 On
October 12 and 13, two Bilkent University seniors were chosen by the United Nations
Educational, Scientific, and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) National Commission to
represent Turkey for the first time at the 5th UNESCO Youth Forum, held in Paris, France.
Işık Oğuzertem (IR/IV) and Özlem Eskiocak (IR/IV) attended the event, which preceded
the 34th UNESCO General Conference on October 19. Held biannually, the UNESCO Youth Forum
brings together parties from around the world to help coordinate regional projects, and
remain networked for future UNESCO activities. More than 300 delegates from over 120
countries were present, with the six official languages of UNESCO being spoken throughout
the sessions.
The conference aimed to caucus the regional youth forums of last year in the regions of
the Euro-Mediterranean, Asian-Pacific, and the Americas. It also worked to develop
medium-to-long term outlines for the future of the UNESCO Youth Forum, and implement
concrete initiatives that could be applied locally.
In Turkey, UNESCO acts as a launching pad for ideas. Tied to the Ministry of Education,
UNESCO Turkey brings scientists, professors, and other field experts together to meet with
the legislative and financial powers needed to create real change. Few people know that
the Turkish Science and Technology Research Institution (TÜBİTAK) was founded by UNESCO.
By laying the framework for such projects, and then awarding them the autonomy they
require, UNESCO has proven itself to be one of the most commendable organs of the United
Nations, despite the fact that it is greatly unpublicized.
Although this was Turkey's first time at the conference, a number of delegates approached
the Bilkent students to congratulate them on their input, ideas, and intuitiveness. Işık
Oğuzertem and Özlem Eskiocak submitted a motion on behalf of Turkey calling for greater
civil society involvement in the UNESCO decision making process. The motion was praised by
all civil society members present, as well as the European, Asian, and African regional
caucuses. The motion was only one of two that passed, and it did so with overwhelming
support from 80% of the assembly.
Not all was perfect, however. "The conference suffers from serious structural and
organizational flaws," says Oğuzertem, "and there needs to be a real shift from
abstract calls for action to actually implementing it on the ground. There need to be more
real projects in circulation and a better mechanism for bringing them back to your own
country. Luckily, the individual contacts we established will allow us to pursue this
through our own channels." Eskiocak was less optimistic. "There was a lot of
talking and debating, but where is the action? Even the money pumped into making this
conference happen could have been put to much better use. Maybe that's what we should have
proposed."
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