The New York-based Turkish Cultural Center announces it will hold a Turkish speaking contest in New York on Feb. 24. The aim is to determine who qualifies for the International Turkish Olympics and to encourage American youth to take an interest in Turkish studies
A Turkish speaking contest will be held by a New York-based organization that promotes Turkish culture and language in the United States, to determine who qualifies for the International Turkish Olympics, the organization has announced.
“The goal is to encourage American youth to take an interest in Turkish studies,” the Turkish Cultural Centre (TCC), a non-profit organization, said in a press release. The contest will be held in New York on Feb. 24.
The International Turkish Olympics, launched in 2003, aim to promote the use of more sophisticated Turkish among young native speakers and encourage foreign students to study it as a second language. Some 500 children from 100 different countries attended the Olympics in Istanbul last year, and this high participation was praised by the World Records Academy.
By letting 500 students cut the ribbon together at the opening ceremony, the Turkish Olympics qualified for the Guinness Records and thus received a lot of publicity. The event”s successful publicity is reflected in the numbers: 17 countries participated in the first Turkish Olympics, 24 in the second, 41 in the third and 83 in the fourth.
This year will see the sixth Turkish Olympics from May 22-31. The students, aged 12 to 19, will compete in two main categories: Native and non-native speakers. Each group will then compete in different subcategories including reading, writing, speaking, singing, poem reading and presentation skills.
“U.S. interest in the competition is very high,” said M. Emre Püsküllüoðlu, head of the TCC Contest Committee. “There will be a lot of contestants, especially from the Turkish schools in the United States like Amity School and Pioneer Academy. However, the contest is open to everybody,” added Püsküllüoðlu.
The TCC contest will be like the U.S. finals for the Turkish Olympics.
“The TCC organizes educational and cultural activities such as art exhibits, concerts, trips, children”s activities, movie screenings, lectures, seminars, dinners, language courses, workshops, library events and informational programs about Turkey and Turkish culture, always placing special emphasis on dialogue, peace and environmental issues. We believe the Turkish Olympics is a very important event to bridge different cultures. It is also well-aligned with our mission of promoting cultural exchange between the United States and Turkey,” said the TCC press release.
Americans are very disturbed by the increasing anti-Americanism around the world, said Püsküllüoðlu. “Young Americans will try to show the world that they do respect other cultures and languages through their participation in the contest,” he said.
Foreign news – Resource: Turkish Daily News
