{"id":46923,"date":"2011-11-21T21:41:28","date_gmt":"2011-11-21T19:41:28","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.turkishnews.com\/en\/content\/?p=46923"},"modified":"2014-01-06T18:01:41","modified_gmt":"2014-01-06T16:01:41","slug":"energy-symposiums-business-conferences-and-the-world-turkish-entrepreneurs-convention-in-istanbul","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.turkishnews.com\/en\/content\/2011\/11\/21\/energy-symposiums-business-conferences-and-the-world-turkish-entrepreneurs-convention-in-istanbul\/","title":{"rendered":"Energy Symposiums, Business Conferences and the World Turkish Entrepreneurs Convention in \u0130stanbul."},"content":{"rendered":"

The Week That Was: 14-20 November 2011.\u00a0<\/span><\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n

\u00a0\"\"<\/span><\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n

The week started with the Eurasia Waste Technologies Symposium<\/strong> at the Hali\u00e7 Coference Center on 14 November Monday and lasted for 3 days. The main topic was the management of waste in Turkey landfills across the country for storing the municipal wastes, (close to 2,000 of which 59 is controlled) which, according to one speaker has reached 27 million tons per year. This was followed by the \u2018\u20198th Energy Symposium \u2013 Global Energy Politics and Turkey\u2019\u2019<\/strong> between 17 \u2013 19 November at the T.C Culture University near the airport, open to the public as well . On Nov 17, the \u2018\u2019International Symposium on Sultan Abd\u00fclmecid and His Times\u2019\u2019 <\/strong>was kicked off with a concert by Ahmet Ozhan at the Dolmabah\u00e7e Palace and lasted through Saturday. A special exhibition of newspaper front pages on Atat\u00fcrk\u2019s death <\/strong>was also presented at the entrance building of the Palace between 10 \u2013 20 November, but missed by most attending the symposium. On 18 November Friday, \u2018\u2019The<\/strong> World<\/strong> Turkish Entrepreneurs Convention\u2019<\/strong> organized by the Foreign Economic Relations Board (DEIK), commenced at the Lutfi K\u0131rdar Conference Center, which was attended by close to 2,000 delegates from 100 countries, including the US, which also lasted through Saturday, Nov 19. <\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

In addition, the 30th International Book Fair<\/strong> began its week long program on 12 November which ended today, where Egypt <\/strong>was the country of guest of honor. Among the many Turkish and foreign authors who signed their books was Robert Fisk<\/strong>, whose incredibly anti-Turkish book, \u2018\u2019The Great War for Civilization: The Conquest of the Middle East\u201d<\/strong> (Oct 2005) translated into Turkish was being sold at the fair. Appearing at NTV and Kanal 24 TV programs, Robert Fisk was not bashful in stating his belief that Turks committed genocide against the Armenians in 1915, which he refers to as \u2018\u2019Holocaust\u2019\u2019 in his book, and suggested that Turks should recognize this, with no one rally objecting to his statements.<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

All of the above symposiums, conferences, convention and exhibitions had an international flavor and the role of the Turkish Diaspora <\/strong>was discussed, but the death of \u00a0<\/span>international Turkish artist Esin Af\u015far on 13 November was not mentioned although her efforts has done more for the correct presentation of Turkish image abroad than any organisation or individual. A program of remembrance for Esin Af\u015far<\/strong> was held at the Cemil Resit Rey Concert Hall on 15 November Tuesday, organized by the \u015ei\u015fli Municapilty, followed by her burial at the Karacaahmet Cemetery in \u00dcsk\u00fcdar. One of the speakers at the ceremony was Prof. Dr. Oktay Sinano\u011flu, also a member of the Turkish Diaspora in America and a Turk, who told the audience, \u2018\u2019We will not forget Esin\u2019s contributions to Turkish Culture.\u2019\u2019<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

