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May 25th 1999
Nazire Dedeman
Founder President of Umut Foundation
EROL - What is the aim of the establishment of Umut Foundation?
DEDEMAN - It is established aiming to nurture our youth as individuals who will contribute to the development of our country and who will be beneficial to the humanity by adopting the character and the skills that will do leadership in the path of Ataturk; to nurture our youth as citizens who believe in the rule of law, who contribute to its implementation and who choose peaceful means to solve disagreements, and in this context to teach and adopt reconciliation skills to individuals.
EROL - As Foundation, what kind of work did you do up to present?
DEDEMAN - We can combine the works we did until now in three groups.
a) Training and education works for the youth,
b) The prevention of the Individual Armament
c) Training and developing works related to the management of the NGOs which we call III (third) Sector.
The works combined in those three principle titles;
It has been realized by participating to conference, panel, seminar and contest organized by the Foundation or by other organizations in many countries such as Turkey, Europe, and Middle East
EROL - Could you mention shortly about the works you have done in the Education area?
DEDEMAN - Internet Education Seminar, Human Rights and Citizenship Consciousness Education Project, Expert and Student Exchange Project, Todays Youth, Todays Leader Leadership Education Seminar series has been realized. Within the frame of Human Rights and Citizenship Consciousness Education Project; under the presidency of Prof. Dr. Ipek Gürkaynak, five educators specialized in this field prepared our book To Be a Citizen
by spending long working time. We realized The Distance Learning Project which will make NGOs more active and The Managerial Education Project of the NGOs.
EROL - What are you aiming with your book titled To Be a Citizen
?
DEDEMAN - To Be a Citizen
is a very different book due to both its content and its education method and visual features. Prepared separately for students and for educators who will give this lesson, our book is approved by the Council of Education and Morality connected to the Ministry of National Education to be educated as a subsidiary schoolbook in 7th and 8th grade class of elementary schools.
We brought in something new with this book; the book has been prepared by aiming to build teachers who argue and who makes the other arguing and students who are conscious and who can think independently.
Our book To Be a Citizen
will introduce The Conscious of being a Citizen to the youth that will represent the Turkish Republic in the year 2000.
EROL - What could be done in order the book reaches more readers?
DEDEMAN - We are doing a series of introduction works in order this book reaches a large number of readers. We know that media is very important concerning this subject. We are waiting support for the introduction of our books in Newspapers, Radios and Televisions.
EROL From where could the readers obtain the book?
DEDEMAN - Our books could be obtained from the Headquarters of Umut Foundation, our phone number is 0212 288 66 75, from Migros, Gima and D&R stores and from many bookstores.
EROL - You are saying that the education method of the book is apart from the ordinary classic instruction. How will the teachers learn this new education method which is based on the methods of debating and producing ideas in a democratic environment by the participation of the student in the class?
DEDEMAN - Our educators group is teaching the education method of these books in The Training of Trainers seminars we organize. But I say woefully that we didnt organize as much as we wanted. We trained three hundred educators until now in these seminars which has a continuous cost of three days. Our trainings in this subject will continue with financial aids and with our own contributions.
EROL - What will you say about the other important work of your Foundation which is Individual Disarmament? Could you mention about the works done in this field?
DEDEMAN - From the year 1993 until now, we have done various activities concerning Individual Disarmament. Our works, which are listed below, are aiming to relieve peoples suffering and to raise awareness about the weapon and its usage.
1993 - 1994
1994 - 1995 Research and analyze contest themed Individual Armament in Turkey
1995 - 1996 Composition contest themed Violence and Weapon in the Youth
1996 - 1997 The campaign The Weapon is Not Joking
1997 - 1998 Caricature contest themed The Weapon is Not Joking
We organized also a contest on 1999. The aim of this contest organized in the branch News and Photograph was to raise the awareness of the public opinion concerning the use of weapon unconsciously which causes to irrecoverable sufferings and was to attract attention over the weapon and the use of weapon of our society. We got the NO to Individual Armament campaign that is still continuing. We have collected fifteen thousand signatures and we want that responsible people prepare legal regulations that will say STOP to this situation.
EROL - What will be done this year within the frame of the activities you organize every year on Individual Disarmament Day?
DEDEMAN - This year, we will organize the award distribution ceremony for the contest we realized on September 28th 1999 themed Violence and Weapon in our Society. Moreover, we will also have a panel with the same name purposeful to assure the conscious of the society.
EROL - You are charging a duty to the media after the current situation of your works about this issue. Could you explain it a little?
DEDEMAN - Of course, you understood it very well. Everybody who is responsible should do its part in order to prevent the murder events occurred almost every day recently. The effect of the media in guiding, training and awakening the people is too much. The media should use this power for this purpose. People shouldnt use weapons after matches, in weddings or celebrations. Of course, the media may guide the people with the programs they do. We are inviting all the responsible to do their part about this issue.
EROL - You got a campaign aiming to achieve Individual Disarmament. How is the participation to this campaign? How is the reaction of the people?
DEDEMAN - Our NO to Individual Armament campaign is still continuing. Lots of organization workers gave their signatures collectively to our campaign. We are collecting signatures on signature desks we opened in various malls, soccer matches and fairs.
From the year 1999 until now, we have collected twenty thousand signatures. We saw during this campaign that people arent aware of this situation until they experience it.
EROL - What do you want to achieve in the end of this campaign?
DEDEMAN - In the end of this work, what we want to achieve is not to define weapon as a commodity, as a tool of power to our children, People not to buy weapons, not to use weapons, to bear the responsibility of the weapon used. The inadequacy on this issue should be overcome in the laws. The usage and the purchase of weapon should be prevented with new regulations and the penal brought to the use of weapon should have a real dissuasive quality.
I wish a world full of peace and hope
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