World Bank participated to Youth (Gepgenc) Festival, a platform for young people to discuss issues related to youth, organized between December 6 to 10, 2006 at Bilgi University, Istanbul.
On December 9, Saturday, World Development Report 2007: Development and Next Generation was presented by a World Bank team. The report discusses priorities for government action across five youth transitions that shape young people's human capital:
- (1) learning,
- (2) working,
- (3) staying healthy,
- (4) forming families,
- (5) exercising citizenship.
The presentation was followed by a Q&A session and Turkish versions of the report were disseminated to the attendees. (Four consultation meetings were held with the young people in Turkey to provide feedback to the preparation team on the darft version of the draft version.)
At the same day, Youth Voices of Turkey Group had a workshop in order to share their experiences on “Youth Employment and Entrepreneurship Seminars” that they organized in Eskisehir, Tatvan, Adana, Samsun and Izmir. A discussion session about young employment and entrepreneurship took place after the workshop.
On Sunday, December 10, the winners of the Essay Competition were selected by the United Nation Thematic Group Jury. The topic was “What should Turkey do for its youth, what should youth do for Turkey.” 40 essays were submitted for the competition and after two rounds five finalists were invited to the final round. Each competitor were given five minutes to explain their articles, afterwards the jury asked questions about their arguments. After a tough and long process the winners were announced:
- Youth on Turkey Train, Ethemcan Turhan, Ankara
- Youth: Understanding of a Word, Mehmet Okten, Adana
- Changing Turkey and Youth, Oner Tanik, Isparta
The winners were awarded by a digital camera, an MP3 player and a cell phone.
The Public Information Unit displayed World Bank publications in the Youth Fair as well. Turkish version of World Development Report 2007: Development and Next Generation, brochures related to works of the Bank and a leaflet related to Small Grants Program were distributed to the participants of the fair.
