“We believe that small, positive actions make significant changes in our lives and the world,” says Mehmet Taskan, outreach representative for the Orlando Turkish Cultural Center, which opened with a big inauguration ceremony in the US last week.
Growing out of the Nile Foundation, a nonprofit organization established in 2003 to promote a better understanding of the Turkish community living in Orlando, the goal of the center is to promote intercultural relations between all people of different nations.
During the grand opening of the center, there were live Turkish music performances and traditional Turkish folk dancing, and guests were served Turkish food. The center features a ballroom named “İstanbul,” a traditional Anatolian room, classrooms, a library, a small grocery store, a play room for children, a meeting room and an office.
Among the activities the Nile Foundation has organized so far are annual dialogue dinners, dialogue nights, trips to Turkey, humanitarian work, cooking classes, local field trips, art exhibitions, community visits, Turkish language classes, food and handcraft festivals, essay contests for middle school and high school students, weekend classes and Ramadan dinners.
Facing the challenges of today's world, Taskan says they chose to contribute to solutions through dialogue and educational, cultural and humanitarian efforts. “The Nile Foundation approaches the world with realistic optimism to build a better future for tomorrow. Our main principles for dialogue are paramount to our activities and mission: Be peaceful and respectful, accept each other the way we are, engage in dialogue not debate, focus on our similarities as humans while acknowledging our differences,” he adds.
Thursday 27 August 2009
Thursday 13 August 2009
Turkish frigate captures five pirates off Somalia: army
A Turkish frigate intercepted a skiff off Somalia and captured five pirates Tuesday on suspicion that they were preparing for attacks, the Turkish military said.
The Gaziantep, operating with NATO forces in the region, seized the skiff in the Gulf of Aden with the help of a helicopter and amphibian commandos.
The Turkish operation was launched after intelligence that the boat was moving close to two ships, sailing under the British and Marshall Islands flags, within a "safe corridor" guarded by the multi-national naval force to ensure the safe passage of commercial vessels.
"A possible ship hijacking has been prevented," the statement said, adding that instruments used in piracy were found on the skiff. The Turkish force captured 12 pirates in two similar operation last month.
The world's naval powers have deployed dozens of warships to the lawless waters off Somalia over the past year to curb attacks by pirates threatening one of the world's busiest maritime trade routes. Pirates attacked more than 130 merchant ships last year, a rise of more than 200 percent over 2007, according to the International Maritime Bureau.
A Turkish bulk carrier with a 23-strong crew remains captive in the region since July 8.
The Gaziantep, operating with NATO forces in the region, seized the skiff in the Gulf of Aden with the help of a helicopter and amphibian commandos.
The Turkish operation was launched after intelligence that the boat was moving close to two ships, sailing under the British and Marshall Islands flags, within a "safe corridor" guarded by the multi-national naval force to ensure the safe passage of commercial vessels.
"A possible ship hijacking has been prevented," the statement said, adding that instruments used in piracy were found on the skiff. The Turkish force captured 12 pirates in two similar operation last month.
The world's naval powers have deployed dozens of warships to the lawless waters off Somalia over the past year to curb attacks by pirates threatening one of the world's busiest maritime trade routes. Pirates attacked more than 130 merchant ships last year, a rise of more than 200 percent over 2007, according to the International Maritime Bureau.
A Turkish bulk carrier with a 23-strong crew remains captive in the region since July 8.
Friday 7 August 2009
Signs of progress in making peace with Kurds
Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan met with the Kurdish politician Ahmet Turk Wednesday suggesting a move towards reconciliation between the government and the main Kurdish political group, the Democratic Society Party (DTP), which Turk chairs, according to a report in the Hurriyet newspaper.
"We are in the middle of a process, and I believe our hopes for the future have increased with today’s meeting," Erdogan told reporters.
Erdogan had refused to meet with the DTP since the 2007 elections because it did not condemn militant activities of the Kurdistan Workers' Party, or PKK. Turkey and the United States consider the militant group a terrorist organization.
The government's so-called "Kurdish move" is an attempt to resolve decades-old tensions between Kurds, who constitute at least a 12 million-strong minority in Turkey, and the Turkish government.
About 40,000 have died in 25 years of fighting between the PKK and the Turkish government. PKK guerrillas based in Northern Iraq were also a point of contention with the United States and the Iraqi government. Just this week, two PKK guerrillas were killed in eastern Turkey.
"We are in the middle of a process, and I believe our hopes for the future have increased with today’s meeting," Erdogan told reporters.
Erdogan had refused to meet with the DTP since the 2007 elections because it did not condemn militant activities of the Kurdistan Workers' Party, or PKK. Turkey and the United States consider the militant group a terrorist organization.
The government's so-called "Kurdish move" is an attempt to resolve decades-old tensions between Kurds, who constitute at least a 12 million-strong minority in Turkey, and the Turkish government.
About 40,000 have died in 25 years of fighting between the PKK and the Turkish government. PKK guerrillas based in Northern Iraq were also a point of contention with the United States and the Iraqi government. Just this week, two PKK guerrillas were killed in eastern Turkey.
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