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GLOBAL DECLARATION
BY “ISTANBUL INITIATIVE”
HOSTED BY GREEN CRESCENT
A
ttheevent,hostedbyGreenCrescent,
representatives of 21 leading NGOs
from 15 different countries, including
Sweden, Ghana, Italy and the United
States, came together on June 12–13. As
a result of the meeting, which was held
at the headquarters of Green Crescent
in Basketmakers’ Kiosk in Istanbul, a
newpagewas turned in the fight against
addiction. During the meeting, leading
NGOs operating in the field of addiction
shared their experiences and presented
their opinions and suggestions. It was
emphasized that urgent global action
should be taken to address addiction for
the sake of the health and welfare of all
humanity.
NGOs said “stop” to addictions with a
joint declaration
In the first session of the meeting,
whichwill be held in Istanbul every year,
the opinion leaders in the fight against
addiction around the world created
a global roadmap and prepared the
“Istanbul Initiative Declaration”.
Consisting of 15 articles, the declaration
called for all opinion leaders from
various groups, including sports, health,
youth and business, to change the social
norms, to prevent drug use and to build
healthy societies. The declaration also
confirmed the importance of recovery-
oriented care systems that offer a
comprehensive range of interventions,
ranging fromearly intervention to harm
reduction, and from rehabilitation to
reintegration. At a press conference
given at the meeting, the 2019 Drug
Report of the European Monitoring
Center for Drugs and Drug Addiction
was also addressed.
Representatives of 21 NGOs from 15
countries
The opening speech of the event was
delivered by Attorney Osman Baturhan
Dursun, Secretary General of Green
Crescent, followed by comments
from such prominent leaders as IOGT
President Kristina Sperkova from
Sweden; Founder and President of
KKAWF Cristina Von Sperling Afridi from
Pakistan; and Boro Goic of RUN from
Bosnia & Herzegovina. In addition to
Green Crescent, representatives of the
leadingorganizationsinthefightagainst
addiction, such as CADCA, CADFY, Drug
Policy Futures, EURAD, FORUT, IOGT,
KKAWF, RUN, San Patrignano, SCAD,
Sunny Trust Foundation, VALD, VNGOC
and WFAD attended the First Istanbul
Initiative Meeting.
“Green Crescent: World leader in the
fight against addiction”
Following the meeting, Green Crescent’s
General Manager Sultan Işık held
a press conference with Kristina
Sperkova, Cristina Von Sperling Afridi
and Boro Goic during which they
shared the declaration prepared
by common accord, and gave more
detailed information about the Istanbul
Initiative.
Stating that Green Crescent has been
taking on important functions and
responsibilities since the 2000s, Işık
said: Through Green Crescent Training
and Counseling Center (YEDAM),
which aims to come up with solutions
to the addiction-related problems of
our people, and which provides free
psychosocial support services to addicts
and their relatives, the effectiveworks of
Green Crescent have been disseminated
throughout the country. The number of
centers that have entered into service in
Turkey is increasing steadily. Through
our Green Crescent Counseling Centers,
we stand by our young people and
families, and look to create success
stories about the treatment of addiction
and the reintegration of individuals into
society.”
Green Crescent has spearheaded the formation of the Istanbul Initiative in an attempt to join forces with
like-minded organizations around the world in efforts to prevent addiction, to develop new methods and to
create a global strategy. At an event hosted by Green Crescent, representatives of 21 leading NGOs around
the world signed a joint declaration in which they pledged to combat addiction.
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