G20 Attendee Reflects on Summit Experience
Yusuf Alper Gürlek, a third year undergraduate student in the Industrial Engineering department, has attended the G20 Summit held in Toronto, Canada. G20, also known as the Group of 20, consists of the 19 countries having the top 19 biggest economies in the world plus the European Union (as the 20th member).
"The application process was tough," says Alper Gürlek, "however I deeply wanted to be a part of the Turkish Delegation. Even the vision of representing my country and my school in the G20 summit was enough to have sleepless nights for me. As a chairman of United Nations Association of Turkey, Youth Section (UNATR), I was involved in various youth exchanges about the issues concerning both Europe and whole world, but the G20 was the ultimate point for me. After three stages of the election process, I was elected as one of the six young Turkish leaders to attend the G20 Summit. I was so flattered and happy."
The G20 Toronto Summit focused on two major problems of 2010: global warming and the latest economic crisis. Delegations from each country discussed finding solutions to these issues. Gürlek himself made a speech at the plenary session on environmental sustainability.
"There were about 120 young leaders coming from 19 countries and EU who were concerned about the world and have dreams about the future. We had a unique chance to discuss our ideas with current leaders. It was beyond my expectation talking to Prime Minister Erdoğan in person about the Israel-Palestinian conflict or having a conversation with president Obama about the Iraq War. Beside all, we were given the feeling that each of us are powerful enough to be capable of making our dreams come true. I think this is the most valuable thing that young delegates gained from G20 Summit."
"One last thing from my impressions of Canada," adds Gürlek. "In Toronto, every taxi had a yellow light on the rear of the taxi. Near the light was a sign that read: ‘If this light is blinking call 911.’ This tool is very beneficial for both drivers' and passengers' security. I hope we can implement similar practices in Turkey."
Yusuf Alper Gürlek also plays on the Bilkent University volleyball team and is an active member of Social Awareness Projects (TDP) and the Bilkent Information Office (BTO).