KILCA: WE CARRY OUT MANY PROJECTS THAT WILL PROTECT OUR YOUNG PEOPLE FROM HARMFUL HABITS.

DEMIREL: WE BELIEVE THAT THERE SHOULD BE SOME CRITERIA IN THE MEDIA IN THE FIGHT AGAINST ADDICTION.

ÇETIN: THE ROLE OF THE PRESS IS CRUCIAL IN THE FIGHT AGAINST ADDICTION

A talk show titled “The Role of the Press in the Fight Against Addiction” was held in cooperation with Karatay Municipality, Karatay City Council and Konya Association for Fight Against Addiction. In the program in which Selçuk University Faculty Member Assoc. Prof. Dr.  Fatih Hilmi Çetin participated as a speaker,  Hasan Kılca, the Mayor of Karatay, said that they carried out many projects as a municipality that will reintegrate citizens in the fight against addiction into society in addition to the activities that protect young people from harmful habits. Mehmet Demirel, the President of Konya Association for Fight against Addiction, emphasized that new criteria should be determined for the press in the fight against addiction. And Assoc. Prof. Dr. Fatih Hilmi Çetin said, "The media should pay attention to the language of the news, its publications and its contents in the fight against addiction."

A talk show titled “The Role of the Press in the Fight Against Addiction” was held in cooperation with Karatay Municipality, Karatay City Council and Konya Association for Fight Against Addiction.

Hasan Kılca, the Mayor of Karatay, Mehmet Demirel, the President of Konya Association for Fight Against Addiction, Abdurrahim Arslan, the President of Karatay City Council, Ahmet Babuccu, the President of Karatay City Council’s Youth Assembly, and representatives of media organizations operating in Konya attended the program held at Karatay Municipality Aziziye Cultural Center, where Assoc. Prof. Dr. Fatih Hilmi Çetin from the Department of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry at the Faculty of Medicine, Selçuk University, was a speaker.

WE CARRY OUT MANY PROJECTS THAT WILL PROTECT OUR YOUNG PEOPLE FROM HARMFUL HABITS

Hasan Kılca, the Mayor of Karatay, who spoke at the opening of the program, emphasized that as Karatay Municipality, they have prepared joint protocols with both universities and many state institutions and organizations related to fight against addiction and the adaptation of citizens negatively influenced by this process to social life.

Hasan Kılca, the Mayor, said the following, “Addiction is a serious problem that threatens the future of not only Turkey or our city, but also whole the world, and all humanity. We, the Karatay Municipality, are carrying out many studies, including the cultural, social, and economic aspects of this struggle, especially by moving together with non-governmental organizations. We carry out projects that will direct our students to sports in our schools. We organize Summer Sports Schools programs, provide astroturf to all our schools and organize camps for our children in the summer. Again, our City Council organizes many programs for our youth. We, the municipality,  revived the art of wicker and basket weaving, which has a centuries-old history in our culture, in a neighborhood of Karatay, in cooperation with the KOP Regional Development Administration and İŞKUR (Turkish Employment agency). Even this project alone can be considered as an important achievement story for us in the fight against addiction. Baskets produced as a result of the courses we provide for our youth and citizens fighting against addiction have been demanded from many places, and we cannot be able to meet these demands at the moment. When these citizens earn money, they do not pick up bad habits. However, first of all, we should attach importance to preventive measures. Because after a person becomes addicted, the fight on this path becomes much more difficult. Therefore,  I think we can contribute to this fight with education and studies that will positively influence the future of our youth. In this regard, our education community, as well as parents, have huge responsibilities.”

WE BELIEVE THAT THERE SHOULD BE SOME CRITERIA IN THE MEDIA IN THE FIGHT AGAINST ADDICTION.

Mehmet Demirel, the President of Konya Association for Fight against Addiction, also thanked Karatay Municipality for their efforts in the organization of the program and wished the program to be fruitful.

Mehmet Demirel said the following: “Today, our young people encounter serious dangers. In this context, we attach great importance to the news and publications by the press. We believe that it is essential to be sensitive in the news, language, and publications and to have some criteria in this context. We, the Konya Association for Fight Against Addiction, are in an important endeavor in our city. When it comes to Karatay, we all act together. I would like to take this opportunity to thank Mr. Hasan Kılca, the Mayor of our Municipality, who has always been with us in this program and our fight."

THE MEDIA HAS GREAT RESPONSIBILITIES IN THE FIGHT AGAINST ADDICTION AND IN THE CREATION OF SOCIAL AWARENESS.

Assoc. Prof. Dr. Fatih Hilmi Çetin from the Department of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry at the Faculty of Medicine, Selçuk University, emphasized that addiction generally started due to wannabe, environment or psychological reasons in life.

Fatih Hilmi Çetin, who emphasized that the media has tremendous responsibilities to prevent addiction and to create social awareness in this fight, said the following: “The most important role of the press is to convey the social perception related to the fight against addiction to the society again. But above all, the press has a building role. The press and other related institutions can do this building on how society will perceive an issue. This issue is much more crucial in terms of addiction, because society may exclude the addicted individuals, marginalize them, or act as if it is not their problem, but if the press does its part, the society may consider this addiction as a disease and fight or contribute to overcome it.

It is essential to create a common language in this regard. Including the life stories of young people who have successfully survived by fighting against addiction will also be a glimmer of hope for our young people who continue this fight. Names or faces of the people fighting against that are also given almost without being hidden in the media. It negatively affects people's future lives as well. Of course, not only the media, but also people who are before the society, especially artists, need to be very careful in their expressions, actions, and works about addictive substances. In addition, the market value of the seized substances should not be mentioned in the main news bulletins, or I think that the news about these people should not be concerned with the fact that they have a life full of luxury and adventure. Therefore, it should be avoided to provide such information that will attract or encourage the attention of our youth.”

After the presentation of Assoc. Prof. Dr. Fatih Hilmi Çetin, the representatives of the media organizations participating in the program exchanged ideas by asking questions to Çetin on subjects they were curious about.