Learning, discussing and innovating Turkish schools with the WYRED Project

Another success story from our Turkish partner Doga School, brought to us by the words of one of our young WYRED ambassadors:

I am Deniz Özkan, a high school student from Turkey. Since I was a child, I always dreamed to be someone able to produce new ideas. I love experimenting with different things, getting to know new people and learning in general. I love learning about different topics, hobbies etc.

I attended WYRED social dialogues and workshop because I thought it was a great idea. WYRED is a great platform to speak out, to share our projects and ideas, and to discuss them with like-minded people. I attended a WYRED session in 11 November 2017 and met great people. We discussed different kind of problems in today’s society. This was a great experience. I then thought about doing a project that could be beneficial to our world. I have read various scientific researches about Chlorella, a green algae. Eventually I decided to work on a zero-waste, 100% ecofriendly project that could help fight global warming and produce organic fertilisers at the same time. With the help of my biology teacher, Emine Eryılmaz, we carried out some research and experimented with Chlorella vulgaris. The idea was to use the Chlorella as a carbondioxide absorbant and then reuse it as a fertiliser. Our hypothesis was apparently correct and the model worked fine.

We attended 2 different national science contests, and we hope to attend more. I also hope to attend international contests and to introduce my project to the wider world. I am always open to starting new projects and constantly think of good ideas that could be useful and beneficial. Attending the project sessions and conferences was a major contribution to strengthening my self-confidence and to develop my creativity.

Projects such as WYRED are a great platform to meet new people and to exchange opinions and points of view. Another exciting aspect is that this is an international project. A similar example is the Demokleos project, which was great because we had the opportunity to visit the democracy capital of the world, Greece. We discussed democracy with other teens from different parts of the world. We voiced our opinions about democratic understanding in today’s world, the problems of it, how it can be improved etc. We also learned about cultures, traditions of other countries and made good friends. We also invited them come over to our country to continue the workshops and share some of our traditions with them.

These were great experiences. I hope to experience more, learn about other cultures, invent, produce things that can help other people. I am really grateful that I have great teachers, mentors and a great family that helped me to be who I am today. I had great opportunities and it really helped me become the person I am today.

My school (teachers, friends) always back me up and help me to turn my ideas into reality. My mentors, friends (some of them I met through these projects) are always there when I need some advice or feedback. Currently, I am working on few different projects, some which are still just ideas, I believe I can really be a good, innovative citizen for our world, thanks to all the people who helped me and these great experiences I had.

Deniz Özkan