international_green_crescent_journal

Taking all of these projects and

activities into consideration, it is safe

to say that they will stand out in the

international arena and can serve as a

model for other countries.

Throughout its projects, Green

Crescent teams up with Turkish

and foreign people to include them

in the fight against addiction.

What does this strategy of Green

Crescent bring, especially in terms

of addiction prevention?

We believe that the only way to raise

the bright and healthy generations we

crave is to make sure that everyone,

from the ages of 7 to 70, is a part of

the fight. The participation of all

layers of society, especially young

people, in the fight against addiction

is very important to us. With this

approach, we aim to include our

young people, athletes, artists, media

members, community leaders and

role models in the international

and national projects we develop

in our fight against addiction. For

example through Green Crescent’s

International Cartoon Contest we

included world famous cartoonists

in our fight against addiction, and

thanks to our Healthy Generation,

Healthy Future talent contest, we

managed to raise awareness of the

benefits of healthy living among high

school, middle school and primary

school students. The activities of such

clubs as My Club: Green Crescent,

university clubs and scout camps have

turned everyone, including children

and young people, into a valuable part

of our fight against addiction. To be

honest, just like everything else, a fight

without participation, contribution

and support of people would be

incomplete. I believe we will succeed

in our fight against this complex and

multidimensional problem only to

the extent to which we can get people

involved around the world.

From a global standpoint, where

does Green Crescent stand on the

fight against addiction? And can you

tell us about its relationship with

the authorities in its fight against

addiction? What does the Green

Crescent want to achieve globally in

the future?

I would like to remind once again that

Green Crescent is an NGO that was

founded with great foresight in an age

when addiction was perhaps never

discussed. It should also be noted that

we have expanded greatly in our efforts

to use and enhance this accumulation

of knowledge.

We have taken significant steps to

introduce our fight against addiction

to the world and to take on the role of a

global leader. The most important step

in this regard was to unite the National

Green Crescents so as to spread our

fight against addiction to different

countries around the world under

the umbrella of a federation. This

allowed us to carry our fight against

addiction to miscellaneous societies,

stretching from Africa to Europe, and

from North America to the Far East.

We offer our support to increasing the

number and effectiveness of National

Green Crescents. While sharing our

knowledge and experience with the

world, we continue to spread our fight

against addiction to a wider audience

in Turkey and to strengthen our

organization.

As Green Crescent, the other steps

we take include participating in

meetings, conferences and congresses

on addiction organized by esteemed

authorities

around

the

world,

successfully representing Turkey.

Furthermore, we gather international

authorities

together

for

such

symposiums as the 2nd International

Symposium on Drug Policy and

Public Health, held in November

2018, and organize awareness raising

competitions such as the International

Green Crescent Cartoon Contest.

Besides being a Member of the

Board of Directors of Europe Against

Drugs (EURAD), Green Crescent is

also a member of other significant

associations, such as the European

Alcohol Policy Alliance (EUROCARE);

the International Society for the Study

of Drug Policy (ISSDP); the Vienna NGO

Committee – a non-governmental

network of the United Nations Office

on Drugs and Crime (UNODC); and the

International Drug Policy Consortium

(IDPC). We annually attend and

make a speeches at the meetings of

the Commission on Narcotic Drugs

organized by the United Nations Office

on Drugs and Crime (UNODC).

With the aim of reaching target

groups with its activities and services,

Green Crescent is working hard to

develop strong collaborations, to

expand its civil society network, and

to maintain its position as an expert

and opinion leader in the national and

international arena.

What message would you want

to give to the world and our

society regarding the fight against

addiction?

Regardless of the society of which

you are a part, addiction is a problem

that is to be avoided, and is to be seen

and faced up to. Yet, we may be able

to put up a stronger fight if we accept

that addiction is a problem that we

already have in our lives, and that can

touch any of us. This problem that

surrounds us, however, lacks social

acceptance, which hampers us in

our fight; therefore, we should try to

find solutions instead of ignoring the

problem. To address this problem,

which has evolved into a global one,

we need more collaborations and

projects in the fields of prevention,

intervention and rehabilitation. It is

of utmost importance that all parts

of society strive to provide a good and

healthy life, which is the common goal

around the world. We will continue to

do our best to achieve this goal, both

nationally and internationally.

We have taken significant

steps to introduce our

fight against addiction

to the world and to take

on the role of a global

leader. The most important

step in this regard was to

unite the National Green

Crescents so as to spread

our fight against addiction

to different countries

around the world under the

umbrella of a federation.