Cultural Activities
III. Halit Aydın Science and Research Awards Written Work Competition
The third edition of the “Halit Aydın Science and Research Awards” organized by the Social Research Application and Research Center (TARMER) at Istanbul Aydın University, which was first held in 2015 and has continued as a tradition, has begun its process. Written work submissions will be accepted until March 1, 2022.
The selected theme is “Migration and Poverty”, and academics, researchers, writers, artists, and other interested parties are invited to participate.
The goal of this competition is to bring the causes and consequences of the “Migration and Poverty” phenomenon, which negatively impacts our society, to the public agenda.
With the support of Anadolu Education and Culture Foundation (AKEV), the competition will award 30,000 TL to the first-place work, 20,000 TL to the second-place work, and 10,000 TL to the third-place work.
Works can be submitted to [email protected].
Anadolu Eğitim ve Kültür Vakfı (AKEV) ve İstanbul Aydın Üniversitesi İşbirliğiyle “Köklerime Seyahat” Söyleşisi ve İmza Etkinliği
Anadolu Eğitim ve Kültür Vakfı (AKEV) ile İstanbul Aydın Üniversitesi işbirliğiyle düzenlenen, Yazar Nermin Bezmen‘in konuşmacı olarak katıldığı “Köklerime Seyahat” konulu söyleşi ve imza etkinliği başarıyla gerçekleştirilmiştir.
Söyleşisinde, Nermin Bezmen kitaplarla tanışmasından bugüne kadar süren yazarlık yolculuğunun anekdotlarını katılımcılarla paylaşmıştır. Gençlerin yoğun ilgisiyle gerçekleşen etkinlikte, Nermin Bezmen sıklıkla gençleri, okuma alışkanlıklarını geliştirmeye ve yazma becerilerini artırmaya davet etmiştir.
The seminar on photography and painting, organized by the Anatolian Education and Culture Foundation (AKEV) and Istanbul Aydın University in collaboration, was held with the participation of painter and photographer Şakir Sağlam. Şakir Sağlam emphasized the difference between painting and photography in the seminar. The artist defined painting as linear and colorful works done by hand and shared examples of the T-Painting approach with the youth.
It was reported that the developments in the world oil market also have reflections in Turkey, and that the stations in Turkey are among the important examples in the world in terms of both quality and operation. The changing rules in the energy market, increasing competition, new laws and the change in partnerships, dealer and distribution relations in the sector were also among the topics emphasized.
It was reported that there are 4 refineries, 53 distribution companies, 82 depots and 12,701 stations in the fuel sector in Turkey, 250,000 people are employed in these sectors and that the fuel market has reached a monetary size of 75 billion TL today. Istanbul Aydin University Rector Prof. Dr. Salih Celikkale stated that oil is the world’s favorite and that Turkey is a country that imports oil and that a significant budget has to be allocated for this. The panel event ended with the presentation of plaques to the participants.
In the organization organized by the Anatolian Education and Culture Foundation (AKEV) and Istanbul Aydın University in cooperation, State Minister Prof. Dr. Mehmet Aydın gave a conference on the subject of “Alliance of Civilizations”. In his speech, Prof. Dr. Mehmet Aydın stated that the Alliance of Civilizations is a world project carried out under the auspices of the United Nations. On the other hand, Aydın, who said that there are over 110 members participating in the alliance, reported that each country has implemented a number of projects related to the alliance at a national level.
Prof. Dr. Mehmet Aydın stated that the Alliance of Civilizations is not an alliance established to prevent hot conflicts and terrorism, but a political and policy project. He emphasized that the Alliance of Civilizations is a democratic form of government stemming from culture and civilization, that managing with differences is a priority, and that the authority that will decide on the steps to be taken is the political authorities.
