On May 21, 2014, the Council of Turkic American Associations (CTAA), in conjunction with the Turkic Leadership Academy, organized a 2-day trip to the nation’s capital. Student leaders from Pioneer Academy in New Jersey, Putnam Science Academy in Connecticut, and Brooklyn Amity School in New York and Turkic American college students. The purpose of the trip was to expose students to various leaders and organizations and initiatives in areas such as the economy, politics and foreign relations.
As part of their trip, the students toured the U.S. Capitol Building, various monuments and museums. On Capitol Hill, they had a chance to meet with U.S. Senator Cory Booker, U.S. Representative Congressman Bill Pascrell, U.S. Representative Chris Smith and U.S. Representative Yvette Clarke, each of whom shared their perspectives on American politics and the work they do in Congress. To cap off their D.C. visit, they toured the Turkic American Alliance (TAA) headquarters, where they were given a presentation by TAA’s President Dr. Faruk Taban on the organization’s activities and efforts in advocating for the Turkic community.
The Turkic Leadership Academy (TLA) Program was initiated this past March by CTAA to help foster educational exchange, provide youth with training and skills to navigate their careers as well as opportunities to enable students to engage with community leaders in tackling problems of the Turkic American community and society as a whole. During the opening ceremony of the program, U.S. Representative Carolyn Maloney gave brief remarks on the value of having quality education. Currently, TLA has a total of 90 student leaders enrolled in the program.
The Council of Turkic American Associations aims to foster public awareness and engagement by developing programs that promote and advance quality education, academic exploration and dialogue. CTAA is one of six member federations under the Turkic American Alliance (TAA), which is located in Washington, D.C.