As a consultant in the energy sector and a member of the Turkish Diaspora in the United States since 1957, with interest in the developments related to Turkey and to America, I managed to attend the above functions partially and followed the speeches, presentations and news in the media. The energy syposiums were mentioned very little in the media, although many important revelations were made during the presentations on the nuclear energy and the Nabuco gas pipeline. All four speakers at the \u2018\u2019Nuclear Energy Session\u2019\u2019<\/strong> stated that Turkey should not start nuclear energy program when many countries, including Japan, are planning to phase out their nuclear programs. Dr. Ferruh Demirmen from the US<\/strong> was among the speakers who made a presentation on the Nabucco Pipeline which may never be realized now that a new Trans-Turkey pipeline from Azerbaijan to Europe has been introduced. More was written about the Abdulmecid Symposium in several newspapers than other conferences, complete with a photograph of the Speaker of the House Cemil \u00c7i\u00e7ek and the descendanst of Abdulmecit 1 and Abdulhamit 2, Osman Selahattin Osmano\u011flu and Abdulhamit Kayihan Osmanoglu. <\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

In addition to the above events, the Black Sea Business and Energy<\/strong> Conference,<\/strong> the\u00a0 <\/span>Turkey – EU Symposium, Re-Evaliuation of Mutual Benefits organized by TUSKON<\/strong> and a conference by the Architect and Engineers Group, Istanbul\u2019 \u2018\u2019The Future Threats and Opportunities for Our Cities<\/strong>\u2019\u2019 were also held in \u0130stanbul during the week that was, I could not attend these, but read about them in the newspapers. There was also the World Energy Council Energy Conference<\/strong> on 16-19 November in Ankara. The purpose of this commentary is to present a summary of the most important event, \u2018\u2019The<\/strong> World<\/strong> Turkish Entrepreneurs Convention\u2019\u2019,<\/strong> and the role of the Turkish Diaspora. Summaries of the energy symposiums, the Abd\u00fclmecid Symposium, Esin Af\u015far Remembrance Program and the Book Fair can be made available to anyone interested or can be read in <\/span>www.nationofturks.com<\/span> web site later.<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

The<\/span><\/strong> World Turkish Entrepreneurs Convention, \u0130stanbul, 18-19 Nov 2011<\/strong><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

An article published in the November 19th 2011 issue of the Economists, \u2018\u2019The Magic of Diasporas\u2019<\/strong>\u2019 states that \u2018\u2019Immigrant Networks are a rare bright spark in the world economy. Rich countries should welcome them<\/em>.\u2019\u2019 The full page article talks primarily about the Chinese and the Indian diasporas with reference to those of Huguenots, Scots, Lebanese, Japanese and Jews, part of 215 million first generation migrants around the world, but does not mention the Turks although their number of all generations in Europe is close to 6 million. The main argument of the article is that the\u00a0 <\/span>Networks of kinship and language make it easier to do business accross borders, diasporas help spread ideas and Money.<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

The opening speeches were made by M. Rifat Hisarc\u0131kl\u0131o\u011flu, the President of TOBB, Rona Y\u0131rcal\u0131, the Chairman of the Board of Directors of DEIK, Kemal Yurtna\u00e7, the President of Overseas Turks, and Zafer \u00c7a\u011flayan, the Minister of Economy. Some figures mentioned durng the speeches include:<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

    \n
  1. Turks abroad comprise the 10th largest diaspora in the world<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/li>\n
  2. There are over 3,900 Turkish Association abroad<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/li>\n
  3. The number of Turkish businesses in Europe is over 140,000 with close to 50 billion Euro sales<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/li>\n
  4. The 3 million Turks living in Germany has opened 75,000 businesses in 50 years where over 337,000 people work<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/li>\n
  5. There are over 130,000 Turkish students studying abroad<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/li>\n
  6. The number of Turkish engineers working at Microsoft is 350, Boeing 75, Google 35<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/li>\n<\/ol>\n

    \u00a0<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

    There was no mention on the number of Turks in America, which Ak\u015fam newspaper estimated as 250,000 (17 Nov 2011).<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

    \u00a0<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

    The regional presentations after the opening speeches included the following sessions:<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

    \u00a0<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

    1.<\/span>\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 <\/span><\/span><\/span>America and Latin America<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

    2.<\/span>\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 <\/span><\/span><\/span>Eurasia<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

