Awaz Ahmed is among the seven best young thinkers in the Netherlands

ARK News… A young refugee from Syrian Kurdistan was chosen among the best “seven young thinkers” in 2023 in the Netherlands. Awaz Ahmed (16 years old), comes from the Afrin region in Syrian Kurdistan.

He left it at the age of seven as a refugee to the Netherlands. He is among the top three students in his class at Reggesteyn High School in the town of Nijverdal.

According to the Dutch "RTV Oost" television, his teacher sent his essays to the website of the "Young Thinkers" Association, a writing competition for philosophy students, and he was chosen as one of the "Seven Young Thinkers." “Young Thinkers” is an initiative of the Association of Secondary Philosophy Teachers and the “Philosophy Month” Foundation.

The Young Thinkers are selected after a competition among secondary school students in the Netherlands. The theme of the competition this year was “Chaos”. “When I was a child in Syria, I experienced the most extreme forms of chaos, which made me see it as a threat to be avoided,” says Awaz.

“Over the years I have developed a different perspective and believe it can have positive aspects as well.” He pointed out that he draws his inspiration from his grandmother, who is “a cheerful person who always sees the good in things, so I tried to apply the same approach to the topic of my column.” He noted,

"The freedom that philosophy provides is the most exciting thing. You have space to think and thinking outside the box is often encouraged."

Although his average grade in philosophy is 9.4, Awaz intends to study law: “The desire is to overcome the feeling of injustice that I have been suffering for a long time. As a lawyer you must be able to provide good evidence and I can put the philosophy I have to good use.” After the young Kurdish man,

Awaz Ahmed, was selected as one of the seven “Young Thinkers Award recipients,” he will participate in many philosophical festivals and speak on the topic of chaos and other social topics.

529