Foreign students who participated in the song final of the 9th International Turkish Olympiads on Tuesday fascinated thousands of spectators with their performances in Turkish. A student from Tajikistan came first in the competition.
The Olympiads, organized by the International Turkish Education Association (TÜRKÇEDER), have brought hundreds of foreign students each year from Turkish schools established throughout the world. This year’s International Turkish Language Olympiads, which include nearly 1,000 students from 130 countries, started with a spectacular opening ceremony at İstanbul’s Dolmabahçe Palace on June 15. As part of the Olympiads, the students are expected to compete in 13 categories, ranging from poetry to songs. Various events, all under the umbrella of the Olympiads, are being held throughout Turkey.
The song competition started with the Turkish national anthem and continued with folk dance performances from students of different countries.
A total of 17 finalists competed in the contest, and their performances were evaluated by a committee made up of organizer Ahmet San, song writer Sezen Cumhur Önal, singers Yeşim Salkım, Emel Sayın, Burak Kut, Hakan Peker, Gökhan Kırdar, Hakan Aysev, producer Sinan Çetin, journalist Cengiz Semercioğlu and Turkish Language Association (TDK) President Şükrü Haluk Akalın. Tajik student Shohrukh Yunusov was declared the winner of the competition with the song, “Akşam Oldu Hüzünlendim Ben Yine” while Bosnian student Sejla Kocan came in second with the song, “Çoban Yıldızı,” and Indonesian Rahmi Amalia came in third with the song, “Dert Bende Derman Sende.”
A horon dance -- a folk dance specific to Turkey’s Black Sea region, by Ghanaian students drew huge applause from the audience. Celebrities attending the ceremony voiced their appreciation for the organizers of the event and for their efforts to spread the use of Turkish all around the world. In his speech, Çetin offered his special thanks to Islamic scholar Fethullah Gülen who has pioneered education activities all around the world and asked his followers to open schools even in the remotest countries of the world, for making people love Turkish.
“The most important reason for my offering thanks to him [Gülen] is because he has made people love this country, this language and these people, because he did not leave this country to the hands of those who say ‘We will kill [Nobel laureate writer] Orhan Pamuk,’ because he has proved that loving this country is no crime and it is even a source of pride.” Çetin’s statements drew huge applause from the audience. Bağış, a former state minister, also delivered a short speech after handing the winner of the competition his medal, and said he “bows respectfully before Gülen” for pioneering education services all around the world that help spread the use of the Turkish language.
Renowned Turkish singer Sayın said she was very much touched by the performances of the students and felt proud just as every Turk would feel in such an atmosphere. “I embrace everyone with respect who contributed to this project,” she said. The event was concluded with the recital of a song “Yeni Bir Dünya” (A New World) by all the students. In the meantime, a group of students who are in Turkey for the Turkish Olympiads paid a visit to İshak Alaton, a leading Turkish businessman, at his İstanbul office on Wednesday.
Alaton said it is a very positive thing both for Turkey and the students for them to speak Turkish and come to Turkey as distinguished people. The businessman said he was very pleased with the promotion of Turkey abroad by these students.
Published on Today's Zaman, 22 June 2011, Wednesday
