"Young Vision" Volunteers Teach Teenagers to Follow in Their Footsteps
Genç Bakış Projesi (the Young Vision Project) was founded to introduce high school students to the various kinds of social service activities undertaken by university students. Unlike most other projects conducted by Bilkent's TDP (Social Awareness Projects) student organization, GBP is directed toward teenagers. This makes GBP's job a bit harder than it looks, considering that individuals in this age group are more conscious of the world around them than are children, yet still have so much to learn about social responsibility.
GBP's purpose is reflected in its activities during a typical semester. First of all, GDP volunteers teach high school students about social responsibility and help them understand the true meaning of volunteering. Secondly, the GDP members try to increase the high school students' awareness of imperfections in their environment and encourage them to believe that they can make a difference. Finally, GDP volunteers assist them in becoming individuals capable of making their own decisions and developing projects to fix the imperfections they have discovered.
Last semester, GBP worked with two different groups of high school students. By the end of the semester, both groups had pinpointed particular problems, come up with some possible solutions and developed their own projects. One of the projects is a plan to provide art education to people who otherwise wouldn't have learning opportunities in this area, while the other one focuses on solving the problems of children who may be drawn toward crime.
If you want to join GBP and participate in its activities, you can contact GDP coordinators Anıl
Horasan and Betül Urgancı:
horasan@ug.bilkent.edu.tr
urganci@ug.bilkent.edu.tr