Speaking at the opening ceremony of AileFest, which was held in Istanbul Rami Library within the scope of the "Decade of Family and Population" announced by President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, TGTV Chairman of the Board of Trustees and Chairman of the Family Festival Board of Directors, Necmeddin Bilal Erdoğan, said that last year was the Year of the Family and this year they realized the beginning of the Decade of the Family. Erdoğan said, "We are experiencing a demographic collapse. We are experiencing it just as the whole world is experiencing it. Unfortunately, we experienced it a little faster, and we are experiencing it. The issue, of course, is not just our demographic collapse. This demographic collapse is the result of something, and that is the weakening of the ties in the family, the weakening of the family institution." he said.
Stating that there is a lot to be done to strengthen the family in this context and that a mentality transformation is needed, Erdoğan said, "We need a mentality transformation. This mentality transformation requires a thought system that centers the family and society, not the individual. In other words, 'I care about other people's troubles', 'I am part of a community', 'I am part of a family', 'I am a "We need to re-strengthen the feeling of 'I am strong as a family.'" he said.
Stating that in their research on young people, they saw that young people still attach great importance to family, Erdoğan said:
"Our young people attach great importance and value to the family. Our young people are still aware that the family is a very important support for them. They say that it is their last security, their port. Therefore, this means that we still have a chance, we have not lost the rope. That is why I think it is useful to talk about what is the result of this. So, after all, we have experienced westernization for 200 years, we are living it. The whole world economy has been shaped as a capitalist economy and we experience and feel its strong effects on social relations. The individualism it brings, the individualism it brings, is felt by every individual." A world where they are seen as customers."
Reminding that the British have talked about the "divide and rule" approach throughout history, Erdoğan said that capitalist centers aimed to divide people individually and turn them into customers through capital owners who wanted to sell their products. "We should not forget these currents that actually weaken our sense of family, come from outside of us, and influence us. We should not forget this case either. In other words, it is futile to think that this problem will be solved with family-friendly economic supports alone. I mean, when people hear this 58 percent number, people are really scared, goosebumps." "It's a frightening number, but when you see a family with many children in the city center today, there is probably a perception that 'They are ignorant people'. For example, we cannot say that this is the case even in America or Europe, where this is the beginning. Therefore, we need to break the mentality." he said.
Erdoğan said, "We have to return to a level where having children, having many children, and living close as a family is appreciated and glorified. Of course, our state has declared a 10-year period to build this, and we need to ensure that all institutions and organizations say 'What can I do?' Family-friendly institutions, family-friendly employers, family-friendly policies." he said.
Explaining what is being done at the Knowledge Dissemination Foundation in this context, Erdoğan continued as follows:
"We thought about how we could make our scholarships family-friendly. We announced our scholarships, master's and doctoral scholarships, but we said, for example, our doctoral scholarship is 35 thousand liras per month, and if our scholarship holder is married, we will give 42 thousand 500 liras. If they have children, we will add 5 thousand liras for each child, we said. This is a reflection of the 'how to be family-friendly' effort in the scholarship system of the Knowledge Dissemination Foundation. We hope that other Non-governmental organizations and scholarship institutions should take this as an example. For example, we have been sending our very bright students abroad for scholarships for years. During the interview, we learn that our brother says, "When do you plan to get married?", "I will finish my doctorate, I will return, I will get married."
Stating that with the same understanding, they direct philanthropists to young people who are married at Ibn Haldun University, Erdoğan said, "We should at least make it easier for those who wish to get married, and not delay them in starting a family. In our schools, we are slowly working on 'What can we do to become a family-friendly employer?' For example, matching the incentives of our state. As an employer, the employer should also learn to be family-friendly, with incentives such as I add one fold of the incentives provided by the state to you, and I add half as much." he said.
Stating that capitalism emphasizes earning profits and accumulating capital, and if this will continue, it should be given a family-friendly structure, Erdoğan stated that capitalism should be rethought as a system that does not only focus on accumulating benefits, but also takes care of the family and ensures that the individual lives happier within the family, and noted that universities, intellectuals and non-governmental organizations should carry out studies on this issue.
Noting that there is no easy solution to this problem, Erdoğan made the following evaluations:
"Many people put some things in front of us as excuses, but we know that even when those excuses are overcome in the background, they cannot be resolved. For example, one of the excuses is, 'This is the biggest obstacle to women joining the workforce and having children.' We see that the fertility rate between working women and non-working women is 0.3. So that is not the issue. The data, the facts are in front of us. We need a serious transformation. By the way, I only said working women, this is not an issue related to women. This is an issue for men too. This is a woman's issue, this is a matter for the whole society. If we stand behind this issue together, we can strengthen the family again. One of the indicators actually points to the demographic collapse and the collapse of the family. We must be the country that can turn this from here to 1.5 or 2. Unfortunately, our President has said this for more than 20 years. We laughed while saying it. It went in one ear and out the other. We delayed taking the institutional steps we were supposed to do, but while we postponed, the enemies of the family did not stop. They continued to make us selfish, try to make us self-interested, and spend their trillions of dollars for this.
Erdoğan said that AileFest is an opportunity that allows families to spend time together and that municipalities and non-governmental organizations ask "What can I do that is family friendly?" He stated that it was the result of his search.
Thanking those who contributed to the festival, Erdoğan said that the event is a reflection of the culture of solidarity that has been maintained in Anatolia for centuries, and noted that families spending time with their grandparents and grandchildren by participating in the festival will contribute to the strengthening of family ties as well as having fun for children.
Minister of Family and Social Services Mahinur Özdemir Göktaş, Governor of Istanbul Davut Gül and AK Party Istanbul Provincial Chairman Abdullah Özdemir also attended the opening program. After taking a family photo, the program continued with Erdoğan and the participants visiting the festival area.