The guest of the talk titled “Problems of Local Governments and New Projects” organized by the Anatolian Education and Culture Foundation (AKEV) and Istanbul Aydin University was Istanbul Metropolitan Municipality Mayor Kadir Topbas. The talk program was held at Istanbul Aydin University Florya Halit Aydin Campus with the intense participation of young people. Mr. Topbas discussed the problems of Istanbul and solution projects. Stating that the metrobus provided a positive answer to the transportation problem, Topbas gave the good news that “the road, which will carry 150 thousand people per day from East to West and will be 54 km in total, will continue to Beylikduzu.” Topbas, who talked about the earthquake expected in Istanbul and the work they have done since Istanbul was selected as the 2010 European Capital of Culture, also answered the questions of the participants.
The seminar program titled “The Story of Nuclear Power”, organized by the Anatolian Education and Culture Foundation (AKEV) and Istanbul Aydın University, in which Prof. Dr. Namık Kemal Aras, honorary member of the Turkish Academy of Sciences, participated as a speaker, was held. Prof. Dr. Namık Kemal Aras emphasized in the seminar program that nuclear energy should be preferred for a clean environment. Prof. Dr. Namık Kemal Aras, who has worked on nuclear energy for approximately 50 years and also discovered two new radioisotopes, said, “It is certain that nuclear energy, which is far from the global warming that the world is facing and the carbon dioxide production that contributes greatly to it, is one of the cleanest energy types for the environment.”
Prof. Dr. Aras said that developing an unknown power in a short time and doing this with the meticulousness and coordination of science, technology and engineering branches with thousands of scientists and technicians is a very big work. Mr. Aras also shared the story of the historical development process of nuclear power with the participants during his conference presentation.
A seminar and workshop was organized in collaboration with the Anatolian Education and Culture Foundation (AKEV) and Istanbul Aydın University and Support to Life Association to bring together institutions and organizations working in the field of disaster management to understand Turkey’s disaster risks, discuss how prepared we are for disasters, identify needs in humanitarian aid and disaster management, ensure the sharing of information and experience, and lay the foundations for future collaborations.
Dr. Nehir Varol from the Blue Crescent Foundation, Zafer Karakaş from the Turkish Red Crescent Disaster Operation Center, Prof. Dr. Metin İlkışık from the Istanbul Metropolitan Municipality AKOM, Prof. Dr. Şerif Barış from Kocaeli University YUBAM, Hansın Doğan from the United Nations Development Program, and Tuğrul Paşaoğlu from the Association for Supporting Civil Coordination Against Disaster participated as speakers in this activity.
Opinions were expressed on finding appropriate ways to increase effectiveness in disaster management, how to meet humanitarian needs that may arise in the event of a disaster before they occur, how to best demonstrate coordination between institutions and organizations, examining the mechanisms, periods and systems used in disaster management, and determining new methods that can be used in both operational and advocacy activities. It was emphasized that the structural environment in which civil society organizations operate and the legislation regulating disaster management must be more encouraging in order to ensure effectiveness in disaster management.
The two-day symposium, organized by the Anadolu Education and Culture Foundation (AKEV) and Istanbul Aydın University, was held with presentations by 50 scientists from Turkey and abroad. The opening of the Deliberative Democracy Symposium was held by Minister of State and Deputy Prime Minister Hayati Yazıcı and Minister of Justice Mehmet Ali Şahin, and the closing session was chaired by Honorary President of the Court of Cassation Prof. Dr. Sami Selçuk.
Following the speeches of Assoc. Prof. Dr. Zeynep Karahan Uslu, Director of the Center for Turkish Studies, Prof. Dr. Mehmet Salih Çelikkale, Rector of Istanbul Aydın University, and Dr. Mustafa Aydın, Chairman of the Board of Trustees of the Anadolu Education and Culture Foundation, Minister of Justice Mehmet Ali Şahin made his presentation emphasizing that the concept of democracy is based on the will of the people. Minister Şahin stated that democracy in our country has emerged stronger after every shock it has experienced, and that the legitimacy of the representative democracy implemented in our country is occasionally questioned by our citizens.
