The other day, I was surprised by an old newspaper article that I came across. The headline read: “Africa's future is up to Africa.” This was a simple premise that US President Barack Obama stated when visiting the continent of Africa back in July. He emphasized that American aid must be matched by Africa's responsibility for its own problems. There is some truth to the stated premise. Really though, it is one that is not just applicable to the African continent, but to every nation, and to every individual. Every nation and every individual is accountable for the state of the world today.
An obvious place to begin is with the economic crisis: In Britain and America, it is trapping urban families. They face grave difficulties as some can't find jobs in a new place. Those who would have otherwise traded up or headed to the suburbs can't.
In many countries in the West, unemployment has risen. This is causing a downward spiral across the Middle East and Asia, where unemployment is soaring in some places. Millions are holding their breath, waiting for an economic turnaround.
Turks are wondering how will all this play out in İstanbul and Ankara and other major cities in Turkey.
Unlike places like Britain and America, where the people are aging and the population is downsizing in real estate and cars, Turkey's approximately 72 million people are very young. According to Thomas Grove's recent Reuters report, “Young Turks a major obstacle to Turkey's EU goals,” demographers have found that more than half of Turks are under the age of 30 and that this proportion will increase for the next 20 to 25 years.
You don't have to look very hard to observe that young Turks are suffering the most from the global economic downturn. With about one in four young adults unemployed, many will not have a chance to own a car or an apartment in the near future.
According to Index Mundi, in December 2008, the unemployment rate in Turkey was 9.9 percent. Grove says that it rose sharply to 13.8 percent in the first quarter of the year.
Although the majority of Turks were initially enthusiastic about the idea of joining the European Union, over the years hopes have been dashed and distrust has set in. In the past, Turks have been known for trying to make it on their own, and among some the idea is gaining support.
Talking with some friends over countless tulip-shaped glasses of sweet Turkish tea the other day, we all agreed that we could understand some of our Turkish colleagues' hesitations about the EU, but we hoped that Turkey would not throw the baby out with the bathwater.
This week at the CivWorld forum an opportunity is conveniently provided for Turks to learn and be active participants in looking for solutions to solve some of the challenges the nation faces, as well as those the world grapples with.
Maybe you have not already heard about the conference, being held in İstanbul Sept. 9-13?
CivWorld has organized its Seventh Interdependence Day Celebration and Forum this year in İstanbul. Let me just briefly introduce you to this group: It's an international project at Demos, a public policy research organization, and is a global interdependence initiative with four closely linked activities aimed at raising awareness of the interdependent character of global society and fostering transnational and interdependent solutions to global challenges: the Interdependence Day Forum and Celebration, policy research on democracy and interdependence, advocacy and the Global Interdependence Network for Action (GINA) project. You can learn more at: http://www.civworld.org/web/home.html
We all probably remember Obama's visit to Turkey earlier this year.
Turks were so enthused at all he had to say.
Obama emphasized the importance of interdependence in our global reality.
Certainly Turkey provides the ideal environment for this forum.
“If one had but a single glance to give the world, one should gaze on İstanbul.” -- Alphonse de Lamartine
Note: Charlotte McPherson is the author of “Culture Smart: Turkey, 2005.” Please keep your questions and observations coming: I want to ensure this column is a help to you, Today’s Zaman’s readers. Email: c.mcpherson@todayszaman.com
