The American Turkish Society is pleased to invite you to a reception with Orhan Dolapci and Gonca Canyurt, teachers from Turkey and this year’s The American Turkish Society – AFS Global Educators.

Please join us for a chance to meet Orhan and Gonca and to hear about their experiences of teaching in the U.S. before they go back to Turkey.

The AFS Global Educators Program brings professional educators from around the world into K-12 classrooms throughout the United States. This program provides an excellent opportunity for schools that have an interest in internationalizing their curriculums and bringing the world into their classrooms. Through the program, participating teachers expand their knowledge of other cultures and educational systems while sharing information about their own countries and experiences with their host school communities. This exchange continues when the visiting teachers return to their home countries and share their experiences abroad with their students and colleagues.
As a part of its education mission, The American Turkish Society has been in partnership with AFS-USA and supporting the Global Educators Program since 2002.

Orhan Dolapci, from Istanbul, Turkey, has been teaching English to primary school students and adult English language learners. He received his B.A. in Applied Linguistics from Marmara University and his M.A. in Educational Management and Supervision from Yeditepe University. Orhan is taking a semester sabbatical from his current position T.E.V. Zahide Zehra Garring State Primary School to participate in the AFS Global Educators Program. During the program, Orhan would like to develop his English skills and expand on his professional knowledge as well as share Turkish culture with his host school and community. Orhan has been teaching at Lanier Middle School in Houston, TX.

Gonca Canyurt has a strong background in mathematics and pedagogy. She has taught arithmetic, geometry, algebra, trigonometry, and calculus at the high school level. She uses presentations, discovery-learning, problem-solving, and group work methods to engage her students. She also emphasizes the practical uses of math to make the subject relevant, such as the importance of calculations in building bridges or buildings. Gonca has also written questions for exams and study guides. She hopes to provide her host school and community with important insights into the Turkish culture and contribute innovative techniques to the mathematics curriculum. Visiting America has been one of Gonca’s greatest dreams and she hopes to leave with improved language skills and new teaching strategies. Gonca has been teaching at Fall River High School in Fall River, WI.

AFS is a world leader in intercultural learning and offers international exchange programs for its students and educators. Operating in more than 50 countries as independent, non-profit organizations, each AFS International partner has a volunteer base, a professionally staffed office, and a board of directors. AFS has been exchanging young people and educators throughout the world for more than 60 years.

This event is free and open to the public. Space is limited. To RSVP, please register online or email info@americanturkishsociety.org by Friday, June 12, by 5:00 pm. For questions, please call 212.583.7614

We are pleased to share with you the links of an article by Orhan Dolapci, of a local newspaper, Daily Citizen, where Gonca Canyurt was interviewed, and the school newsletter in which she addresses the school community:

The American Turkish Society will award its Annual Corporate Partnership Award to Muhtar Kent, President and CEO of The Coca-Cola Company and Tuncay Özilhan, Chairman and CEO of Anadolu Group at its 2009 Gala Dinner on May 28.

Madeleine K. Albright, Former U.S. Secretary of State and Principal, The Albright Group LLC and Rahmi M. Koç, Honorary Chairman, Koç Holding A.Ş. will serve as dinner committee co-chairs at the event.

The gala dinner will celebrate the partnership of The Coca-Cola Company and Anadolu Group, anchored in Coca-Cola İçecek and based on shared values, sound business management, and a deep commitment to sustainable growth.

The evening will also commemorate The American Turkish Society's 60th anniversary and long-standing U.S.-Turkish relations.

For more information, please visit our Annual Gala page, or contact The Society at 212.583.7614 or gala@americanturkishsociety.org

THIS EVENT IS SOLD OUT.

The American Turkish Society, in collaboration with London School of Economics and Political Science and The Levin Institute of The State University of New York, presents a lecture

“EU-Turkey Relations at a Critical Juncture”

by

Professor Sevket Pamuk
Chair, Contemporary Turkish Studies, European Institute, London School of Economics and Political Science

Opening Remarks by
His Excellency Mr. Fernando M. Valenzuela
Ambassador, Head of the Delegation of the European Commission to the UN

Tuesday, April 7, 2009
6:00 – 6:30pm Registration
6:30 – 7:30pm Program
7:30 – 8:00pm Reception

The Levin Institute
116 East 55th Street
New York, New York 10022

Turkey was formally accepted as a candidate for EU membership in 2004 but there has been little progress since. This lecture looks at the reasons behind the current stalemate and the prospects for the future.

