Summit Istanbul, Turkey, january 2007

“Practical solutions to (re)build your future in peace”, Istanbul, Turkey.

This time the majority of the participants were Turkish. They worked with teenagers from Sri Lanka, the Netherlands and the United States. It was a wonderful and challenging experience to work in a culture we hadn’t experienced before, and to realize that language was not a problem, They worked and worked hard. The “World-Café” was a hit. The participants from several NGO’s, service clubs, the Dutch consulate, a bank and a TV station were questioned by all the kids. They wanted to know how it is to run a facility for street kids, why wouldn’t the TV station report on the summit (it was not important enough and certainly not news! The kids were furious!), what can service clubs do for project needed, what role does a Consulate/Embassy have in a foreign country; the questions kept coming. The energy was great in the room and all learned a lot.

Four projects developed during the summit:

• The website for ThePeaceBrokers Inc was designed by the youth.
• The ”Golden” school was developed. The teenagers worked hard to define all what needed to be in a regular school, so all students would feel equal and have the same opportunities.
• The Infirmary for environmental sensitivity and awareness was established. The concern for pollution and the well-being of the people having to live in a severely polluted area. They immediately took action and started with asking all the teenagers to re-use their water bottles and be aware of any action they could take to decrease the burden on the environment.
• Hepsi was the fourth group. They embraced the Umut Cocuklari, a home for street children in Istanbul. The location was visited, discussions were held with the Director and the youth at the house. A campaign was developed and the project will be carried for implementation.

The days were long, obstacles overcome and the results amazing again; a wonderful time had by all, as well as students going home knowing that they can take the responsibility for the future, their future as well as ours. They left as friends and will stay connected that way.

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