister of National Education, thanked those who contributed to the project's preparation, field implementation, training evaluation and dissemination stages.
Demirli said that people facing a difficult situation such as migration can be more vulnerable to addiction, adding that addiction directly affects not only individuals but also the future of society.
Demirli said that young people who feel safe, maintain their connection with school, develop their relationships with friends and have hope for the future can cope more easily with the difficulties they face. He stated that addiction simultaneously affects people's willpower, self-perception, family ties, social environment and vision of the future.
Emphasizing that an important element of education is strengthening young people's minds, hearts and willpower, Demirli noted that strengthened values and developed reasoning skills can help steer young people away from risks. He said that initiatives helping people understand themselves, manage their emotions, build healthy relationships and make informed choices create a protective foundation against the risks of addiction.
Project partners shared their experiences
Mehmet Güllüoğlu, Secretary-General of the International Green Crescent Federation and Deputy Chairman of the Turkish Green Crescent Society, said that the Green Crescent carries out initiatives addressing real problems in people's lives. He stated that the two-year project benefited both its partners and its beneficiaries.
Güllüoğlu said that migration is a difficult process for both migrants and host communities, drawing attention to the rise in addictions around the world. He said that a culture of joint action against addictions should be strengthened, adding, “We need each other's energy and each other's support.”
Associate Professor Hakan Gülerce from Marmara University's Institute of Population and Social Research, Sascha Milin, a research assistant at the University Medical Center Hamburg-Eppendorf, and Borge Erdal, a representative of the Municipality of Oslo, spoke about the project's objectives, lessons learned and experiences gained during its implementation.
Dr. Rukiye Gülerce, a faculty member at the Faculty of Law at Istanbul Medeniyet University, also shared with participants the project's development process, the activities carried out and the outputs produced. Five young migrants who benefited from the project discussed their experiences and views on addiction.
BAVUL was developed in five languages
Following the meeting, the gamified digital learning platform BAVUL, developed to protect young people from addictions and strengthen their psychological resilience, was introduced.
BAVUL, developed in Turkish, English, Arabic, German and Norwegian, reached 1,500 young people.
