"Environment Builds Bridges - Çevrecilikle Kurulan Köprüler"
- Written by Portal Editor
A few weeks ago we received an email with the following content from Mrs. Kirsten Ettrich-Örtel from Özel Antalya Koleji, which we are happy to reproduce in the original wording, because our subsequently agreed visit to this school and the integration into the event there could not have been initiated any better:
I got to know you last year at your presentation at the German regulars' table in Antalya. At the time, they spoke about a project (in cooperation with the Goethe-Institute) to raise awareness among the Turkish population for their historical heritage through bicycle tours on ancient Roman trade routes and events at strategically important points. That really impressed me at the time and I thought your idea was very original. Has anything concrete come up in this regard?
I lead a German-Turkish environmental project called 'Environment builds bridges' at Antalya Koleji, which was launched by the German Federal Foundation for the Environment (DBU) and other major institutions in Germany. In the course of this, young people on both sides explore an intercultural and an environmental topic together. We work together with a high school in Osnabrück, which we visited in February. Our research topic was 'waxed corpses in German cemeteries', which was democratically selected by the students from the DBU topics. Our first product is a page in our partner newspaper SABAH, which I am forwarding to you as an attachment.
The return visit to Antalya will take place in May. The theme to be explored is 'Sustainable Tourism' and 'Germans in the Antalya Region' (life, German community, difficulties etc.). For the latter I am looking for information and numbers. Do you have any information about the community in Alanya or could you name a contact person who could help me?
After a few follow-up emails and a detailed phone call, a visit to the Özel Antalya Koleji was agreed, which, in addition to the project presentation "Understanding and cultural journey along Roman roads" here with the topic "Sustainable alternative tourism for the preservation of cultural heritage in Turkey", a short presentation on Germans in the Antalya region as well as the presentation of the project caravan. Ms. Kirsten Ettrich-Örtel: "I think the idea of having a caravan in the school is a good one! The students would definitely like it."
And so it was. After the presentations and lunch together, the Turkish group gathered outside at the project trailer for an interview.
Figures and data on Germans in the Antalya region were relatively easy to obtain from the responsible office in Alanya for a fee of 10 TL, although we were absolutely surprised by the sharp increase in foreign settlers, especially German immigrants, in 2013. After the hitherto applicable peak with more than 10,000 Germans in 2006, who not only lived as pensioners in Alanya, but also did a wide range of business activities, there were at least 99 companies and shops (from heating plumbers to bakers) in German hands.
Hasan Sipahioglu - Mayor of Alanya at the time
As a long-term resident of Alanya, many other details from one's own environment and the corresponding publications in local media were of course known, so that quotations and other data could be included.
Back then, in 2006, Hasan Sipahioglu (Mayor of Alanya) said: "I like the Germans. They are an 'easy' people. You just have to treat them well and be clean".
Many laws have been passed specifically because of the Germans, for example the residents have to paint their houses and put-up garbage cans. Stray dogs and cats were no longer allowed to be shot or poisoned in Alanya.
In the inner city, the streets were straightened and the curbs lowered. Thanks to Hasan Sipahioglu, there is an ordinance that prohibits retailers and restaurateurs from drawing passers-by into the store. "The Turks are different from the Europeans," said the mayor. "I want to unite Turkish culture with European culture. The Germans think it's nicer."
Hasan Sipahioglu also says frankly that he has always admired the Germans. Because where they are, things work. The Germans have become a kind of talisman for him. You can get rich just by being around them. He saw the Turks who went to Germany to work and eventually came to visit with big cars. He saw the Germans buying houses and apartments here in Alanya. "I knew that if the Germans were doing well here, we would always be fine," said Hasan Sipahioglu.
There is a complaints office and an advisory board for foreigners in the town hall. This advisory board was and is so far the only existing and active advisory board of a city administration in Turkey.
At that time, invitations to a first meeting were sent to all foreigners who owned property in the Alanya district (almost 3,000 German property owners in Alanya alone). More than 600 people from different nations showed great interest in this idea. From this large group, a group of 20 people was selected with the consent of all those present who met certain criteria for being active as a member of the Foreigners' Advisory Board.
This included, among other things, basic knowledge of the Turkish language, the person concerned had to have lived in Alanya for at least three to five years and spend a large part of the year here.
