Bursa Uludağ University Rector Prof. Dr. Ahmet Saim Kılavuz spoke at the "Meet withSustainability" event and said that they are among the 50th universities in the world and among the top 3 universities in Turkey in the ranking of universities with green areas. Emphasizing that they have a land of approximately 15.5 million square meters, the Rector Kılavuz said; “5.5 million square meters of this area is surrounded by pine trees. In a sense, we can say we are the lungs of the Bursa.”
Bursa Uludağ University (BUÜ) Sustainability Coordinator, arranged the "Meet with Sustainability" event. Rector Prof. Dr. Ahmet Saim Kılavuz and Vice-Rectors Prof. Dr. İrfan Kırıştıoğlu and Prof. Dr. Ferudun Yılmaz attended the event and deans, members of an academic institution, university personnel, university and primary education students have also shown interest. Rector Prof. Dr. Ahmet Saim Kılavuz and his companions visited the student groups that opened stands in the foyer before the ceremony and got information about their projects.
RECTOR'S KILAVUZ: SO-CALLED "DEVELOPED COUNTRIES" ARE USING NATURE WISELY
Rector Prof. Dr. Ahmet Saim Kılavuz spoke at the opening ceremony of the event which was organized at the Prof. Dr. Mete Cengiz Cultural Center. Rector Prof. Dr. Ahmet Saim Kılavuz emphasized that they started a sustainable campus project about 1 year ago. Noting that they started to work with the idea of a better, more beautiful, more livable and more sustainable campus, Prof. Dr. Ahmet Saim Kılavuz; “Our world is entrusted to us and we are also trustees. We need to leave this legacy to future generations in the best way possible. The world is aware of this, but we all know that there are some problems in practice. Developed countries say take care of the environment. This is how it is reflected to us. However, we know that these are the countries that use the world and the environment the most brutally. Information and scientific developments need to be translated into action. Unfortunately, what needs to be done for a livable world and environment is not done. The balance needs to be maintained. On the other hand, we have to continue to develop and we have to protect nature,” he said.
AWARENESS TO PROTECT THE ENVIRONMENT AND NATURE STARTS IN THE FAMILY
The Rector Kılavuz, who explained that as a university, they applied to the Green Metrics ranking institution in the previous year; “We have a very nice campus. We are among the top three universities in Turkey with green areas. We are in the top 50 in the world ranking. We hold the same degrees in sustainability education and research. We have a campus land of 15.5 million square meters. 5.5 million square meters of this is covered with pine trees. In a sense, we are the lungs of the Bursa. Thanks to this green space and nature, we have become one of the most important universities in the world. One of our main duties is to protect this beauty and nature. Rector Kılavuz, who underlined that "as a family", they show a special sensitivity to the protection of nature; “I have 6 grandchildren. I have a row of grandchildren from the 3rd year of university to kindergarten. However, from the smallest to the oldest, we are careful to dispose of even the shell of the sugar we eat at the appropriate waste place. Awareness of protecting the environment and nature first starts in the family. We need to instill this sensitivity in our children at a young age.”
PROF. DR. SALIHOĞLU: WE CAN SUCCESS IF WE WORK TOGETHER
BUU Sustainable Campus Coordinator Prof. Dr. Güray Salihoğlu, in her opening speech at the ceremony, thanked everyone who attended the event. Noting that they were especially happy to see primary school students among them. Prof. Dr. Guray Salihoglu; “We are happy to see you here. Because if we're going to do something for the environment, we can only do it together. If we can understand environmental problems, speak the same language, share problems, maybe we can do something and achieve something. We don't have a magic wand, we may not be able to solve environmental problems right now. Maybe our lifetime will not be enough to solve this problem. However, like Nasrettin Hodja, we throw yeast into the lake and then we hope that maybe it will hold. Finally, when we go back and think of our life, we can say that we tried and did our best. We thought of others and the environment. We can say that we have never been selfish. We started our Sustainable Campus studies under the leadership of our Rector with exactly these feelings. We are not even a year old yet. During this time, we have seen that there are many people who think like us. "Today's event will also be a drop in our efforts and maybe a drop by drop and it will become a lake."
VERY ACTIVE EVENT
After the opening ceremony, BUÜ Sustainable Campus Coordinator Prof. Dr. Güray Salihoğlu and Deputy Coordinator Prof. Dr. Şule Turhan made a presentation on 'Sustainability Words'. The event continued with Ezgi Aykanat's piano concert and Climate Change Reality sessions. Then, at the Sustainable Campus Student Community Youth Voice event, they expressed their expectations about their future and unfurled their banners saying “Sustainable development is not tomorrow's problem, but today's problem”. The program was continued by the Faculty of Education, the Head of the Department of Music Education, Prof. Dr. Sezen Özeke and Germany Dresden Carl Maria von Weber Music University faculty member Prof. Dr. Alexis Kivi with a presentation on Sustainable Development and Music. The program ended with Music Department students singing the song "Friendship" with all the participants.
