An important meeting was held in İstanbul last week. The conference, called “Interreligious and Intercultural Dialogue in Youth Work,” was co-organized by the Council of Europe and the Islamic Conference Youth Forum for Dialogue and Cooperation (ICYF-DC), which was started by member nations of the Organization of the Islamic Conference (OIC). As part of the “All Different, All Equal” campaign program, the conference brought together about 200 participants, all young people, from Muslim and European countries.
Speakers and participants addressed a number of issues ranging from discrimination and Islamophobia to educating youth about immigration and interreligious and intercultural dialogue. A recurring theme during the conference and break-out sessions was the awareness of intercultural and interreligious diversity and what we should do to secure a harmonious, not homogeneous, world. The conference ended with the İstanbul Youth Declaration, which is expected to be a milestone document for youth work in coming years. The declaration makes a number of important observations and recommendations concerning youth problems in Muslim and European countries. Recommendations also include such concrete proposals as revising school curricula and history books to teach a more nuanced and inclusive view of history. The İstanbul Youth Declaration is expected to be followed by a parallel initiative called the İstanbul Youth Process for Intercultural and Interreligious Dialogue. This initiative will aim to develop new channels of communication between the youth of different societies. It will also engage the youth as active participants and conveners of various youth programs. As Ali Sarıkaya, the president of ICYF, said in his closing remarks: “Our programs are designed in such a way as to engage them (the youth) as responsible actors and full agents. This Istanbul meeting is a good example of how we can engage youth to think about our common problems and come up with concrete ideas and proposals to resolve them.” Sarıkaya also underlined the importance of Turkey’s rich history of pluralism: “The OIC Youth Forum, like its counterparts in other parts of the world, upholds the principles of fairness, equality and mutual respect. We believe in these principles, not in a historical vacuum, but on the basis of the shared experience of various human communities. That is why our cultural, linguistic and religious differences are not a cause for conflict or confrontation. On the contrary, our differences have always taught us something, and urged us to improve ourselves.” Despite numerous attempts at government and non-governmental levels, youth continue to be confronted with serious problems. On the one hand, this is something to be expected. Such a dynamic reality as youth cannot be a subdued actor. On the other hand, however, this refers to the failure of our modern societies to cater to the intellectual and spiritual needs of youth. Giving open-ended freedom to youth is not enough to satisfy their demand for meaning in their lives. For modern consumerism, young people are just another consumer to be streamlined in the big market of the entertainment industry, music clips, bohemian songs, banal sexuality, action movies and violence. The “cool” culture doesn’t give any comfort nor does it help youth make reasoned decisions in the most decisive years of their lives. As we embrace capitalism with open arms, we’re likely to continue to lament the widening of the generation gap in Turkey. Thanks to our media, we’re insulting the brightest minds of the country day and night. But young people demand more. They demand more accountability, participation, responsibility, intellectual ownership and transparency. Treating youth as another subject to be molded by political power or popular culture will simply lead to another generation lost. Let’s hope the Istanbul Youth Process will awaken all of us.