Professor Sevket Pamuk is Chair of Contemporary Turkish Studies at the European Institute, London School of Economics and Political Science. He is a leading economic historian of the Ottoman Empire, the Middle East and modern Turkey. After attending high school in Istanbul, he graduated from Yale University and obtained his PhD. degree in Economics from the University of California at Berkeley. He has since taught at various universities in Turkey and the United States including Ankara, Pennsylvania, Villanova, Princeton, Michigan at Ann Arbor, Northwestern and beginning in 1994 at Bogaziçi (Bosphorus) University, Istanbul as Professor of Economics and Economic History.

Special Thanks to SUNY Office of International Programs and the Delegation of the European Commission to the United Nations.

(THIS EVENT IS SOLD OUT.) This event is free and open to the public. Space is limited. Pre-registration and ID is strictly required for entry. No walk-ins will be allowed. To RSVP, please register online or fill out the registration form below and fax to 212.583.7615 by Friday, April 3, by 5:00 pm. Members of the press wishing to cover the event, please contact The American Turkish Society. For questions, please call 212.583.7614 or email info@americanturkishsociety.org.

The American Turkish Society Presents a Film Screening and Discussion

Queen of the Mountain: Theresa Goell’s Work in Turkey

Martha Goell Lubell
Producer/Director

Donald H. Sanders, Ph.D.
President, Learning Sites, Inc.

Tuesday, March 3, 2009
6:00pm – 8:30pm
Following registration at 6:00pm, program will start promptly at 6:30pm. Latecomers will not be seated. Please arrive early.

Temple Emanu-El
One East 65th Street (between 5th and Madison Avenue)
New York City

Theresa Goell abandoned the comfortable lifestyle of her conservative Jewish family in Brooklyn to study archeology. Beginning in 1953, Goell excavated the spectacular burial site of King Antiochus I on Nemrud Dagi, a 7,000-foot-high mountain three days’ walk from the nearest post office. The virtually unknown mountaintop site in Southeastern Turkey became her life’s passion. Struggling with a hearing disability, her work was nothing short of extraordinary, bringing roads, tourists and employment to the impoverished local population.

In the film “Queen of the Mountain,” Theresa Goell’s saga comes to life through breathtaking National Geographic archival footage of the excavations, hundreds of family photographs and finally Goell’s stunning oral history and letters, read by acclaimed actress Tovah Feldshuh. The screening will be followed by a discussion on Goell’s life and the archeological site of Nemrud Dagi, with her niece Martha Goell Lubell, who produced and directed the film in 2005, and Dr. Donald H. Sanders, who coordinated the full publication of Goell’s excavation report following her passing in 1985.

The Sanctuary of Nemrud Dagi is one of the most remarkable, best preserved, but least known monuments of Asia Minor. The site, called by its builder a hierothesion, or "common dwelling place of all the gods next to the heavenly thrones," is situated 2150m above sea level, atop one of the highest peaks in the Anti-Taurus Mountains of southeastern Turkey near the banks of the Euphrates River. The monument is one of the premier sites of the Late Hellenistic period. It was constructed by King Antiochus I of Commagene in the mid-1st century BC to command a 360o view of the ranges, plains, and towns that comprised his ancient kingdom.

Special Thanks to National Organization for Hearing Research Foundation, Women Make Movies, and Temple Emanu-El.

Space is limited. Pre-registration and ID is strictly required for entry. No walk-ins will be allowed. To register, please register online below or fill out the registration form and fax to 212.583.7615 by Tuesday, March 3, by noon. Press attendance is limited; members of the press wishing to cover the event, please contact The Society. For questions, please call 212.583.7614 or email info@americanturkishsociety.org.

Light Millenium, in collaboration with the Columbia University Middle Eastern and Asian Languages and Cultures and Middle East Institute, and the Consulate General of Sweden in New York, proudly presents a book presentation and signing

Turkey Decoded
by
Ann Dismorr
Swedish Ambassador to Turkey from 2001-2005

Introduction of the author by:
Ambassador Ulf Hjertonsson

Moderator:
Professor Peter Awn
Dean of General Studies and Director of MEI at Columbia University

Wednesday, February 25, 2009
Registration and reception at 6:30pm, with program to follow

Columbia University, International Affairs Building (IAB room 1501, 15th floor)
420 W. 118th Street (at Amsterdam Avenue)

The American Turkish Society, as a part of its Meet the Ambassadors program, will host a reception in honor of Ambassador Ann Dismorr and guests at the event.

