The Green Crescent has, since its founding more than a century ago, dedicated itself to help people overcome their addictions. Whereas the core nature of addiction has remained unchanged, the ways in which it manifests itself has evolved over the years. We have all witnessed a rise both in the number of people struggling with addiction and in the variety of addictions that plague society. Today, the Green Crescent deals with alcohol, nicotine, narcotics, gambling, and, more recently, technology addictions. We have grown into a large family with 120 branches, 578 district representatives, 107 consultation centers, two rehabilitation centers, and 110,000 volunteers across Türkiye’s eighty-one provinces, along with a presence in 97 countries. Indeed, our commitment to combating addiction across Türkiye and the world remains as strong as it was on day one.
As our founder, Ord. Prof. Dr. Mazhar Osman, aptly put it, we are an institution with “no other ambition than ensuring the happiness of mankind.” We work tirelessly to this end and will continue to do so for as long as there is breath in our lungs. We have, as a result of our scientifically and evidenced-based prevention and awareness-raising efforts, had the opportunity to reach an increasingly wider audience. At the forefront of our work are Türkiye Addiction Prevention (known in Turkish by the acronym TBM) programs, through which we are able to touch the lives of approximately ten million students and three million adults each year in order to ensure that future generations are both healthy and free from addiction. In 2023, we launched workshops tailored specifically to teachers and guidance counselors at Türkiye’s Maarif Foundation Schools to elevate our addiction-prevention efforts onto the international stage. This initiative included organizing TBM practitioner training workshops at Maarif Schools in the Republic of North Macedonia in August 2023, where participants who successfully completed the workshop were certified as official TBM practitioners. We likewise extended this training to national Green Crescent societies affiliated with the International Federation of the Green Crescent.
In partnership with Türkiye’s Ministry of National Education, we launched the School-Based Addiction Intervention Program (known in Turkish by the acronym OBM), the first and only program of its kind in the country, to prevent risky behaviors such as smoking, alcohol use, substance abuse, and excessive internet use from developing into costly, difficult-to-treat addictions. We organized OBM trainer workshops for ten thousand counselors and psychologists and held one-on-one interviews with 5,458 students aged thirteen to eighteen in state schools. We are working to make this program more robust and expand its reach across the country so that it effectively complements TBM’s established prevention methods.
Developed by a team of specialists, the Green Crescent Life Skills Program seeks to equip adolescents with the skills and confidence needed to resist behaviors that could lead to addiction. Teachers and guidance counselors facilitate help students understand the nature of addiction, educating them on how to lead a healthy life, and assisting them in integrating these principles into their daily routines. Through this program, adolescents learn to refuse addictive substances, manage stress without the need of such substances, and make informed decisions so that they may lead fulfilling lives free of addiction.
In addition to prevention and awareness campaigns, the Green Crescent is actively involved in addiction intervention programs. Since their establishment in 2015, the 107 Green Crescent Counseling Centers (known in Turkish by the acronym YEDAM) located throughout Türkiye and the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus provide free psychosocial support to individuals and families affected by addiction to help them regain a sense of normalcy. YEDAM’s call center crossed an important milestone when, in September 2023, it received its one millionth call.
Our efforts to stem the tide of addiction continue on multiple fronts. We use the arts, sports, and other activities attractive to young people to raise awareness of the dangers of addictions. One notable example in this regard is the annual International Green Crescent Cartoon Contest. Last year’s contest, the seventh of its kind, featured a total of 1,901 cartoons submitted by 1,130 people from sixty-eight countries.
Another such example is our annual Green Crescent Bicycle Tour, which takes places simultaneously in more than fifty Turkish provinces and various countries worldwide. Each year, thousands of cyclists ride both to raise awareness of the benefits of good health and to embody these principles in their own lives. Last year’s eleventh annual event saw an impressive turnout, with twelve thousand cyclists participating in Türkiye alone.
More than ten thousand students and four thousand teachers participated in the 2023 Interscholastic Debate Tournament that we organized in partnership with Türkiye’s Ministry of National Education, Debate and Oratory Association (Münazara ve Hitabet Derneği), and Vakıf Katılım Bank.
Another of our awareness-raising initiatives is the annual Healthy Ideas Short Film Competition. Since its inception in 2015 until the most recent seventh competition held in 2023, a total of 5,660 films have been submitted by aspiring film makers from around the world.
We will remember 2023 most notably for the Türkiye–Syria earthquakes that shook the entire nation to the core on 6 February. In addition to being a powerful force in the fight against addiction, the Green Crescent is committed to working with all parties interested in strengthening social solidarity. In partnership with the Turkish Confederation of Employer Associations (known in Turkish by the acronym TİSK) and TÜMOSAN—Türkiye’s leading motor industry and trade company—we launched the My Club is the Green Crescent Truck project in the eleven provinces of Türkiye affected by the earthquakes. Through this initiative, we have helped more than 350,000 children cope with the trauma of the disaster, expedite their adaptation process, and support their personal growth.
Our foremost responsibility today, just as it was yesterday, is to broaden our fight against addiction and serve humanity so that every one of us can enjoy a brighter, healthier future. As a frontrunner in addiction prevention both on the national and international stages, we, on behalf of all the professionals and volunteers affiliated with the Green Crescent, reaffirm our commitment to using our wealth of experience and expertise to achieve an even greater impact on individual communities and society as a whole.