The Families at University Project, following the pilot implementation, will be expanded in scope and implemented in Pendik district with the “Prevention of Interpersonal Violence: Transparent View” project. The Families at University Social Innovation Project Collaboration Meeting was held under the leadership of Pendik Mayor Ahmet Cin, Pendik District Governor Dr. Hülya Kaya, and Üsküdar Üniversitesi Founding Rector Prof. Dr. Nevzat Tarhan. During the meeting, where the project team was also present and the importance of family was emphasized, Prof. Dr. Nevzat Tarhan said, “Family means homeland, and homeland means family. Laying a good foundation in society is only possible through the family. The family is the cradle for raising good people.”
Üsküdar Üniversitesi, with its implementation partner NPİSTANBUL Beyin Hastanesi, is expanding the impact of its ‘Families at University’ Project, which it has been carrying out for some time. The project, which aims to create the “Conscious Individual, Healthy Family, Strong Society” model encompassing protective, preventive, and rehabilitative activities based on scientific studies, is reaching more people every day.
The project, which successfully completed pilot studies with the District Governorships of Istanbul Pendik, Üsküdar, Gaziosmanpaşa, and Eyüpsultan, will now be implemented in a more comprehensive manner for Pendik. The project team met with the administrators of Pendik District for the “Prevention of Interpersonal Violence: Transparent View” project.
The ‘Families at University Social Innovation Project Collaboration Meeting’, held in the Üsküdar Üniversitesi Senate Hall, was attended by Üsküdar Üniversitesi Founding Rector and Chairman of the Board of Trustees Prof. Dr. Nevzat Tarhan, Pendik Mayor Ahmet Cin, Pendik District Governor Dr. Hülya Kaya, as well as project executives Fırat Tarhan, Dr. Semra Baripoğlu, Specialist Psychologist Çiğdem Demirsoy, Specialist Psychologist Özgenur Taşkın, and the project teams of the parties.
In the program moderated by Project Consultant Dr. Nebiye Yaşar, Specialist Psychologist Çiğdem Demirsoy first made a general presentation regarding the Families at University project.
Dr. Semra Baripoğlu: “Violence is a societal health problem”
Emphasizing that they carry out their work with the aim of strengthening marriage, Assistant Professor Dr. Semra Baripoğlu from NPİSTANBUL Beyin Hastanesi stated that they aim to rid society of violence. Evaluating the “Prevention of Interpersonal Violence: Transparent View” project, Baripoğlu used the expressions, “We aim to reduce the phenomenon of violence and raise awareness that violence is a societal health problem.”
Fırat Tarhan: “Data reveals the need for the project”
At the collaboration meeting, Families at University Project Coordinator Fırat Tarhan shared the project’s work carried out to date along a timeline. Tarhan specifically conveyed the data obtained regarding Pendik District during the pilot implementations, emphasizing that the results highlight the need for the project.
Dr. Hülya Kaya: “We should strengthen the family, not break it apart”
At the meeting where Pendik District Governorship Project Coordinator Ömer Kurddan conveyed data regarding Pendik district, Pendik District Governor Dr. Hülya Kaya drew attention to the importance of preventive services. Dr. Hülya Kaya said, “People are in distress. They cannot express the difficulties they experience to their surroundings, not even to themselves. And they incredibly don’t know where to go. There is tension at home, there is a problem. Family is very important. In any problem, we put children in orphanages, and women, as victims of violence, in shelters. We also remove the man. So, we shatter everything. And then we say we are doing everything perfectly. We looked after the woman, looked after the child in the best way, and removed the man. We did our duty as the state. But there are so many broken, so many hurt individuals left. In fact, we have done nothing. Looking at what came before, we are doing nothing. Unions and others are holding demonstrations. If we want to protect women, if we want to protect children, intervention is needed here. Preventive services must be provided. From the field, this is the biggest deficiency. We are not doing anything to strengthen the family. Otherwise, when the family breaks apart, we lose the children too. We cannot raise healthy individuals. We should strengthen the family, not break it apart.”
