Analysis of the Situation of Children and Young People in Turkey 2011
Analysis of the Situation of Children and Young People in Turkey 2011 Introduction and Executive Summary Children in Society Aim of the report: This report aims to describe the well-being of children in Turkey, to analyse how far they are able to enjoy the rights set out in the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child, and to contribute to the determination of policies and practices that will improve child well-being in the future. The “big picture”: Children do not live in separate worlds of their own. Their growth and development, and the opportunities and risks which they face, are determined by their parents, families and communities, by the institutions and professionals that educate and care for them, and by advertising, television and the internet. All these in turn operate under the influence of history, culture, politics, government, demographics, economics, and technology. This report seeks to examine the “micro” situation of children in the light of these wider “macro” issues. Children and social change: The social environment is changing rapidly under the influence both of global trends and domestic dynamics. The population continues to grow, but the birth rate has slowed, and adolescents and young adults are increasingly forming the most important tranche of the population. Migration from rural areas to urban environments is well advanced, but not yet over. The economy boomed between 2002 and 2007, and again in 2010, creating job opportunities and permitting a general increase in private consumption and public services. In 2008-9, however, the economy was caught up in the global crisis, which interrupted the growth of output and welfare and highlighted the issue of unemployment.
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