Yücel: We Must Teach Peace to New Generations

Bahçeşehir University (BAU) Chair of the Board of Trustees Enver Yücel spoke at a meeting on "Entrepreneurs for Peace and Intercultural Approaches" held at the French National Assembly. Yücel said, "If we want peace, not a clash, of civilizations in the future, we must teach peace to new generations."

In his speech at the meeting held at the French National Assembly on "Entrepreneurs for Peace and Intercultural Approaches" , BAU Chair of the Board of Trustees Enver Yücel said: "As an education entrepreneur, I have pursued knowledge and science for years. The most important impression I have gained over the years is that developing a culture of living together is necessary and essential."

Emphasizing the importance of the "Alliance of Civilizations" project, co-chaired by Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, Enver Yücel stated that for this reason they had established Türkiye's first center for civilization studies at Bahçeşehir University. Giving information about the BAU Center for Civilization Studies, Yücel said: "The documentary 'The River Flowing from East to West' prepared here was broadcast on major television channels in many European countries, especially France and Germany. We were also very pleased that our documentary 'Turkish Passport', which tells of the events in Germany during the Holocaust, won first prize at the Israel Film Festival last month."

PROJECTS ALWAYS FOR PEACE

Also giving information about other projects carried out at Bahçeşehir University on "Peace and Intercultural Approaches", Enver Yücel said: "At the 'University Reform' conference we held together with the Aladdin project, we once again commemorated and brought to the agenda the Jewish scientists who made important contributions to Turkish higher education. Starting from the fact that the city of Istanbul, practically a laboratory of the culture of living together, has hosted many civilizations, we founded the 'BAU Voice of Civilizations Choir'. Bahçeşehir University will also contribute to the'Balkan Bridges Project', to be held in Edirne on 25 November, which will help ensure that what happened in the Balkans in our recent history never happens again and that the culture of living together is sustainable."

"WE MUST TEACH PEACE TO NEW GENERATIONS"

Underlining that there is still much to be done if we want peace, not a clash, of civilizations in the future, Enver Yücel said: "In my view, the most important thing is investment in the future, that is, in our children. I know what education changes and can change in the lives of individuals and societies. We must teach peace to new generations. We must stop sowing divisive seeds. We must make people understand that cultures and civilizations influence and complement each other, and that none is superior to another." Yücel said that offensive content should be removed from books and stated that businesspeople also have great responsibilities for peace.

Quoting famous French thinkers such as Louis Massignon and Henry Corbin throughout his speech, Enver Yücel concluded his remarks with poems by Rumi and Nazım Hikmet.