Ahmet Cin: “A project that will be a remedy, an ointment for our helplessness”
Pendik Mayor Ahmet Cin, on the other hand, pointed out that they sometimes experienced difficulties in meeting every request conveyed to them during field studies. Cin, stating that they sometimes felt helpless in the face of violence and family-related problems, noted that he believes this project will be a remedy, an ointment for these desperations. Believing the work to be a beneficial project for the country, society, and individuals, Cin also stated that the Municipality would provide all the support they could.
Prof. Dr. Nevzat Tarhan: “Children need secure attachment, a refuge”
Speaking last at the meeting, which was also attended by Mehtap Cin, wife of Pendik Mayor Ahmet Cin, Üsküdar Üniversitesi Founding Rector and Chairman of the Board of Trustees Prof. Dr. Nevzat Tarhan stated that this project would be a reference work in this field.
Stating that they aim to do good work with good intentions and good efforts, Tarhan reminded a Chinese proverb and made the following assessments: “If you want a short-term investment, plant wheat; if you want a 10-year investment, plant trees; if you want a 50-100 year investment, raise people. The most fundamental environment for raising people is the family. Recent developments in Neuro-science, in particular, also show this. The 0-3 age period is very important in a child's development. The information a child learns between 0-3 years is more than the information learned after three years old. Standing up, eating, drinking, love, humanity…etc. all fundamental personality traits are established at that age. After that, other skills develop upon it. The 0-3 age period also means the environment in which the child grows up. It means where they feel safe and where they feel attachment. If they cannot feel it, secure attachment does not form. Children need secure attachment, a refuge. Therefore, laying a good foundation means family.”
Prof. Dr. Nevzat Tarhan: “Being a parent means determining the future!”
In his speech, Tarhan drew attention to studies on household fragility in environments where the family is weakened, mentioning a study that compared the ratio of 5-person households to single-person households between 1994-2016. Tarhan said: “We see a significant decrease in the proportion of 5-person households. Single-parent, single households are also increasing here. Single-parent households are around 59%. In Sweden and Norway, Iceland too, if I remember correctly, it’s 69%. All are over 50%. Children are largely raised by the state. But the secure attachment provided by motherhood is not consistently stable. In some families, we observe that the mother and child are in the same house, but the mother doesn't care for or love the child. We call this 'abandonment without distance'. They don't know motherhood, they don't know fatherhood. Family means that parents determine the future. Not just the mother, not just the father. It is necessary to keep the concept and values of family alive. When we say family is the last refuge, the biggest problem of the 21st century is anomie, meaning loss of meaning. Compared to previous centuries, there were social norms. Societal rules, the neighborhood, the public, society would say 'don't do that, son, don't do that, daughter'. Such social norms protected the child. But now those social norms are gone. Not only in Turkey, but globally, social norms have disappeared thanks to communication. What remains are family norms, and it is necessary to protect family norms. For investment in the future. Future investment policies are needed for these. Family norms are also related to spiritual and material accumulations. These needs arise from such necessities. This need will increase even further in the next 5 to 10 years.”
Prof. Dr. Nevzat Tarhan: “The family is the cradle for raising good people”
Prof. Dr. Nevzat Tarhan, drawing attention to global problems regarding the family, warned that there is a global perception that 'no investment is made in an institution with a 50% divorce rate,' and that this situation will lead to lost generations. Tarhan made the following assessments: “In the coming years, when they see lost generations, they will say that family was important. This project we are carrying out with Pendik is very important. It will be a reference-setting project. A lot of effort has been put in, the team worked very hard. By the project name ‘Transparent’, we mean; open, transparent, everyone sees each other, family relationships are open. If there are honest relationships, if there are accountable relationships, they become complementary relationships. Being successful in the family is the first condition for being successful in life. Recently, we had a protocol with Kazakhstan. A professor there said, 'There is a Kazakh proverb: ‘Love of homeland begins in the family’.' It is truly so. Love of homeland is taught in the family. Think of the 'hennaed lambs' in Çanakkale… It would not be otherwise than 'independence or death'. This has a very close relationship with strong faith. It also needs to be taught to children. And its home is the family. It is the home for raising good people. The family is no longer sufficient, the state will do it. Currently, families are not as sufficient as before. A child takes three things as an example; the mother, the father, and their relationship… If their relationship is healthy, the child grows up comfortably.”