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Turkish
Canadians Youth Congress
2010
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Youth Congress in Montreal brought 250 Turkish Canadians together for the weekend
BIZIM ANADOLU
The congress started with a reception on Friday evening, 16th of January, 2010. At the reception, the delegates and guests had a chance to get to know one another. Speakers who had arrived from abroad socialized with the youth and with the organizers. Honorary Consul General Emin Battika welcomed the young people in French, and First Councillor Yönet Can Tezel addressed them in Turkish. After these opening speeches, organizers Lale Eskicioglu and Banu Pamukcu invited the delegates to play an icebreaker quiz game. Forming the teams for the game took some time and there was a fun chaos accompanied with cheerful banter. The teams were asked to answer ten questions about Turkey and Canada. The group that got the most correct answers won the big gift basket. Thus, the ice was broken.
On the 17th of January, Saturday morning, all 140 delegates were ready for a day-long presentations and workshops. In accordance with this year's theme, "Turkish Image and Presence in Canada," an impressive line-up of presentations was planned. After a brief opening speech by CTC President, Dr. Kevser Taymaz and the introduction by the Congress Chair, Prof. Dr. Murat Saatcioglu, the delegates were anxious for the keynote speaker of the congress, Dr. Justin McCarthy, professor of history from Louisville University. Dr. McCarthy's presentation was titled "Historical Falsehood and Prejudice, and Their Effect on the Turkish Image." Dr. McCarthy, as it befits his warm personality, answered questions at length, chat with the youth and signed his books. Dr. Cem Deveci was up next with a presentation on "Recent Political Developments in Turkey and Their Implications on Turkish Image." An Associate Professor of Political Science and Public Administration in Middle East Technical University, Dr. Deveci answered questions on current issues in Turkey.
After lunch, the congress continued with a special guest: Hon. Monte Solberg, Former Minister of Immigration and Citizenship. Mr. Solberg talked about "Improving Turkish Presence in Canada's Social and Political Landscape" and advised the youth to take active part in the lobbying of the causes they believe in. Mr. Trudeau, MP of Papineau adressed to the delegates via video Before the delegates broke up for the workshop sessions, they had a chance to watch an inspirational video address by Justin Trudeau, Member of the Parliament from Papineau Quebec. Mr. Trudeau could not attend the congress due a prior engagement he had informed us about in advance. Instead, he offered to send a video message to young Turkish Canadians. On behalf of the Turkish youth, Ece Tepedelenli directed well-selected and thought-out questions to Mr. Trudeau who answered them as a young person providing a fresh voice and youthful ideals to Canadian political scene.
Workshops were organized around three main topics based on the presentations of the day, namely, "Impact of History on Contemporary Image Building", "Turkish Youth in Canadian Social and Political Landscape" and "Turkish-Canadian Relations Impacted by Current Political Developments." Delegates formed ten discussion groups to do brainstorming and to form their own opinions and creative solutions. At the end of the discussions, the plenary session restarted with a panel consisting of Dr. Justin McCarthy, Dr. Cem Deveci and Mr. Günay Övünç. After each group presented the objectives, challenges and opportunities of their chosen topic, and offered recommendations towards achieving these objectives, panellists had a chance to comment on the findings of the discussion groups. With the chair's final comments Day 1 of the congress came to an end.
A gala dinner with music and dance was arranged for the delegates after their long day of lectures and discussions. But they were not the only people who needed to relax and have some fun. Organizers and guests, along with the participants of the "young at heart" conference, walked together to a nearby Spanish restaurant and had their own little party.
On 17th of January, Sunday morning, delegates were up early to listen to the feature speaker, Dr. Mehmet Danis, a captain with Canadian Armed Forces and the winner of 2009 Atacama Crossing. Dr. Danis gave a very interesting, enlightening and engaging presentation with 400 phenomenal photos on his endeavours and achievements in the extreme endurance athletism and on his personal philosophy that combines personal development with initiating positive changes in our society. This presentation highly interested and inspired Turkish youth. Dr. Danis became an immediate role model and his presentation was deemed the highlight of the congress.
Two young delegates, Evrim Delen and Deniz Demirel were up next to explain their work on Wiki with a presentation titled "Better Community Communications and Image Building Through New Technologies." Last speaker of the congress was Dr. Yasemin Kahyaoglu from McGill University. Dr. Kahyaoglu's presentation, "Building a Successful Future Through Employment Opportunities" was one that young people found very relevant since most of them are just finishing their studies and embarking on new careers. The congress adjourned with a promise to do it again next year and to stay in touch until then. Pictures by: Kerem Saltuk, Gökçe Erkan, Esra Etleç February 2010 |
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Next,
the delegates got a chance to learn from the experiences of Turkish
people living in United States. Mr. Günay Övünç (Evinch), a lawyer
and the current president of Assembly of Turkish American Associations
(ATAA) gave a first-hand account of what it meant to get involved
in community matters and how to mobilize Turkish Communities in
North America. Mr. Övünç is the first US-born president of ATAA.
His commitment to the Turkish community, in spite of having been
born and raised far away from Turkey, made an impression on the
youth and he was clearly the favourite in their esteem. 
