SCOLAR Network SCOLAR 2023-04-23 20:32
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On April 19th, SCOLAR Network held the “Dialogue on Strengthening Global Governance in Response to Catastrophic Earthquake in Turkey and Syria”. The event was co-organized with Alkhidmat Foundation Pakistan and Turkish Youth Association.
The dialogue focused on strengthening global governance and how the world can be more resilient to catastrophic disasters. Speakers also shared their ground experience in Turkey and Syria.
The online event brought together experts from the SCO region, including Dr. Adham Sayed, Assistant Professor at Zhejiang Gongshang University, Mr. Shahid Iqbal, Managing Director at Alkhidmat-Global, and Onurcan Balci, Board Member of the Turkish Student Association. The event was moderated by Zoon Ahmed Khan, Fellow Researcher at CCG, and hosted by Shikha Thapa Magar, PhD, CCO at SCOLAR Network.
Victoria Khu, Co-founder and CEO of SCOLAR Network gave opening remarks where she stated that SCOLAR Network is a youth platform working to bring impact among the youth in the SCO region through various projects on culture, education, and entrepreneurship. She emphasized the importance of supporting and helping neighboring countries in the SCO region, which is one of SCOLAR’s missions. The organization started the “United with Pakistan” campaign last year to raise awareness about the flood in Pakistan and will continue to support humanitarian relief in the region.
Dr. Adham Sayed shared his experience of the earthquake when he was in Lebanon for winter vacation and his travel to Syria to help the earthquake victims. He shared that critical infrastructure, including hospitals, schools, and government offices, was destroyed. Dr. Sayed emphasized the importance of preparedness for this type of disaster happening in the region. He also shared the challenges of bringing donations to Syria due to the war, ultimately stating the importance of world peace and global cooperation and governance during the crisis.
Mr. Shahid Iqbal, Managing Director at Alkhidmat-Global, shared that the foundation has been working in humanitarian relief for a long time and is now expanding globally. He shared the foundation’s team working in Turkey, they were properly trained for the rescue. Alkhimat is also collecting donations for the victims of Turkey and Syria. He emphasized the important role of youth in strengthening global governance because of their deep and strong values for development and cooperation in the region.
Similarly, Onurcan Balci shared about their organization’s contribution to helping during the earthquake in Turkey. Onurcan started cooperating with international organizations to rescue the earthquake victims as a translator in Chinese and English. He shared that the high-tech equipment brought by the Chinese rescue team was very helpful in rescuing earthquake victims. This shows that regional cooperation for better equipment during this type of disaster is crucial.
Finally, the panel concluded with a Q&A session. The discussion highlighted the importance of global peace and cooperation, as well as stronger global governance, in preparing for and responding to disasters like this one.
SCOLAR Network, established in 2017, is a youth initiative platform headquartered in Beijing, bringing together young leaders from the SCO region through joint projects in the fields of education, entrepreneurship, culture, and sports. SCOLAR’s mission is to positively impact the lives of 1 billion youth by 2050.