    3.<\/span>\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 <\/span><\/span><\/span>Asia-Pacific<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

    4.<\/span>\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 <\/span><\/span><\/span>Africa \u2013 Middle East \u2013 Gulf<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

    5.<\/span>\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 <\/span><\/span><\/span>Europe and the Balkans<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

    \u00a0<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

    During the Professional sessions monitored by Zafer \u00c7a\u011flayan, four speakers made excellent presentations, including a video message by Dr. Mehmet \u00d6z of Columbia University, who spoke first and in Turkish. Dr Oz stated that his TV program is shown in 112 countries for educational purposes and suggested that funds should be made available for students to prevent brain drain. Dr. Oz\u2019s father, Dr. Mustafa Oz, spoke after his son\u2019s presentations and stated that during his 50 years of progfessional ife in the US, he managed to bring his children to Turkey every year to make sure they learned Turkish and experienced the Turkish culture.<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

    \u00a0<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

    The next speaker was Ali Sabanc\u0131, who was introduced as the President of the Young Entrepreneurs Association of DEIK and the creater of the PEGASUS Airline. Sabanc\u0131 said that he knows all about the diaspora since he studied and worked abroad in Germany and America and suggested that the diaspora Turks should invest in Turkey rather than returning home. Sabanc\u0131 also gave some figures related to Turkish experience stating that Turks were 5th in Facebook usage.<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

    \u00a0<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

    Ali Beba, the head of the School of Entrepreneurship at Hong Kong Technology Universiy, said that his wife was among the top managers at Pepsi Cola and talked about the successes of Turkish entrepreneurs abroad. H\u00fcsnu \u00d6zye\u011fin spoke about his life in the United States, where he received an MBA at Harvard University while operating a small eatery and made several recommendations, including an advice that Turks abroad should send their children and grandchildren to universities in Turkey and provide funds to build quarters for girls.<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

    \u00a0<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

    The next spekaer, Hikmet Ersek, introduced himself as the CEO of Western Union, one of only 2 Turkish CEO of Fortune 500 companies (the other is Muhtar Kent, the CEO of Coca Cola Company) and stated that although he was born in Austria to a Turkish father and an Austriam mother, he considered himself a Turk and suggested that Turkish entrepreneurs abroad should be given the bluw passports.<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

    \u00a0<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

    The above sessions were followed by meetings between various groups and strategic projects.<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

    \u00a0<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

    Observations<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n

    \u00a0<\/span><\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n

    Several speakers stated that there are over 3,900 Turkish associations around the world, but none of these were mentioned, not even the umbrella organizations such as\u00a0 <\/span>the Federation of Turkish American Associations (FTAA), the Assembly of Turkish American Associations (ATAA <\/strong>which has participated with a delegation or the new federations which have many associations as members and many others in the US and Europe . As far as I could see during my limited time at the convention, among the many that included several commercial companies and Business Associations abroad, such as the \u2018\u2019Turkish-Russian Businessmen\u2019s Association\u2018\u2019, there was a stand of \u201cYunus Emre Institite\u201d from Ankara which has established many Cultural Centers in several European countries.. I did not see a stand for \u2018\u2019Turkish Cultural Center\u2019<\/strong>\u2019 which has many centers accross America and orginizes many eventsa, or the Turkish Coalition of America (TCA<\/strong>), which is involved in many Turkish events in the US or Bridge to Turkiye Fund<\/strong> which provides all kinds of supports to Turkish schools from the US. There was no mention of Turkish Forum<\/strong> or\u00a0PaxTurcica<\/strong> either.<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

    \u00a0<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

    There was no mention on how to fight againts the anti-Turkish propaganda<\/strong>, which is rampant through books, publications and TV progarams, and impacts not only the economic interests of Turks an Turkey but also the daily lives in certain areas.<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

    \u00a0<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

    All in all, the Convention was successful with several excellent presentations and publications were made available, such as \u2018\u2019D\u00fcnyada Diaspora Stratejeleri \u2013 T\u00fcrk Diasporas\u0131 i\u00e7in \u00d6neri,ler\u2019\u2019<\/strong> in Turkish and\u00a0 <\/span>\u2018\u2019K\u00fcresel \u2013 Special Issue\u2019\u2019<\/strong> both in Turkish and English. The official language of the convention was Turkish, which was also an excellent choise.<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

