‘Youth Declaration’ for refugee children
Almost 90 students from different countries came together at Izmir University of Economics (IUE) to find solutions for problems the refugee children are experiencing. Students from Portugal, Spain, Greece, and Turkey, as part of the “See like a Child” project, launched by IUE Faculty of Communication last year, developed a “Youth Declaration” to help minimize the problems faced by refugee children.
Students came together with Syrian refugee children at the “Dialogue Week” supported by Izmir Chamber of Commerce, UNICEF, Konak Municipality, and Maya Foundation, initiated as part of the “European Union Erasmus +KA347 Structured Dialogue Projects Grant”. Participants listened to the experiences of the children, and played games with them. Students, who held workshops, developed a youth declaration to be shared with national and international decision makers. The Declaration includes:
“A guidebook should be prepared on existing services (health, education, safety, etc.) especially for refugee children. Each refugee family should be provided a health services card with which they can receive health services free in order to prevent child death ratio and children’s diseases. Number of language courses should be increased so that refugees can share their concerns clearly and receive services better. Lobbying procedures should be carried out for individual enterprises in order to get state aid. Idea boards should be prepared to find out ideas of university students about refugee issues. Schools should become refugee friendly. Events should be held where Turkish and Syrian students come together for a peaceful atmosphere. Awareness should be raised to monitor rights and violations.”