Istanbul Gelisim University - “Our aim is a sustainable world”

“Our aim is a sustainable world”

Sustainable Development Goals, which is a universal call for action that includes the goals aimed to be achieved by the United Nations (UN) member countries by the end of 2030, is again on the agenda with the ‘Sustainability Week’. Making statements on the Sustainability Week, Prof. Dr. Nail Öztaş said, “Human beings need to establish a way of life and a way of existence that is at peace with other living things, paying maximum attention to their right to exist and live. That's why sustainability is important. Our goal is a sustainable world.”

Emphasizing that the warnings made by climate scientists have already started to become real, Prof. Dr. Nail Öztaş said, “The difficulties, problems and troubles we have been experiencing in the world in recent years show us that scientists have made a very justified diagnosis for 20-30 years. Some predictions have been made by climate scientists, ecologists and environmental scientists for a long time, such as that by 2024, there will be droughts around the world, that water levels will rise, and that severe droughts and floods, and excessive precipitation may coexist in geographies that are close to each other at the same time. We have started to see floods, droughts and fires at the same time in these 2-3 last years.”

“WHY WE NEED TO CONSUME LESS”

Stating that the idea of sustainability should be established, Istanbul Gelisim University Rector Prof. Dr. Öztaş said, “Once we are all on the same page, have the same mentality and the same attitude, we can set up a sustainable society, a way of life, an economy and a social life. First of all, we need to understand why we need to keep global warming below a certain degree, why we need to prevent micro plastics, why we need to consume less.”

"Our aim is a sustainable world," said Prof. Dr. Öztaş and continued, “It is not possible to achieve this with individualist efforts alone. We must cooperate. We organize activities together with our various stakeholders on education, research and community service that will increase our awareness at the individual level.”

“HUMANITY’S NEEDS SHOULD NOT BE UNLIMITED, THEY CANNOT BE”

Prof. Dr. Nail Öztaş continued his speech as follows:
“One of the introductory sentences in almost all of the introductory books on economics is as follows; ‘People's needs are endless and their resources are scarce.’ It is not possible to establish a sustainable economy with such a definition. This is a very urgent issue on which mankind must agree. In this sense, educational studies, R&D, community service studies continue under the leadership of IGU Community Service Coordinator Asst. Prof. Aslıhan Güzin Selçuk.”

“HUMAN IS A CONTENTED BEING”

Stating that human is a contented being, Prof. Dr. Öztaş said, “Our aim is a sustainable world. We do not have the right to destroy all living things according to our own desires. This daily lifestyle needs to be established. This is a very urgent issue on which mankind must agree. In this sense, educational studies, R&D, community service studies, IGU Community Service Coordinator Asst. Prof. Aslıhan Güzin continues to work under the leadership of Selçuk.”

The statement about the activities and trainings held by the university during the Sustainability Week is as follows:

Starting the week by establishing 2 classrooms for special students in Edirne Mimar Sinan Secondary School, Istanbul Gelisim University Community Service Coordinator has organized a trekking in Beylikdüzü Yaşam Vadisi with Lect. Tekmil Sezen Göksu, Breathing and Awareness Training with Res. Asst. Binnur Güldalı, Healthy Nutrition Training with Spec. Dietician Dilara Serarslan and First Aid Training with Lect. Nurcan Esin.

Within the scope of "Sustainability Week", workshops such as Waste Conversion Workshop with Selma Sucu, Printing Workshop with Emine Kuşçul, Handmade Noodle Production Workshop with Lect. İbrahim Levent Demirçakmak, Sourdough Bread Making Workshop with Lect. Murat Mutlu Tokay, and the Medicinal Plants Workshop with Yunus Emre Erkli, Thrace Medicinal and Aromatic Plants partner.