In this original group were nations like Germany, Holland, Denmark, England, Belgium, Sweden, Switzerland, Austria, Norway and Finland represented.
The reasons that led to the founding of the Advisory Board for Foreigners can be summarized as follows: Promotion of communication between residents living in Alanya and the city of Alanya, facilitating the integration of this population group.
Promotion and expansion of international relations.
Announcement of Turkish culture and local social life to reduce any fears or reservations.
Research and development of ways that facilitate the harmonious coexistence of people from different nations.
Benefit from the experiences of different cultures.
Identifying and solving the problems faced by residents in Alanya,
Announcement of the city administration and its services in this target group.
The tasks of the Foreigners Advisory Board of the City of Alanya are generally:
Information services and assistance with problems and other concerns that may affect residents living in Alanya as well as tourists.
Assisting in taking care of foreign groups visiting Alanya.
Presentation of their new centre of life in their countries of origin.
Enrichment of cultural life in Alanya.
Explanation of the rights and obligations that also apply to residents living here, e.g. property taxes, health care expenses, paying the bill for telephone, water and electricity, land registry entries and residence permits.
Explaining the differences between Turkish laws and those of their country of origin, etc., and helping them to comply with them.
The first questions from the group arise: why, after the introduction of all these positive institutions, did the numbers of German settlers initially decline again?
The answers to this are complex. A major problem was providing for the older settlers in the event that they needed nursing services, because there are still neither outpatient nor inpatient nursing services in the city, which is clearly related to the Turkish attitude towards the issue of work permits. Another point was the problems with health insurance, but also the continuously rising cost of living. Only with the extreme drop in the exchange rate of the Turkish lira in 2013 did the number of residents living here rise sharply again.
Sustainable alternative tourism to preserve cultural heritage in Turkey
After the lunch break, the concept of the project "Understanding and cultural journey along Roman roads" followed against the background of the promotion of sustainable tourism concepts, which would open up a multitude of possibilities for the Antalya area and at the same time would support the preservation and care of cultural assets. Above all, this would support the local population significantly more with regard to new tasks and sources of income than continuing to rely on five-star all-inclusive.
With only little financial effort, hiking and cycling paths (using the typical goat paths) could be created to places of cultural and historical significance, which, in addition to the creation of overnight accommodation in private guesthouses, would also require camping sites for multi-day hikers or bikers and thus involve the local population. Concepts of this kind would also help to curb future destruction by treasure hunters, as illustrated in the images of the lecture using the example of the destruction of a Roman mosaic or the Roman cistern in Hamaxia.
At the end of the lecture, the group gathered around Mrs. Kirsten Ettrich-Örtel for an interview at the caravan, where the planned route was explained again. A large number of questions from the interviewer could hopefully contribute to the overall significance of our project. We are already looking forward to the publication in the new issue of the student journalists.
"Environment Builds Bridges - Çevrecilikle Kurulan Köprüler"
is a German-Turkish environmental education project of the German Federal Foundation for the Environment (DBU), Osnabrück, in cooperation with the Institute for the Objectification of Learning and Examination Procedures (IZOP), Aachen, and the Center for Environmental Communication (ZUK) of the DBU, Osnabrück.
The student exchange and media project on the subject of "environment and sustainability", which also includes intercultural aspects, is being funded by the DBU with around 1.5 million euros over a total of five years (2011-2016). Patrons are the President of the Turkish Republic, Abdullah Gül, and the German Federal President, Joachim Gauck.
A total of around 1,200 pupils from up to ten bilateral school partnerships visit each other and, like journalists, research current environmental issues and intercultural case studies in the region of the host school. The student journalists write about the researched environmental topics and publish the articles in well-known daily newspapers and on the Internet.
The main goals of the project are to introduce young people to current environmental issues, raise environmental awareness, promote so-called design skills, strengthen intercultural skills and strengthen media skills and reading. As a large environmental foundation, environmental education is the main concern of the DBU. Therefore, the exciting and current environmental research topics as well as the environmental education and environmental communication offers are of particular importance in the project. Against the background of a holistic environmental education, the strengthening of intercultural competence as well as media competence and reading promotion are further project goals.
Partner Schools: Ozel Antalya Koleji and Gymnasium "In der Wüste" Osnabrück
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