'Young people missed out in solving global problems'

By Gokhan Ergocun

ISTANBUL (AA) - The world is dominated by problems such as ecological disasters, international terrorism, economic crisis, and cyber security, the head of Turkiye's public broadcaster said on Saturday.

Consultation platforms have been created and decisions made to resolve these problems, but young people have missed out, stressed Mehmet Zahid Sobaci, the director-general of Turkish Radio and Television (TRT).

Emphasizing that creativity is in the nature of youth, Sobaci said young people have a strong instinct to dream, innovate, and be dynamic.

Speaking at NEXT, an event organized by the TRT World Forum in Istanbul, Sobaci said that if this dynamism, these creative ideas, and innovative perspectives are not included in solving these problems, more difficulties will arise in solving today's issues.

The one-day event was designed to tackle major issues facing the global community, aiming to bring together thousands of curious minds from Turkiye and other countries on May 14.

"We have been organizing the TRT World Forum since 2017, but by adding NEXT to it, we wanted to involve the youth," he stressed.

NEXT is an organization that brings together the young people and the future, he said, noting that when the youth and future come together, hope emerges.

"We wanted to make young people, who use technology much more creatively and in a problem-solving oriented way than the previous generation, a part of this roof," he underlined.

During the event, participants discussed several topics such as the environment, sustainable business models, non-fungible tokens, the metaverse, and the future of the media, said Sobaci.

They also joined workshops to develop their skills or acquire new ones, he added.