Minister of State and Deputy Prime Minister Hayati Yazıcı said that the deepening of democracy will be the greatest guarantee of Turkey’s bright future. Mr. Hayati Yazıcı emphasized that just as we as a society closely follow the changes and transformations in the world and greet our country’s transformation in the direction of contemporary civilization with great excitement, we should also direct our attention to the expansions gained by the concept of democracy, and emphasized that the greatest duty and responsibility in this regard falls on scientists.
AKEV and Istanbul Aydın University Board of Trustees Chairman Dr. Mustafa Aydın, Honorary President of the Court of Cassation Prof. Dr. Sami Selçuk and other participants were presented with plaques of appreciation.
The conference organized by the Anatolian Education and Culture Foundation (AKEV) and Istanbul Aydın University, in which the Secretary General of the Turkish Tourism Investors Association, Koray Yetik, was the speaker, was held.
The Turkish Tourism Investors Association is a non-governmental organization that has helped solve various problems of tourism and tourism investors since its establishment, explains the importance of tourism investment to the public, strives to increase the share our country receives from world tourism day by day, and represents individuals and companies investing in the tourism sector.
In his general presentation of tourism in Turkey, Mr. Koray Yetik emphasized the need to increase environmental awareness in tourism, solve liquid and solid waste systems not on a facility basis but on a local level, and create additional funds by transferring resources from central budgets and also by jointly acting with facilities and municipalities in this regard. Mr. Yetik emphasized the importance of finding solutions to tourism problems by cooperating with all private and public institutions, especially municipalities and professional organizations.
Emphasizing that it is inevitable for institutions to work together in infrastructure and promotion, Yetik stated that destination promotions play a vital role in international fairs. In this context, he also drew attention to the fact that local stands should be included in fairs. Mr. Koray Yetik mentioned the benefits of using more civil initiatives to solve local and regional problems and for tourism professionals to join civil society organizations and work actively in these organizations.
At the conference organized by the Anatolian Education and Culture Foundation (AKEV) and Istanbul Aydın University, Minister of Energy and Natural Resources Hilmi Güler said that concrete projects were being produced against external dependency in energy and therefore he was not hopeless. Güler stated that they were in an application that gradually reduced or even eliminated external dependency by using the resources we had.
Regarding their work on renewable energy sources, Minister Güler announced that they were focusing on new energy sources. He reported that they first built stands on the water that was flowing in vain and produced electricity in this way with 1600 projects.
He emphasized that they had raised Turkey to 12th place in Europe in terms of wind map and utilization of wind. Minister of Energy and Natural Resources Hilmi Güler stated that they were also utilizing solar energy and geothermal energy and that solar maps were being created for each province and district.
He stated that they were working on using our geothermal energy resources, which are potentially first in Europe and 7th in the world, in electricity generation and greenhouse farming. At the end of the conference, a plaque of appreciation was presented to Minister Güler by Dr. Mustafa Aydın, Chairman of the Board of Trustees of AKEV and Istanbul Aydın University.
The conference titled “Global Crisis and Its Effects on Turkish Industry” organized by the Anadolu Education and Culture Foundation (AKEV) and Istanbul Aydın University was held with the honor of Minister of Industry and Trade Zafer Çağlayan. Çağlayan, who started his speech at the conference that attracted great interest from young people, by saying “I see the crisis experienced today as a truck with broken brakes that does not know when and where it will stop”, emphasized that this crisis will be overcome with minimal damage by saying “However, there is no crisis that starts and ends in any country”.
Minister Çağlayan said that Turkey is under the influence of the global crisis experienced today due to its open economic policy, important geographical location and increasing exports in recent years. Stating that the situation of Turkish Industry is extremely positive, Çağlayan reported that more than 90 percent of Turkey’s 132 billion dollars of exports are industrial products and 60 percent of exports are to Europe. He stated that foreign investors, who look at factors such as political and economic stability and legal infrastructure, have invested 60 billion dollars in Turkey in the last 5 years.
