The Assembly of Turkish American Associations (ATAA) in cooperation with the Turkish American Cultural Association of Michigan (TACAM) hosted a grassroots training workshop/seminar on Sunday, January 24th at the TACAM building in Wixom, Michigan. This event was a part of the grassroots initiative, the Turkish American Broad Advocacy Network, or TABAN.  With a generous grant from the Turkish Coalition of America, ATAA is engaged in, a nationwide grassroots education and advocacy campaign. With this grant ATAA was able to hire a Civic Engagement Director, Yenal Kucuker.  ATAA was also able to implement a nationwide Request for Proposal process to solicit applications for grassroots mini-grants.  From these applications, ATAA identified three Component Associations who received the mini-grants, which are Turkish American Cultural Association of Michigan, Turkish American Cultural Alliance of Chicago and the Association of Turkish Americans of Southern California. [read]

Organized by the Istanbul University Alumni US (IUMEZUSA), Atatürk Symposium took place at the United Nations in New York on December 13, 2009. Supported by Turkish Coalition of America (TCA), Assembly of Turkish American Associations (ATAA), Federation of Turkish American Associations (FTAA), Atatürk Society of America (ASA) and 20 other organizations and individuals, the three hour program was unique and comprehensive in the sense that varied aspects of Atatürk's legacy were covered by expert academicians.  [read]
 
Click here to watch the webcast recordings of the Atatürk Symposium.
 
 
Atatürk'ün Mirası: Bir Ulusun Bilinçsel DönüŞümü

ATAA's Eastern Region Vice President Ali Çınar participated in a TV show called Medya MüfettiŞi at TRT. The program's host Serra Karacam posed questions regarding the recent NBC incident, when a fictitious map of eastern Turkey was shown as "Kurdistan."  This blatant provocation caused a serious discontent among the Turkish-Americans. Ali Çınar stated that "NBC's map was broadcasted on purpose" and mentioned that a joint action alert campaign was led by the Assembly of Turkish American Associations (ATAA) and the Federation of Turkish American Associations (FTAA).  He also underlined the importance of the existing cooperation between these two Turkish American grassroots organizations in the United States. In his concluding remarks, Çınar stated that he was happy to read NBC's apology in less than a week and that this was the result of a swift and organized response from the Turkish-American community.

Turkish Ambassador to the United States Nabi Şensoy hosted a farewell reception at his Washington residence on January 14, 2010.
 
Nabi Şensoy became ambassador of Turkey to the United States on Jan. 10. Ambassador Şensoy previously served as deputy undersecretary of general political affairs at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs (2002-05), ambassador to Russia (1998-2002), deputy undersecretary of political affairs for the European Union (1997-98), director-general of the Department of Policy Planning at the Foreign Affairs Ministry (1995-97), and ambassador to Spain (1990-95).
 
ATAA thanks Ambassador and Mrs. Şensoy for their leadership, guidance and unwavering support to ATAA during the four years of their stay in Washington and wishes them the best in their retirement years in Turkey. 

UPCOMING EVENTS

ATASC/ATAA Student Outreach Networking Meeting January 30, 2010, Los Angeles, CA ATASC and ATAA invite all Turkish American students to this seminar where we will discuss issues concerning students such as visa and immigration issues, job search, career decisions, and available resources in an informal Q /A setting. The meeting will start at 2 pm  at Courtyard Marriott at LAX.  Please let students of your acquaintance know of this special meeting. ATASC Grassroots/Advocacy Seminar January 31, 2010, Los Angeles, CA GrassRoots/Leadership Seminar will be presented with the participation of visitors from ATAA and TCA.  Previous ATAA President Ms. Nurten Ural, current TCA President Lincoln McCurdy and their staffs will be here to meet with ATASC members and to hold discussions on multiple Turkish American issues. ATA-DC Fundraiser Party for Haiti February 06, 2010, Washington, DC 20009 Proceeds to benefit Doctors without Borders in Haiti. ATAA Turkish Student Dinner February 9, 2010, ATAA Turkevi, Washington, DC ATAA Philadelphia Census 2010 Seminar February 10, 2010, Philadelphia, PA Pursuant to our Sayturk campaign, ATAA's North Central Region Vice President Ibrahim Onaral is organizing a Census Seminar at Drexel University Campus with the participation of Partnership Specialists from the Philadelphia Regional Census Center. For information, please call 215-606-8499 and/or e-mail ibrahimonaral@hotmail.com. A Dream...but not Yours: Contemporary Art from Turkey National Museum of Women in the Arts February 12-May 16, 2010, Washington, DC Contemporary Art from Turkey features 11 artists from Turkey who create art in response to outlined gender roles and propose new ways of looking at and imagining the dreams they are supposed to live and those they want to live. The 24 works of photography, video, paintings, textiles and installations challenge the life paths that are packaged for women by local traditions, family and society. ATAA WinterFest Fundraiser Event February 28, 2010, Washington, DC Special Guest: Ambassador and Mrs. Namık Tan You are cordially invited by the former envoy of Sweden to Washington, Ambassador and Mrs. Henrik Liljegren, to their residence for a cocktail reception and light buffet to benefit the ATAA.