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19 March 1997
Lütfi Kırdar Congress and Exhibition Center / Istanbul
Nazire Dedeman
Founder President of Umut Foundation
Speech Text
Dear Guests from the Tourism Sector, Dear tourism students, Dear members of the pres and Those valuable people who are dedicated to Umut Foundation
Welcome to the Peace with Tourism Seminar organized jointly by TÜRTOB and UMUT Foundation!
I would like to start my speech by telling you about the aim of the Umut Foundation. As you can see from our work provided in folders have prepared for you the aim of our Foundation in our country is to ensure that our citizens adopt the supremacy of law and contribute to its execution and in the world, by setting off with our Leader Atatürks Peace at home peace in the world motto, help providing maintaining and enhancing peace.
As you know the Umut Foundation was established in 1993. Our Foundation has initiated peace processes in the Middle East, Balkans and Europe with the many seminars and conferences it organized, it contributed to peace at national and international level and it initiates the introduction of, teaching of peaceful reconciliation solutions and works on adopting them Turkey. Umut Foundation, which has very good recognition domestically has been included in peace catalogues. I am proud for Turkey to say that Mr. Prof.Dr. Mehmet Gürkaynak , one of the founders of the Umut Foundation has been nominated as the President of the European Union Peace Committee, representing the Umut Foundation before Turkey has yet joined the European Union. I would like to thank him on behalf of the Foundation and Turkey.
You may say Your aims are good and noble but what do these have to do with the internet seminar and the promotion of Turkish Tourism?. Let me explain. Tourism at an individual basis means traveling. And this can only happen in places where basic freedoms exist. As you know the FREEDOM OF MOVEMENT is one of the basic human rights and guaranteed by our constitution. In a place where the state governed by the rule of law and peace does not exist there will be limited freedom of movement and there will be no tourism in a place where the FREEDOM OF TRAVEL has been restricted. In that case state governed by the rule of law is a necessity for tourism. Today it is not possible to talk about tourism in Zaire, Albania and even in the land which used to be Yugoslavia, which used to be one of tourism heavens.
Our Foundation has started a training series in our country in order to ensure that our country to adopts the state governed by the rule of law. This is a training which teaches individuals to know their rights and the boundaries of their rights and the methods of seeking redress legally . This is identical to citizenship awareness. In that case what is aimed with this law related training is bringing together the state and the civil society and connecting them with a stricter unity of aims and with interaction under the roof of state governed by the rule of law. Under such a roof traveling will become a big pleasure for every one of us.
However, Turkeys partial realization of becoming state governed by the rule of law does not mean that the corporate socio-political infrastructure of tourism is complete. The usage of the freedom to travel has no meaning in a place where there is violence, terrorism and war. Our sector went through this in the near future during the Gulf War. In short the peace environment has a lot to add to tourism.
Our Foundation has been carrying out international work on peace and it knows that it is not sufficient when only humans make peace among each other. As well as providing peace it is necessary to keep peace, i.e. stay in peace and strengthen friendships. Beside the work of the states and the government on this matter, tourism is the strongest public medium of peace. Only masses that know each other and respect each others culture and way of living can improve the peace environment.
However the citizens of the countries which have historical conflicts and lack of harmony can carry on having this strained environment and let it continue for centuries. For example, according to a study Umut Foundation carried out on the textbooks of various countries, the content in the books glorify their own country, create a feeling of supremacy, give such characteristics to the citizens of other countries that may cause fear or worry, i.e. point them out as enemies. The most effective way of partially or fully getting rid off such biased opinions, eliminating the factors which contribute to the formation of such opinions is to go and see the country you have a biased opinion for i.e. tourism. In that case peace and tourism are two concepts which support each other.
Additionally there is the improvement of the union of the world. This can be achieved by making the world nations aware of each other. I dont know if you ever used to use that word. When we were at High School, we used use Patagonia to symbolize a place which does not have to do anything with anywhere else. Later on, I found out that Patagonia really exists. Today, through television we know the locations of all countries but we do not know their tourism potentials. This is where internet, the topic of our conference comes in.
The results of the revolutionary movement initiated by the Internet in many areas are visible not just at individual level but also in the structuring of the society developed up until today. Umut Foundation, in order to both benefit from the opportunities provided by internet and to reach its target audience has taken its place on internet, which has such a widespread area of usage and effect. Education and mass communication are topics our Foundation deals with.
One of the biggest novelties brought by electronic networks is that people can do their work without getting out of the house and retrieve the information they require anywhere around the world. Today, a person who has a laptop any any kind of phone connection can follow up his business from anywhere. This applies to shopping as well. The catalogues the companies and the department stores send by post to their clients are about to become history. Now electronic Networks have taken over this job.
Thinking that the effect of the electronic network is limited to easy and fast retrieval of information would be a narrow point of view. Electronic Networks can offer us interaction areas much wider scope spread across the world and bring us new opportunities.
Another very nice opportunity that the world citizens have come up against is that they come across the tourism potential of Turkey online.. Thus Umut Foundation is acting as an intermediary for Turkey to seek peace throughout the world. Our Foundation has presented Turkeys Hotel and Tourism Guide online to the world. Today we will be sharing with you how we seek peace throughout the world with tourism.
Whilst sharing this with you, I would like to thank our speakers Birgül Egeli, İrfan Arıkan, Çağatay Çopuroğlu and Turgay Öngüne and our host Sibel Savacı for their help, everyone who contributed to it and you all the participants.
With hope for tomorrow ladies and gentlemen!
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