Say Yes, Spring 2006: Editorial

Given that roughly half of the human race is now under 25 years-old, adolescent concerns should surely be part of the bedrock of every country’s development agenda. It would hardly be an exaggeration to go further and assert that adolescents and younger children are development -- for who else should we look to in consideration of the future?

Unfortunately this is not the case in much of today’s world as a large number of this massive global constituency approach adulthood with little or no education, poor nutrition, violence as a fact of life at home, at school and within the community, ignorance of their rights as individuals and, perhaps most tragically, no idea that they have lost out on the richest developmental stage of their lives. As adults they will spend their remaining years compensating for this loss -- running to catch-up -- as will governments and world leaders who struggle to balance solutions to the problems that challenge humanity daily.

This should not be the case. For UNICEF, adolescents are a positive asset to their families, communities and nations: their tremendous energy and willingness to engage with the world and to participate in all aspects of life and the decision-making processes that surround them presents a window of opportunity to effect positive, lifelong change for the children themselves, their families -- both present and future -- their communities and broader national development objectives.

Like their peers throughout the rest of the world, Turkish adolescents want to make the best of themselves and what life has to offer.

Acting positively in this respect, the Government has just this year taken a step forward to improve the situation of adolescents in Turkey by launching the Children First project with support from the European Union and UNICEF. Children First will offer adolescents and their families the support they need to learn about the issues they face in today’s world, encourage their families to help them express their opinions and concerns, and ease the transition to adulthood which can be unnecessarily difficult and painful for so many children and their families.

In return, Turkey’s considerable adolescent population will undoubtedly contribute to the wave of development that is carrying her into the future.

Edmond McLoughney
UNICEF Representative, Turkey

PS: We’d very much like to hear readers reactions to this issue, so please feel free to contact us with your comments and suggestions.

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