"To become a Citizen..." Trainer’s Training Seminar

23 July 1999
Biga Branch of Umut Foundation

Nazire Dedeman
Text of the speech by
Founding President of the Umut Foundation

Distinguished guests,

Welcome to our meeting!

We cannot deny the importance of education in making our youth forceful and for them to become contributors. Raising our young people as citizens who are aware of the values, their rights and their responsibilities in a democratic society, owning and maintaining the principles and values concepts such as supremacy of law and state governed by the rule of law can only be possible by providing education opportunities containing this information and these skills.

Umut Honorable Leaders Foundation, as a NGO, which aims to raise young people with the above values is aware of its responsibility in this matter.  Therefore our ’’To become a citizen...’’ student’s and Trainer’s handbooks prepared under the supervision of Ms. Prof. Dr. İpek Gürkaynak and printed by our Foundation in line with the aim of Umut Foundation to “raise young people a persons who have adopted the supremacy of law in principle and who support peace not war and prepared with an unusual education method that encourages and teaches “discussions and debates, creativity, interaction, developing and presenting a point of view and adding value” were added to the skill-gaining activities.

We believe that you distinguished educationalists sincerely support our efforts to bring up young people with the “Awareness of becoming Responsible Citizens and we see that you are here as part of these efforts to take this training. Therefore I would like to thank each and every one of you and wish you success in this training program. How nice it is to provide support to young people in letting them know the necessity, in creating the awareness of becoming citizens and in gaining the skills of becoming a responsible citizen. I hereby would like to sincerely thank everyone who contributed to this meeting and all our trainers, especially Prof. Dr. İpek Gürkaynak .

Additionally I would like to both thank him and express my gratitude to my dear friend, Prof. Dr. Mehmet Gürkaynak, one of our Founding Members, who has founded a citizenship institute by opening a branch of the Umut Foundation in Turkey for the first time at his home in Biga and who is hosting this event in such a well- kept location.

With hope for tomorrow...