Today’s Zaman, Turkey
Nov 15 2008

Russian academic praises volunteers’ efforts for dialogue

Turkish educational volunteers who opened schools in Russia and around
the world have contributed a great deal to dialogue among nations,
Professor Rostislav Ribakov has said.

Speaking at a conference titled `Tolerance and Discrimination in
Education,’ held on Friday in the southern city of Antalya by the
Dialogue Eurasia (DA) Platform, Ribakov, the president of the Russian
Academy of Sciences Oriental Studies Institute and term president of
the DA platform, said the work of educational volunteers around the
world inspired by Fethullah Gülen — a well respected Turkish
scholar — greatly contribute to the establishment of dialogue in the
world, including Russia.

`I thank our Turkish colleagues. Their dynamism and their openness to
novelties contributed a lot to our platform. We should gather around
dialogue,’ he said. Noting that there has been a change in Turkey in
people’s attitudes toward foreigners in years, Ribakov said
educational activities carried out by the Gülen movement played
a role in this change. `If we have a look at the history books of our
day, we will see that hatred toward neighboring countries is gradually
vanishing.

Students have started to understand and like their neighbors," he
said, stressing that apart from private entrepreneurs, the Turkish
government has also taken significant steps in education. Ribakov
stated that if we look at education from Gülen’s perspective,
it would be seen that many promising projects are being conducted by
volunteers all around the world. Noting that the problem of education
is a problem of all humanity, Ribakov said this is a rather difficult
field, adding that we need to work hard to improve our relations with
neighboring countries. Efforts to establish dialogue are crucial for
humanity and the future of our children, Ribakov said, noting that the
DA platform will enlarge further with the participation of many other
countries, including India and China.

Turkish Education Minister Hüseyin �elik also delivered
a speech at the conference. "The greatest element that ties countries
and cultures is not railways, highways or airways, but bridges between
hearts. This bridge is built through dialogue," Ã?elik said,
adding that differences are a source of richness for
cultures. "Everyone is born different. No one is like another. Our
fingerprints and DNA are different. These differences should never be
a reason for conflict," he stated. Ã?elik noted that differences
within societies should be considered the different colors of a
rainbow.

Ã?elik also praised Turkish businessmen who have opened schools
in various countries around the world, aiming to strengthen Turkey’s
ties with these counties. "Many men have gone to countries throughout
the world and built schools there. These schools have become the
strongest bridges between cultures," he added.

Stating that there is significant trade potential between Russia and
Turkey and that a strong bridge of friendship has been built,
Ã?elik said dialogue does not mean abandoning your own beliefs
and customs. "Turkey has ties with Azerbaijan, Kyrgyzstan and
Kazakhstan. Its link with the Turkic world does not mean that it will
turn its back on the Islamic world or Eurasia. These are not
alternatives to each other. They all form an identity," he
said. Noting that humanity has advanced considerably since the time
when slavery, wars and violence dominated the world, he said further
advancement will be achieved through dialogue and that he is hopeful
about the future. "We cannot totally eliminate hatred from the world,
but we can divert it. We should hate injustice toward people and
fraud," he said.

Stating that the main purpose of education is to develop good traits
in people, Ã?elik said education can provide us with the ability
to respect each other by getting to know each other while preserving
our differences. "We cannot turn our back to any country whose
religion or regime we dislike. We should accept them as they are and
try to find a way to dialogue," he added.

Harun Tokak, the president of the Writers and Journalists’ Foundation
(GYV), noted that there are monuments to war heroes in the most
well-known squares in countries and said: "They are our heroes, of
course. But why do peacetime heroes not adorn the squares? We should
attach as much importance to peacetime heroes as war heroes." He also
added, "The DA platform should drive us to make peace with the
Armenians as well," he added.

Rybakov co-founded and presides over the DA platform, an NGO that has
brought together the foremost intellectuals in Eurasia for conferences
and symposiums since 1998. The platform describes its aim as to
"establish dialogue among the people of Eurasia and contribute to
their mutual understanding and living together in peace." The platform
is currently holding its latest symposium focusing on the topic of
"Tolerance and Discrimination in Education." in Antalya between
Nov. 14-16. The event brings together 160 intellectuals from Turkey,
Azerbaijan, Georgia, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Moldova, Uzbekistan, the
Russian Federation, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan and Ukraine to discuss
topics such as the conceptual analysis of tolerance and the
understanding of the concept of tolerance in different cultures,
education on tolerance in school curriculums in Eurasian countries and
education to combat discrimination and dangerous habits in
education. The platform is active in many Eurasian cities.

15 November 2008, Saturday
Å?ABAN GÃ`NDÃ`Z, TODAY’S ZAMAN WITH WIRES ANTALYA, Ä°STANBUL