The projects to be carried out in cooperation with the Near East University Lifelong Education Center and the Prime Ministry Anti-Drug Commission were announced at the press conference held at Near East University. Projects were collected under the headings; “Family – Child Awareness Program to Prevent Digital Addiction in Children”, “Are you Addicted to Food?” and “We are Raising Independent Individuals!”.
The Prime Ministry Anti-Drug Commission and the Near East University Lifelong Education Center (YABEM) announced that they will continue their cooperation in the fight against addiction with three new projects announced. The projects announced at the press conference held at the Near East University will cover digital-technology addiction, food addiction and human addiction in children.
As a result of the projects that will continue for a year, a comprehensive guide will be prepared to raise awareness for children of different age groups and parents, and will be delivered to all students on the island with the support of the Ministry of National Education.
The first project is to fight digital addiction
The first of the projects, the results of which will be shared with the public within a year, starting in November 2021, will be the “Family – Child Awareness Program for the Prevention of Digital Addiction in Children”. Within the scope of the program, experts from different faculties of Near East University will carry out activities such as theater, creative drama, fairy tale, nature walk and painting workshops together with primary school students. With the activities to be carried out, it is aimed that children get to know different fields and discover their own interests and abilities. In the second phase of the project, seminars will be given to parents to raise awareness in order to prevent digital addiction.
The prevalence of food addiction in the TRNC will be investigated
The second project, which will also be carried out in two phases, will be about food addiction. “Are you Addicted to Food?” In the first phase of the project, which will be carried out under the title of “Adolescents, a scientific research process will be carried out in order to find out the level of food addiction”. The relationship between technology addiction and food addiction will also be investigated with the scientific project in which the course of food addiction in the TRNC will be investigated. In the second stage, awareness training will be given to children and parents about eating disorders in the light of scientific studies.
Addiction to people is a rising danger!
The third project to be carried out in cooperation with the Near East University Lifelong Education Center and the Prime Ministry Anti-Drug Commission is “We are Raising Independent Individuals!” The title will be about human addiction. In the project, informative trainings on human addiction will be given to the parents of the students studying at pre-school, primary, secondary and high school levels. In the seminars, which will cover all regions of the island, awareness will be raised by providing training on human addiction, risks, and measures to be taken to prevent human addiction.
At the press conference where the details of the projects were announced, Near East University Vice-Rector Assoc. Prof. Dr. Murat Tüzünkan, Director of the Near East University Lifelong Education Center Assoc. Prof. Dr. Çiğdem Hürsen and Chairman of the Prime Ministry Anti-Drug Commission Hasan Karaokçu delivered speeches regarding the ongoing process of the projects.
Assoc. Prof. Dr. Murat Tüzünkan: “We are ready to provide all kinds of support for our children and youth to grow up as healthy, self-confident individuals who can protect themselves from addictions.”
Reminding that they have signed important collaborations with the Prime Ministry Anti-Drug Commission to protect children and youth from negative habits and addictions, Near East University Vice-Rector Assoc. Prof. Dr. Murat Tüzünkan said, “We are proud to implement three new projects with the Prime Ministry Anti-Drug Commission in order to prevent all kinds of addictions that will negatively affect the development of our youth and to give them a new life. We work hard to raise our students at all levels, from preschool to university, as healthy, self-confident and successful individuals.” Tüzünkan continued as follows; “As Near East University, we are ready to provide all kinds of support for our children and youth to grow up as healthy, self-confident individuals who can protect themselves from addictions. At this point, the projects developed in cooperation with our Lifelong Education Center, the Prime Ministry, the Anti-Drugs Commission and the Ministry of National Education and Culture will play a very important role.”
Hasan Karaokçu: “We will achieve important objectives for our children and our future, and we will make a nice progress.”
Reminding that with the “We Protect Our Children from Virtual Enemies” project, which they carried out in cooperation with Near East University last year, Hasan Karaokçu, Chairman of the Prime Ministry Anti-Drugs Commission, they achieved very beneficial results and said, “Scientific studies will be carried out in 2022 together with the Near East University, with which we have been in cooperation for years, and we will be involved in useful projects”.
Saying that children surrendered to technology during the COVID-19 period, Karaokçu emphasized that children and their families were seriously damaged psychologically in many ways. Hasan Karaokçu, who said that three scientific projects to be implemented with the support of the Near East University Lifelong Education Center and the Ministry of National Education and Culture will create a significant awareness in the fight against developing technology addiction, eating disorders and human addictions in children and young people. Karaokçu said “This will be a first in the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus. I think that we will get important results for us, our children and our future, and we will make a nice progress.”
Assoc. Prof. Dr. Çiğdem Hürsen: “Technology, food and person addictions are just as dangerous as drug addiction.”
Expressing that they found out as a result of the project “We are Protecting Our Children from Virtual Enemies” that children are seriously addicted to technology, which they completed a few months ago, Near East University Lifelong Education Center Director Assoc. Prof. Dr. Çiğdem Hürsen said, “We aim to touch the lives of our youth and their families with these three new projects, in which we will seek ways to fight by raising awareness about technology addiction, food addiction and addiction to people, which are increasing with the COVID-19 process.” Emphasizing that technology, food and person addictions are at least as dangerous as drug addiction, Assoc. Prof. Dr. Hürsen said that the projects that will prepare guide programs by working with adolescent children and families across the island will start as of November 2021 and be completed within a year.