The Tharwa Review

Technology empowers youth, youth will empower Turkey

Itir Akdogan

Helsinki - It is now easier to access information whenever you need it. You can find a hotel on an interactive map, and book a hotel room from anywhere in the world. You can pay a bill in the middle of the night in your pyjamas and share photos with friends around the globe, all in less than a second. One-third of the world's population has access to the websites that enable these processes through the internet. Amazing, isn't it?

It is also amazing because these hundreds of millions of dollars worth of tools are second nature to young people, and in many cases, it is individuals in their twenties who are driving these innovations. These young adults, born to the Information and Communication Technologies (ICT) generation, have focused their knowledge, energy and innovative ideas to make better use of online technology.

Young adults are the most important group in the networked society of our Information Age. They have grown up with information technology and, with this comfort-level and ability, they have developed from kids obsessed with video games to become technology experts and entrepreneurs.

~Youth Views~ Humanity doesn't change with geography

Pensee Afifi and Jane Slusark

Cairo/Iowa City, Iowa - The Arab world and the West represent two sides of the same coin. Though we are from different parts of the globe, we are two parts that make up a whole: we live in the same world. In that respect, though we all have our distinct cultures, it is worth remembering — and strengthening — our universal culture.

The most basic roots of global culture are derived from the fact that we, as humans, experience the same basic feelings — pain, love, anger, fear, etc. We all aspire to avoid pain and maximise pleasure. It is the existence of fear that holds us back from forming relationships or trusting another person, especially one we perceive as different from us. Our mutual understanding of how death, life, war and tragedy affect a person should be a platform upon which we can foster respect and friendship. No one wants to lose a son, a mother or a grandfather, so we should all be able to see the insanity of needless violence.

We also understand the personal connection a person has with his or her home or village — it would pain us to see it destroyed. But the shared culture of the world can become clouded through dehumanisation. War is only possible when we perceive the enemy as being less than human. The rhetoric of politics and overzealous leaders allows the mass populous to forget that they have the same heart as the person they "hate" across the border. If you strip away the external factors, what you have left is the same basic individual with the same basic needs.

KAZAK EXAM SCAMMERS OUTWIT OFFICIALS

Competition for subsidised places at university fuels entrance exam corruption.
By Anton Dosybiev in Almaty

Government controls are failing to prevent endemic corruption in the Kazak education system, with officials accepting bribes from secondary school students to let them pass a national test necessary for university admission.

The Unified National Test, UNT, which was established in Kazakstan four years ago in an attempt to introduce standardised and transparent assessment procedures, took place this year from June 12 to 15 at exam centres around the country.

A pass in the test is necessary for university entry, and with tough competition for state-funded places at universities, there is pressure on students to obtain as high a score as possible.

But despite the authorities’ attempts to control the test and prevent cheating, increasingly sophisticated scams are uncovered every year, with students being given more opportunities to pay to pass the exam.

Last year, a scandal emerged when information was leaked which threatened to undermine the integrity of the test.

In order to prevent a similar occurrence this year, answers to the UNT were publicly declared to be top secret and put on the register of secret documents of the Kazakstan National Security Committee, NSC.

At the same time, the director of the National Centre of State Standards for Education and Testing also reassured the public that safeguards had been put in place and that the education ministry would ensure that the integrity of the test would be protected.

DAGESTANI ACTIVISTS CONFRONT AIDS IGNORANCE

A pioneering group tries to turn around public attitudes on HIV-infection.
By Anya Zhuzhleva in Makhachakala

Introducing themselves, they give false names: Marat, Amina, Albina and Kazbek. The four form the backbone of the organisation SVOI (the Russian word means "our own" and is also an abbreviation for "freedom of expression of common interests".)

The quartet have sent themselves a breathtakingly difficult goal - to turn around public attitudes towards HIV-infection in one of Russia's most traditional and conservative regions, the mountainous autonomous republic of Dagestan.

After learning about their HIV diagnosis, Marat, Albina and Kazbek (Amina is not infected, but she is married to Marat) initially tried to cope with their problems on their own. They joined forces in May 2005 to found an organisation bringing together people diagnosed with HIV that aims to halt the spread of the infection and increase public awareness about it.

"Although the information about the infection and ways of contracting it are readily available, we constantly encounter ignorance about HIV," said Amina. "For instance, many believe that HIV-positive people cannot give birth to healthy children. But this isn't true! The family Marat and I have is proof of that - our three kids are absolutely healthy."

For HIV sufferers, a slight cold can be potentially fatal. "That is why when we come to beauty salons, saunas, restaurants and cafes, we check if the conditions are sanitary," said Amina. "We do this to reduce the risk of my husband and other guys catching diseases that are dangerous for them, rather than to prevent the spread of HIV."

The pattern of the disease is changing. Doctors say that HIV-infection in Dagestan is no longer a condition that affects only drug-addicts and prostitutes and that housewives are becoming infected as well.