The 3rd Annual Turkish American Day at the Georgia Capitol took place at the Georgia State Capitol Building on Tuesday, February 21st 2012 from 10:00 a.m. through 4:00 p.m. This unique program – free and open to the public – introduced Georgia Senators, Representatives, staff and the community to Turkish culture through fabulous food, fun, a folk-dancing performance, and even included a raffle to win prizes. Governor Nathan Deal yet again made opening remarks for the program
this year and stressedthe importance of the relationship between Turkey and the State of Georgia.
The main focus of this event was to highlight and increase business, education, and trade between Turkey and the state of Georgia. From 2009-2010 trade between Georgia and Turkey increased by more than 65% – from around $187 million to over $305 million – while during the first 6 months of the fiscal year 2011 Turkey was ranked 10th among countries that goods from Georgia are shipped to. “The efforts of both Istanbul Center and the Turkish American Chamber of Commerce of the Southeastern U.S. have, in the past three years, tripled that trade between Georgia and Turkey and we would now like to triple this number within two years time,” explained Istanbul Center Executive Director Tarik Celik who also serves as Chairman of the Advisory Board of the TACC-Southeast, “thus aiming for a lofty yet achievable goal of $3 billion in trade by the end of 2014.” An official Trade Delegation made up of businesspeople from the following sectors in Turkey were also represented at the 2012 Turkish American Day at the Georgia Capitol: shipping and courier services, logistics and software, textiles and leather goods, machinery parts, construction, air conditioning and cement, health products, natural stones, food products, metal works, natural gas installation, and the paper industry.
In regards to tourism, more than 32 million people visited Turkey during 2011, with Americans being ranked 10th therein. There are also ties between local universities in Atlanta and various universities in Turkey. Georgia Institute of Technology, for instance, has more than 100 Turkish students and faculty. For Turkey ranks 3rd amongst all nations in sending their brightest students to study for their Master’s and Doctoral degrees in the U.S. “The goal is to connect Turkish Universities with all universities in Georgia,” stated Tarik Celik, “and make all of these Georgian universities have Turkish students enrolled.” This 3rd Annual Turkish American Day at the Georgia Capitol thus intended to build upon these pre-existing partnerships and collaborations, augment them, and create more fruitful and mutually beneficial relationships between Turkey and the state of Georgia.
More than 1,500 people attended the 2012 Annual Turkish American Day at the Georgia Capitol! Tables in the south wing provided information about the country of Turkey and the Turkish-American community in the region while an exhibit of past years’ winning Global Connections Art & Essay Contest student submissions were on display. In addition, a variety of free Turkish cuisine – one of the five world-famous cuisines – was provided to all attendees. Music in the form of multiple musical performances played on the native Turkish instrument called a qanun throughout the day further shared old traditions with new friends while they mingled over sumptuous food and soaked in Turkish culture.
Istanbul Center was also honored by the passing of Resolutions by both the Georgia State Senate and Georgia House of Representatives at this year’s 3rd Annual Turkish American Day at the Georgia Capitol. These Resolutions are the formal recognition of both the Turkish American Community and, more specifically, Istanbul Center’s contributions to intercultural dialogue and cooperation in Georgia. During both the passing of the House and Senate Resolutions, Mr. Abdulkadir Demir, Governor of Denizli, addressed the legislators and gallery crowds. Governor Demir stressed the fact that Turkey and the U.S. are longtime allies and that it would be mutually beneficial to build upon this relationship, inviting all present “to create more projects between Turkey and Georgia” and pledging on behalf of his visiting delegation of officials from Turkey to “bring more officials from Turkey to the U.S.” and “share [their]knowledge of Atlanta and Georgia’s great potential with universities, businesses, and government entities in Turkey and influence them to come and invest in [the]Great State [of Georgia]!” Istanbul Center Executive Director also made remarks during each Resolution’s passing emphasizing the importance of Turkish-American relations and the works being done by Atlanta’s Turkish American community and Istanbul Center, now celebrating its 10th year anniversary, sentiments echoed in Governor Nathan Deal’s opening remarks later in the day. For Governor Deal noted that there are “more than 500” businesses owned by Turkish Americans in the State of Georgia and “more than 8,000 [Turkish Americans] call the city [of Atlanta]home.”
We would like to personally thank our friends at the Georgia Bureau of Investigation, Director Vernon Keenan and Inspector Sherry Lang; the Governor’s Office, including both Governor Nathan Deal and his staff; the Georgia House of Representatives, especially Representative Mike Cheokas and also Representative Beasley-Teague; and Georgia State Senate, primarily Senator Jeff Mullis, and also Senators Ronnie Chance, Steve Gooch, Donzella James and Doug Stoner for being involved in and helping us to organize this annual event since its inception; we could not do it without your assistance and guidance!
To see pictures from the program, please clickhere.
You may also access the following articles about the 3rd Annual Turkish American Day at the Georgia Capitol:
Lawmakers Pay Homage to Turkey, Georgia Public Broadcasting