Reminding that Turkey aims to be among the world’s top 10 economies by 2023, Çağlayan stated that they made all their plans within this framework and that they are currently taking many measures to revive the market and prevent employees from losing their jobs. Following his speech, AKEV and Istanbul Aydın University Board of Trustees Chairman Dr. Mustafa Aydın presented Minister Zafer Çağlayan with a plaque of appreciation.
A panel titled “Women, Politics and Violence” was organized in collaboration with the Anadolu Education and Culture Foundation and Istanbul Aydın University on the occasion of March 8th International Women’s Day. Ayseli Göksoy, Aylin Kotil, Assoc. Prof. Dr. Ebru Ceylan and Nevval Sevindi participated in the panel as panelists. In this panel event, issues related to women were discussed and opinions and suggestions were presented on the place of women in society.
In this panel, Turkish Women’s Union President and Politician Ayseli Göksoy addressed her speech in terms of politics and violence, stating that women are subjected to violence and that although secret and political games are being played, women can actually successfully fulfill any task when their common sense and creative qualities allow them to do so.
Businesswoman and journalist Aylin Kotil addressed her speech in terms of women’s motherhood. Kotil stated that there has been a significant decline in women’s employment in Turkey and that mothers still raise their sons as “my son, my pasha”. In Turkey, while it is ensured that boys have jobs and professions, mothers are looking to marry their girls to rich people, she emphasized the importance of ensuring that our girls have jobs. Istanbul Aydin University Faculty of Law Lecturer Assoc. Prof. Dr. Ebru Ceylan made statements regarding the legal rights of women.
Ms. Ceylan stated that the most important reform made by Atatürk on the way to becoming a society where women are valued is the legal reform. In her speech, Ceylan clearly stated how the law works for women, and stated that as of January 10, 2002, innovations were made to the Civil Code, and within this framework, the provisions on gender equality and inequality were rearranged, women’s labor and working at home were also evaluated as contributions in the civil code, and the position of head of family was abolished.
The event titled “Dik Işık Çekirdeklerini” was organized in coordination with the Anadolu Education and Culture Foundation (AKEV) and Anadolu BİL Vocational School in order to introduce and inspire students to the life of Atilla İlhan (1925-2005), a rare cultural, artistic and intellectual figure raised during the Republican Period, in various dimensions. The program was attended by actress and fashion designer, Atilla İlhan’s sister Çolpan İlhan Alışık, writer and poet Metin Celal, TRT 2 producer Nedret Çatay and journalist and documentarian Nebil Özgentürk, who gave a summary presentation from the documentary titled “The Great Captain of Love Poems, Attila İlhan.”
A talk event was held with the cooperation of Anadolu Education and Culture Foundation (AKEV) and Anadolu BİL Vocational School, aiming to bring young people together with the art world. The talk program, in which artist Mr. Kenan Işık was the speaker, was attended by many young people, and many evaluations on art, theater and cinema were emphasized.
The European-Mediterranean Regional Cooperation Committee COPPEM, which has 180 mayors and administrators from the European Union and Mediterranean countries as members, held its second commission meeting responsible for the Presidency Board, Cities and Interregional Cooperation at the Anadolu BİL Vocational School hosted by the Anadolu Education and Culture Foundation.
COPPEM, which has a total of 12 mayors or NGO administrators from Turkey, including the Local Governments Association and Kars Mayor Naif Alibeyoğlu, the Union of Turkish World Municipalities and Pendik Mayor Erol Kaya, the Ankara Yenimahalle Mayor Ahmet Duyar, and the Istanbul Maltepe Mayor Fikri Köse, held its 2nd Commission meeting with the participation of 70 delegates from Italy, Ireland, Morocco, Jordan, Lebanon, Egypt, the Netherlands, Israel, Malta, Hungary, Tunisia, Poland, Palestine, Belgium, Greece, Estonia, the Czech Republic, Cyprus and Portugal.
A talk titled “Contemporary Turkish Literature” was organized with the coordination of Anadolu Education and Culture Foundation (AKEV) and Anadolu BİL Vocational School, from the Commentary of Mr. Selim İleri, an author who devoted her life to literature, reading and writing.