    \u00a0<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

    Y\u00fcksel Oktay, PE, Energy Consultant and Proprietor of Turkish-American Chronicle <\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

    \u0130stanbul, Turkey and Washington Township, NJ, USA, 20 November 2011<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

    ========================================================<\/p>\n

    background: ………………………….<\/p>\n

    ”Diasporan\u0131n Anavatan \u0130\u00e7in Yapabilecekleri” <\/h1>\n

     <\/p>\n

    D\u0131\u015f Ekonomik \u0130li\u015fkiler Kurulu (DE\u0130K), yurt d\u0131\u015f\u0131nda ya\u015fayan 4 milyon 261 bin T\u00fcrk g\u00f6\u00e7menin T\u00fcrkiye ile ili\u015fkilerini g\u00fc\u00e7lendirmek ve ortak hedefler do\u011frultusunda hareket etmelerini sa\u011flamak amac\u0131yla bir yol haritas\u0131 olu\u015fturdu.<\/p>\n

    ”Diaspora Stratejileri: T\u00fcrk Diasporas\u0131 \u0130\u00e7in \u00d6neriler” ba\u015fl\u0131kl\u0131 \u00e7al\u0131\u015fma, 18-19 Kas\u0131m tarihlerinde \u0130stanbul’da yap\u0131lacak olan D\u00fcnya T\u00fcrk Giri\u015fimciler Kurultay\u0131’nda Ba\u015fbakan Recep Tayyip Erdo\u011fan’a sunulacak.<\/p>\n

    DE\u0130K’in \u00e7al\u0131\u015fmas\u0131nda, ”T\u00fcrkiye’nin diaspora i\u00e7in yapabilecekleri” ve ”Diasporan\u0131n anavatan i\u00e7in yapabilecekleri” iki ayr\u0131 ba\u015fl\u0131kta incelendi.<\/p>\n

    Diasporan\u0131n T\u00fcrkiye’nin kalk\u0131nmas\u0131na katk\u0131 sa\u011flayabilece\u011fi projeler aras\u0131nda, T\u00fcrkiye’deki sekt\u00f6r ve \u015firketlerin kalk\u0131nmas\u0131na y\u00f6nelik, lider diaspora \u00fcyelerinin kilit rol oynayaca\u011f\u0131 Giri\u015fim Sermayesi Ortakl\u0131klar\u0131’n\u0131n kurulmas\u0131 ve y\u00fcr\u00fct\u00fclmesi \u00f6nerisi yer al\u0131yor.<\/p>\n

    Diaspora \u00fcyelerinin \u00e7al\u0131\u015ft\u0131klar\u0131 \u00fclkenin imkanlar\u0131n\u0131 kullanarak uzman olduklar\u0131 alanda belli bir s\u00fcre T\u00fcrkiye i\u00e7in \u00e7al\u0131\u015fmas\u0131 da \u00f6neriler aras\u0131nda bulunuyor.<\/p>\n

     <\/p>\n

     <\/p>\n

     <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

    The Week That Was: 14-20 November 2011.\u00a0 \u00a0 The week started with the Eurasia Waste Technologies Symposium at the Hali\u00e7 Coference Center on 14 November Monday and lasted for 3 days. The main topic was the management of waste in Turkey landfills across the country for storing the municipal wastes, (close to 2,000 of which […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":83,"featured_media":46924,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[89],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-46923","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-turkey"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.turkishnews.com\/en\/content\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/46923","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.turkishnews.com\/en\/content\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.turkishnews.com\/en\/content\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.turkishnews.com\/en\/content\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/83"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.turkishnews.com\/en\/content\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=46923"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.turkishnews.com\/en\/content\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/46923\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.turkishnews.com\/en\/content\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/46924"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.turkishnews.com\/en\/content\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=46923"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.turkishnews.com\/en\/content\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=46923"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.turkishnews.com\/en\/content\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=46923"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}