When I was about 15, I experienced that one of the friends in our circle...
began to distance himself from the rest of us.
He, this friend of ours, started bringing up subjects like religion and identity.
We noticed that he was gradually becoming more and more radicalised, to say the least.
We tried several times to engage in discussions with him.
But despite all these attempts, we failed to keep him as a friend.
When I look back at that period now...
I realise that I was actually somewhat susceptible to his message.
I entered into a process, where at the start I tended to side with him.
I went along with him, because I didn't know much about religion.
But because I had the right people around me...
I was able to deal with it in a different way.
After I made that decision, I made the explicit choice...
to use this negative experience that I have had...
and transform it into something positive by engaging with it at a professional level.
That's why I started working for SPIOR.
My name is Dogukan, I'm 25 years young...
and I help young people discuss all kinds of different subjects.