Ann Dismorr’s book, Turkey Decoded, examines Turkey’s foreign policy, ties with the US and the Middle East, as well as troubled relations with the EU. As Dismorr notes, obstacles to Turkey’s path toward the European Union lie within Turkey as well as within the borders of the EU. As a secular democracy with an overwhelming Muslim population, Turkey could hold the key to increased understanding and tolerance between East and West. But there is a growing concern in both Turkey and the West about Turkey’s "Islamization."

Ann Dismorr was the Swedish Ambassador to Turkey from 2001–2005. She has extensive knowledge of the region and of Islam, having lived in Saudi Arabia, worked on the Middle East peace process and served as an ambassador in Lebanon. Since 2006 she is the Ambassador/Head of the International Department of the Swedish Parliament, working actively to enhance the understanding and dialogue with the Muslim world.

This event is free and open to the general public. Space is limited. The registration link below is not valid for this event. RSVP by Tuesday, February 24, 2009, 5pm, to contact@lightmillennium.org

The American Turkish Society’s Meet the Ambassadors program and DEIK/Turkish-American Business Council (TAİK) cordially invite you to a reception honoring

H.E. Nabi Sensoy
Ambassador of Turkey to the United States
with remarks on
"Turkish Foreign Policy"

Friday, February 20, 2009
6:00 - 6:30 pm Reception
6:30 - 7:00 pm Remarks by H.E. Ambassador Sensoy and Q & A
7:00 - 8:00 pm Reception and opportunity to visit Beyond Babylon exhibition

The Metropolitan Museum of Art
Patrons Lounge, 4th Floor
1000 Fifth Avenue, New York City
(Please use entrance at 81st Street)

H.E. Ambassador Nabi Sensoy was born in Istanbul in 1945. After graduating from the Faculty of Political Sciences of the University of Ankara, he started his career at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in 1970 and has since served in various high-level posts, including Consul General in London, Deputy Undersecretary, and Ambassador to Madrid and Moscow. He has been serving as the Ambassador to the United States since 2006.

Following H.E. Ambassador Sensoy’s remarks and reception, guests will have an opportunity to visit Beyond Babylon: Art, Trade, and Diplomacy in the Second Millennium B.C. until the museum’s closing at 8:45pm.

Beyond Babylon: Art, Trade, and Diplomacy in the Second Millennium B.C., on view at The Metropolitan Museum of Art until March 15, 2009, focuses on the extraordinary art created as a result of a sophisticated network of interaction that developed among kings, diplomats, merchants, and others in the Near East during the second millennium B.C. In addition, Beyond Babylon features cargo of the oldest known seagoing ship, which was wrecked near Uluburun, off the southern coast of Turkey in the Mediterranean Sea, around 1300 B.C. and discovered in 1982. DEIK/Turkish-American Business Council (TAİK) along with Dogus, Dogan, Koc and Sabanci Groups are proud to be the corporate sponsors of the exhibition.

The American Turkish Society, founded in 1949, is America’s oldest not-for-profit organization seeking to enhance ties between Turkey and the United States. The Society achieves its mission by bringing together leaders in government and business, as well as journalists, scholars and artists covering a spectrum of fields. Its Meet the Ambassadors program has hosted numerous U.S. and Turkish Ambassadors over the years. In addition, The Society initiates and sponsors a variety of educational and cultural exchange opportunities between the two countries. The American Turkish Society is a 501 (c) 3 charitable organization.

Turkish-American Business Council (TAİK), founded in 1985, is the largest and most established of the 82 bilateral councils operating under the permanent secretariat of Turkey’s international trade umbrella, The Foreign Economic Relations Board of Turkey (DEİK). TAİK’s vision is to increase the volume of Turkey-U.S. trade, to be recognized as the source of information and networking on bilateral issues for both Turkish and U.S. companies and to assist U.S. companies to view Turkey as a key partner and destination for direct investments in the region.

Space is extremely limited. Pre-registration is first-come, first-served and is strictly required for entry. No walk-ins will be allowed. To RSVP, please register online, e-mail info@americanturkishsociety.org, or call The Society at 212.583-7614 by Wednesday, February 18.

The American Turkish Society is a proud sponsor of a recital performed by internationally renowned pianist Idil Biret, presented by Turkish Women’s League of America to benefit the Ataturk School.

