Your Excellency
UNESCO Director-General Mr Federico Mayor
and Executive Director of the United Nations Population Fund
Esteemed Colleagues,
Distinguished Guests,

Welcome to the first International Congress on Population Education and Development.

With this congress, we are realizing once more a concrete example of international collaboration. How we would wish that the rational attitude and common sense capable of realizing an example of collaboration of this type could prevent regional conflicts and genocide which cast a shadow on the evolution of mankind.

Nevertheless, I wish to state that it is an honor and a pleasure to host this first congress which will approach the concept of population together with its dimensions of education and development as these head the list of dynamics to determine our common future.

The common final purpose of nations represented in this congress or their representatives, is to enhance the quality of life as an integral component of all types of social, economic and cultural development processes aimed at enhancing the quality of life for mankind, population is of paramount importance for individuals, families and nations. On the other hand, if the current growth rate cannot be reduced to the required level, population of the world, far from developing, will completely deteriorate the ecosystems it is threatening already. Since another habitable globe in the universe is unknown at the present time, it will be responsible for making the world unfit for survival.

Population growth means more production and more consumption. On the other hand, it is impossible to produce or consume without limits. Scientific researches have shown with ample clarity that the world has ecosystems and that these systems have a certain production capacity. Goods and services to meet the needs of mankind can only be produced and consumed within these limits. It must be stated here that irresponsible production and consumption will bring us to the production capacity limits of these ecosystems sooner. The most typical example of this is the issue related to depletion of the ozone layer.

Since the world population conference held in Bucharest in 1974, it is known that nations have scored developments which can be considered important with respect to their population policies and implementation of same. In many parts of the world, however, population is growing at a rate which cannot be sustained with the environmental resources at hand. This thwart expectations of development in such fields as employment, assured food security, health services, education, housing, energy supply, international peace and security. On the other hand, it creates a requirement for economic growth at a rate which will pressure the production capacities of ecosystems. This impact seriously threatens the quality of life at the family, nation and world levels from two aspects.

Urgent and effective measures should be introduced to take the population growth under control. The choices to be made and measures to be introduced today can stabilize world population at around six billions in the next century. To achieve this, however, it is very important to carry out population policies as integral parts of economic, social and cultural development policies. Therefore, I believe that this congress where the dimensions of population as they relate to education and development will be discussed, and the strategies, measures to be developed, will make significant contributions to our efforts, both individual and common.

Controlling by proper development policies the other factors of population and growth, in a manner which provides an optimum quality of life at the family, country and world levels and the utilization of population education in the most effective manner to this end must be the individual and common duty of our countries. This is the only way to bring to life the world population plan of action which was accepted in the first International Population Conference held in Bucharest in 1974, reviewed and expanded in the second International Population Conference of Mexico City in 1984 and to be further developed in the third International Population Conference to be held in 1994.

Above all else, our countries must define their plans with respect to sustainable development and sustainable population. But in our world today, where the distribution of resources is not equitable and the gap between the developing countries and developed ones is widening progressively, developing nations are faced with many difficulties in determining these plans. The pressing need for these nations is to respond to the basic needs and expectations of their citizens, and these take precedence over the sustainability of their population and development plans. For many people in these developing countries, the basic needs of people such as for food, clothing, education, health, housing and employment have not been adequately supplied. Beyond these basic needs, these nations have justified expectations with respect to a better quality of life.

In the short term, plans for sustainable development lead to certains constraints with respect to meeting the basic needs of people and their expectations with respect to the quality of life. In these cases, developing countries preparing and implementing plans for sustainable population and sustainable development depend, to a great extend, on close international collaboration. Otherwise, the attitudes to adequately bring to life the world population action plan will not be at all realistic.

The prerequisites of bringing the world population action plans into life are trust and collaboration among nations. Major strides have been made on these issues since the second world war. However, certain regional conflicts we have seen in recent years will distort the trust among nations and will, in a very short time, regress the established process of collaboration among nations. This holds true not only in the field of population, but in all others. Therefore, it is urged that the duty and responsibility to take decisive and correct stances in face of all incidents jeopardizing international trust and collaboration be practiced with utmost sensitivity,

In Turkiye, the need to take population growth under control emerged in the end of the fifties. Population policies introduced as of 1965 and still in force aim for Tiirkiye to achieve a sustainable population. In line with this policy, two laws were promulgated after 1965. The second law is the one currently inforce. Tiirkiye has a quarter of a century's experience in population planning and education and I wish to state here that we are ready to share this experience with all nations in framework of regional and international collaboration.

Our population plan which we have supported with population education, and our development plans supported by general and vocational education which we have prepared in harmony with this plan have started to yield positive results. As a result, improvements which can be defined as significant have been achieved in raising the quality of life of our people.

On behalf of myself and my country, I thank all countries and experts, the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) and the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA) for realizing such a good and concrete collaboration in such an important issue as "population education and development". I wish the congress all success and also that you have a good time in our country, and especially in beautiful Istanbul.