The Caucasus in 10 Years may possibilities meet Needs...

If I were asked this question 10 years ago, I am sure my answers would have been very wide of the current mark.

My ansewer now, perhaps just wishful thinking, will, I hope, be closer to the reality in ten years.

What I hope for depends on the people. Consequently, to realize my dreams, it is necessary to transform people, to modify the way they think.

They say that in order to transform common thought, one should first transform individual thoughts. Therefore we should first start with ourselves, and not with somebody else. This requires more creativity and more vigor.

In the Caucasus, we have a saying, which I hope to see made into reality within 10 years. And I hope the entire Caucasus enjoys this future reality.

I hope our possibilities match our needs!

Ayaz Abushov
Festival organizer in Sumgait

Nationality: Human South Caucasus Documentary film festival
Of peace and human rights

Your Choice is our Future

As a well-populated beverage, alcohol drinks specially, "Vodka" and "Bear" are most used by the youth. Being aware that this drink is the current challenge for youth of Europe including Azerbaijan, I have decided to touch the problem. At first, as usual I approached the Azerbaijani Youth walking in the streets of Baku. The first interviewer was 23 aged Eldar. He has recently graduated the University of Azerbaijan Economic State University. Regarding his group mates he told me that most of students in his group are non – alcohol drinker. But there are same students who prefer to drink bear at the parties.

Another interviewer was a young girl who is called Leyla.

She is an administrator at the one of the PUB – Cafés in Baku. She said that alcohol - drinks are mostly served by men. But there are some frequent woman visitors who also prefers some bear. She added to her speech that the visitors to the pub-café are mostly English people and that is why she could not estimate the degree of Azeri people who has alcohol dependence.

In order to get official information over alcohol dependence I approached the expert of the Association of Azerbaijan Independent Human Development – Zohrab Gadimov. The first questions of mine were “how wide and why does alcoholism spread among the youth?”. By answering my question he noted that actually, the amount of alcoloholics isn’t the same with the official indications. For his speech from the one of two youth become alcohol drinker because of his/her depression. They see the “vodka” as only way the solution of their problems – he said. If there 70% of youth are pessimist the 20% are optimist. And it the reason why of speediness of alcoholism among the Azer youth. By continuing his conversation he added that most of Azerbaijani youth tries to be similar with European youth specially, in this regard. Then he had clarified his idea by saying that “in the West mode of life the drunkenness isn’t considered like abnormal rather than the sign of manhood”.

And finally, I would like to apply to the youth of the World that don’t drink so much if you couldn’t keep your key with yourself.

Regards, Rustam Rahimli

Intoxicated Sigar

"There is a sound mind in a sound body"

Socrat

One of the Youth Organization has recently organize debate on the topic of “let’s don’t smoke sigar”. In order to hear new arguments and rich the current article I took part there. One side answered to another side by arguments. But the main arguments were different.
For instance, anti-agitator Afaq spoke over the harms of sigar. She noted that the harm of sigar affected not only the user but also the others who is the arround of him/her. But the opposite party resist on that the harms of sigar isn’t so danger for the health of human than the enviromental pollution.
Let’s speak about the attitude of our youth to the sigar. The most of my acquaintances smoke the sigar. If say true I smoke seldom. As in everything we find something to justify ourselves in this regard. For example, to get out of the streess, to make weaker of our anger and etc.
I should say that it is possible now to see often the pupil who smokes. There are also the girls who smokes. But it is not so wide-spread.
Generally, in our country the youth prefer the sigar which has less nicotine. About drinks I could say that in Azerbiajan bear is prefered by youth. The alcohol drinks are usually drinked at the parties, birthdays and etc.

Sincerely,

Ayaz

One Step Nearer to European Education

Nowadays, one of the problems concerning the students, the main part of Azeri youth, is the current basement on the Soviet education system at majority of universities.
As is known, at some universities the education has already been transformed to credit system. A thought exchange on this issue was held from the Ministry of Education officials to civil students. Moreover, a poll under the name of “Tahsilimizi Takminleshdirak” (Let’s Improve Our Education) was held in some universities among both the students getting education the principles of soviet system and the ones studying according to credit system and relying on the results of the poll one can note that, majority of the students are for the full realization of this system.Particularly,at Azerbaijan University Languages, I study, it passed to credit system in 2005 and the query taken from 1st ,2nd, 3rd-year students showed that they are mostly satisfied.

If taken into he consideration the opportunities credit system gives to students; to continue their education in different European countries on the basis of students exchange and to diminish the possible problems to minimum they can face, recognition of our diplomas and some other reasons it is quite to get such results on the poll.
Moreover, to our mind, credit system offers good conditions for training more skilled specialists, because irrespective of time, a student has to complete all his academic debts.
Another totally different and favorable feature is that students possess the opportunity to get qualified in two professions at the same time, that is one can extend his/her education on a field close to their qualifications.

Regards, Aynur Nabiyeva (new member)