UN’s leadership training center opened in Istanbul

ISTANBUL

The United Nations Institute for Training and Research (UNITAR) has opened its 90th training center in cooperation with Istanbul’s Bahçeşehir University.

“It is an honor to open the center in an important region of the world. I was very impressed with the education system in Turkey. Of course, there are still bottlenecks and problems. Certainly, education in Turkey needs to be improved in less developed regions socio-economically,” said U.N. Deputy Secretary General Nikhil Seth in an opening ceremony at Bahçeşehir University’s campus in Istanbul’s Beşiktaş district on June 28.

“We will carry out many awareness activities in Istanbul, and today, we are opening the 90th center of CIFAL. We have centers in North/South America, Africa, Europe and Asia,” he added, referring to the “Centre International de Formation des Autorités et Leaders” (in French).

“As CIFAL, we will work with a more peaceful society by working with schools in Istanbul, working with the academic and business sector, and conveying our messages. We hope that with the cooperation of Bahcesehir University, CIFAL will provide the education I mentioned and realize the positive change we want to see in this region.”

Seth also said that the activities of the new center will focus on youth employment, environmental issues and developing the quality of education for the diplomats in the region and Turkey.

Enver Yücel, the chairman of Başakşehir University Board of Trustees, was granted the title of UNITAR International Training Center’s Country chairperson in the opening ceremony.

“The source of our success is that we have never compromised our principles of how we can carry our country and people to the next centuries,” Yücel said.

Citing the three main problems of the world today, he said: “The first is inequality of income and development. The second is environment and ethical values. The third is the culture of living together. The world cannot live together. We made the world a small village. We developed the technology, built all the bridges but we couldn’t build a bridge of hearts. For this, the main source is education. We want to provide an empathy culture to our children in education. Poverty and inequality of income are the most significant problems in the world. We want to eliminate this with education.”

CIFAL Istanbul Center will carry out activities, including workshops, seminars, conferences, side events and online courses, within the scope of the U.N.’s 2030 Sustainable Development Agenda, according to its statement.

Those development goals include providing fair quality in education, promoting lifelong learning, ensuring healthy living and well-being at all ages, achieving gender equality and empowering all women and girls.