Turkish Consul General to Paris Turgut Kural, Paris Embassy Undersecretary Halil Umit Cemaloglu and presidents of numerous institutions attended the event. The contestants, trained to qualify for the finals by Etude Plus and Anatolian Culture Center, with a track record of exemplary activities in France, stirred emotions in the audience.
Turkish Consul General to Paris Turgut Kurak said “These activities serve an important purpose as they teach Turkish to both the French and Turkish communities’ children and as reward them too. I hope children from Paris can pass France eliminations and qualify for finals in Turkey.”
Mehmet Erdem, secretary general of the organizer Etude Plus noted that they have been preparing since September. He said 80 students performed in the preliminary contests and 30 of them could qualify for the finals. And top winners will represent Paris in France finals. “We hope they get the first places and will be able to contest in the 11th Turkish Olympiads” said Erdem.
The event’s host Lamine Traore, who is a Senegal Turkish Schools graduate, highlighted that the attendees of the night are not solely Turks and said “Such events enable different cultures to get to know each other, to start dialogue and to realize the truths about each other.” Arguing that true face of Turkey is not known around the world, Traore said “These events also contribute to introduce Turkey’s values to people as well.”
France finals for the 11th Turkish Language Olympiads will be held in Lyon on April 28.
Published [in Turkish] on Cihan, 18 March 2013, Monday
