University Students Competed for Addiction Awareness

A “Youth and Independence Summit” was organized by the Young Green Crescent Club, operating within the Health, Culture and Sports (SKS) Department of Üsküdar University. Within the scope of the summit, a short film launch and award ceremony were held. At the summit, which brought together students from different universities around the theme of fighting addiction, short films prepared by young people met with the audience, and works aimed at raising awareness about addiction were evaluated by the jury. The aim of the summit was to increase young people's awareness in the fight against addiction, strengthen healthy lifestyle consciousness, and encourage them to participate in social responsibility activities. 

The event, held at the Nermin Tarhan Conference Hall of the Üsküdar University Central Campus, was attended by the President of Üsküdar University, Psychiatrist Prof. Nevzat Tarhan, Samet Koca, President of the Young Green Crescent of the Turkish Green Crescent Society, Hüseyin Emre Yüksel, Volunteer Management Director of Green Crescent, Sadık Paksoy, Head of the Health, Culture and Sports (SKS) Department, as well as academicians and students.

Within the scope of the program, the Young Green Crescent Communities of Bursa Technical University, Sakarya University, Sakarya University of Applied Sciences, Istanbul Aydın University, and Bursa Uludağ University also participated in the summit with their works. 

Prof. Nevzat Tarhan: “These four pillars must be managed together”

Delivering the opening speech of the summit, the President of Üsküdar University, Psychiatrist Prof. Nevzat Tarhan, emphasized the importance of preventive work, stating that the fight against addiction is not solely about the treatment process. Tarhan said; “There are four pillars in the fight against addiction. The first is what we call primary prevention, which is what needs to be done to keep healthy people from getting sick. The second is secondary prevention, which involves identifying risk groups and ensuring they receive early diagnosis and treatment. The third is clinical treatment, and the fourth is rehabilitation aimed at preventing relapse in addicted patients. Because there are patients who have been hospitalized twenty times within a year. So, rehabilitation is important. These four pillars must be managed together.”

“It is necessary to choose the attachment object correctly”

Tarhan spoke about the importance of attaching to social values; “Human nature is not suited to being independent. Humans have an attachment gene, an attachment hormone. This attachment hormone, called oxytocin, is secreted highest in mothers, especially breastfeeding mothers. It appears at the highest level in the relationship between child and mother. Therefore, it is necessary to choose the attachment object correctly. A person who cannot attach to their mother, father, or social values, to society, attaches to substances. In fact, this disease is not an addiction but an attachment disorder.”

“Digitalization provided a superficial attachment”

Underlining the need for secure attachment, Tarhan stated; “When the human brain does not meet its need for attachment, it searches for an attachment object, and when it cannot find it, it attaches to substances. Therefore, it is necessary to find objects for secure attachment. Currently, this digitalization negatively affects this. That is, digitalization provided a superficial connection, but more accurately, it failed to provide attachment. Because there are fake relationships, and friendships are also fake. There is also a reality created by artificial intelligence. They call this reality the fourth reality. The boundaries of reality have been disrupted. The boundaries of good-bad, right-wrong have been disrupted. The boundaries between imagination and reality have been disrupted. We have started to encounter cases of artificial intelligence psychosis.”

The Young Green Crescent umbrella holds great value for social awareness

Samet Koca, President of the Young Green Crescent of the Turkish Green Crescent Society, also stated in his speech that the youth activities of Green Crescent are strengthening every year. Drawing attention to the importance of preventive activities in the fight against addiction, Koca said that the participation of young people under the Young Green Crescent umbrella holds great value for social awareness.

Young People Made the Ideal of Independent Living Visible Through Art

Elif Naz İşbakan, President of Üsküdar University Young Green Crescent Club, stated that the event was not merely a competition but aimed to make young people's sense of social responsibility and their ideal of independent living visible through art. İşbakan said that the gathering, which took place with the participation of Young Green Crescent teams from different universities, would contribute to strengthening cooperation and awareness among young people.

The messages young people convey play an important role

Özlem Şimşek, Research Assistant Dr. in the Department of Chemical Engineering at the Faculty of Engineering and Natural Sciences, and Advisor to the Young Green Crescent Club, stated that awareness is an important force in the fight against addiction. Şimşek expressed that the messages conveyed by young people from their own perspectives would make significant contributions to creating social consciousness and wished for a healthy and conscious future.

Universities Presented Their Short Films

Within the scope of the summit, short films prepared by the Young Green Crescent Clubs of Bursa Technical University, Bursa Uludağ University, Sakarya University, Sakarya University of Applied Sciences, and Istanbul Aydın University were screened.

The films covered topics such as substance addiction, technology addiction, gambling addiction, family relationships, peer influence, and social awareness. Following the screenings, students shared the preparation process of their films and the messages they wanted to convey with the participants.

Attention Drawn to the Social Impacts of Addiction

Within the scope of the program, awareness videos on the devastating effects of addiction on individuals and families were also shared with the participants.

After the screening, Sadık Paksoy, Head of the Health, Culture and Sports (SKS) Department of Üsküdar University, made evaluations, pointing out that addiction is an important problem affecting not only the individual but also the family and society. Paksoy emphasized the importance of young people taking a more sensitive and active role in the fight against addiction. 

Awards Found Their Owners

Following the screenings, as a result of evaluations made by the jury members, Bursa Technical University was awarded the “Jury Special Award.”

Bursa Uludağ University was the recipient of the “Best Film” award.

Speaking at the award ceremony, the students expressed their satisfaction that their works, prepared to draw attention to the effects of addiction on individuals and families, were appreciated.

The program concluded after the award presentations and a group photo session.