Thursday, February 19, 2009
6:30PM

The Times Center
242 West 41st Street
New York, NY 10036

The space is limited.
Ticket prices: Regular: $65, VIP: $100

Born in Ankara, Idil Biret started to play the piano at the age of three and later studied at the Paris Conservatoire under the guidance of Nadia Boulanger, graduating at the age of fifteen with three first prizes. She was a pupil of Alfred Cortot and a lifelong disciple of Wilhelm Kempff. She embarked on her career as a soloist at the age of sixteen appearing with major orchestras in the principal music centers in the of the world in collaboration with conductors of greatest distinction. To many major festival appearances may be added membership of juries for international competitions including the Van Cliburn, Queen Elisabeth of the Belgians and Busoni competitions. She has received the Lili Boulanger memorial Award in Boston, the Harriet Cohen / Dinu Lipatti Gold Medal in London, the Polish Cavalry Cross and the Distinguished Service Medals, the Adelaide Ristori Prize in Italy, the French Chevalier de l’Ordre National du Mérite and the State Artist distinction in Turkey. Her more than eighty records since the 1960s for many labels including EMI, Decca, Atlantic (Finnadar), Naxos and IBA include the complete piano works of Beethoven, Chopin, Brahms and Rachmaninov as well as works of Boulez, Ligeti and Strawinsky.

To purchase tickets online, please visit Turkish Women’s League of America website or return the reply form below.
The registration link below is not valid for this event.

All proceeds from this event will benefit the Ataturk School, a 37-year-old institution that aims to educate 4-14 year-old children in Turkish language and culture.

The American Turkish Society and Moon and Stars Project
Present a Reading and Discussion of
ISTANBUL NOIR: An Anthology of Istanbul Stories

Featuring
Mustafa Ziyalan
Editor and Translator
and
Yasemin Aydinoglu
Author

Moderated by
Ibrahim Ahmad
Akashic Books

Please join us for a reading, discussion and book signing featuring Istanbul Noir, the 26th book in the Akashic Books’ groundbreaking series of original noir anthologies set in cities all over the world.

A city at once ancient and modern, Istanbul is the quintessentially postcard-perfect metropolis. But don’t let the alluring vistas fool you: For beneath its veneer as the meeting place of cultures, religions, and ethnicities, lies a heart of darkness, seething with suppressed desire, boiling with frustration, and burning with a fervor for vengeance. If there is a city with its own unique brew of noir, Istanbul is it. Comprised entirely of new stories by some of Turkey’s most exciting authors—some still up-and-coming, others well-established and critically acclaimed in their homeland, as well as by a couple of “outsiders” temporarily held hostage in the city’s vice—Istanbul Noir introduces a whole new breed of talent.

To purchase online, please go to www.akashicbooks.com/istanbulnoir.htm. The book is also available in bookstores and will be sold at the event.

Tuesday, February 3, 2009
6:00-8:00pm
Light refreshments will be provided.

The American Turkish Society
3 Dag Hammarskjold Plaza, 305 E. 47th Street (at Second Avenue), 8th Floor
New York, NY 10017

SOLD OUT.
This event is free and open to public. Space is limited. Pre‐registration is strictly required. To RSVP, please register online below or fill out the registration form and fax it to The American Turkish Society at 212.583.7615 by Friday, January 30, 2009. For questions, please email info@americanturkishsociety.org or call 212.583.7614.

Speakers:
Murat Sungur Bursa, CEO, Zorlu Energy Group
Eva Sanchez, CEEMA Senior Strategist, JPMorgan Chase
Ernest Stern, Partner, The Rohatyn Group

Moderated by:
Ayse Yuksel, Esq., Partner, Chadbourne & Parke LLP

Please join our experts for a conversation on the economic and financial outlook for Turkey in 2009 and beyond, discussing the possible impacts of the current global crisis on economic growth, financial markets, foreign investment, and fiscal and monetary health in the country.

Tuesday, January 27, 2009
6:00-6:15pm Registration
6:15-7:30pm Discussion and Q&A
7:30-8:00pm Reception

Chadbourne & Parke LLP
30 Rockefeller Plaza - 36th Floor*
(50th Street and 5th Avenue)
New York, NY 10112

*Upon arrival, proceed directly towards the 28 - 40 floor elevator bank closest to the 50th Street entrance and confirm your name with the Chadbourne representative. The event will take place in the boardroom on the 36th floor.

Special thanks to our sponsor Chadbourne & Park LLP

Space is limited. Pre‐registration and ID is strictly required for entry. No walk‐ins will be allowed. To register, please register online below or fill out the registration form and fax to 212.583.7615 by Wednesday, January 21, by 5:00 pm. Press attendance is limited; members of the press wishing to cover the event, please contact The Society. For questions, please call 212.583.7614 or email info@americanturkishsociety.org.