Turkish schools and businessmen mobilized for Izmir’s EXPO candidacy


Date posted: November 13, 2013

The Turkish schools around the globe have been making great effort for Izmir’s EXPO 2020 win. The schools and businessmen have taken action so that Bureau of International Expositions committee opts for Turkey in the voting to take place in Paris on November 27th.

“What is lost with Olympics can be made up for in EXPO,” Fethullah Gulen had earlier said. The capital city of EXPO 2020 will be named in Paris. In the run-up to the voting, Izmir’s EXPO 2020 Executive Committee in particular, the Turkish schools worldwide, TUSKON, Aegean and Mediterranean Industrialists and Businessmen Federation (ESIDEF) and many Izmir lovers have mobilized for Izmir’s victory gaining 167 committee members’ votes.

Tuncay Ozturk, Secretary-General of International Turkish Education Association (TURKCEDER) said the schools abroad have been actively contributing to Izmir’s promotion by meeting with senior officials in their host countries and following up on the committee for Izmir’s victory. They have formed close relationships with respective decision-making bodies and committee members of countries particularly in Africa, Central Asia, Far East, South America and Oceania, Ozturk noted.

ESIDEF President and an EXPO Executive Committee member, Mustafa Ozkara, said, from institutions to ministries, everyone has been doing their parts but the schools have been contributing most. “What the school have done are well to the purpose. We are grateful to them. They are watching over Turkey in the international arena. They’ve practically mobilized the acceptance, reputation and credibility they enjoy in their host countries for Izmir’s EXPO candidacy, for which we are grateful,” Ozkara noted.

According to Ozkara, ESIDEF and TUSKON alike stepped forward in the efforts too. He went on to say, as ESIDEF, they included EXPO item in their agendas at a total of 72 business visits abroad past year. ESIDEF is a NGO in business world with the highest number of guests of foreign business delegates and senior officials in Aegean region. Speaking of their initiatives, “The foreign delegations we hosted gave their word. I believe as ESIDEF we exceedingly did our part. Each and every ESIDEF member are working like Izmir’s EXPO envoys. Hosting EXPO will be a stepping stone for Izmir. Izmir will make a name for itself around the world, as our second city alongside Istanbul” Ozkara said.

Published [in Turkish] on Zaman, November 11, 2013.

Source: HizmetMovement.Com , November 13, 2013

Tags: | | |


Related News

Islamic scholar Gülen criticizes Turkish gov’t response to Gezi protests

Gülen said he had heard of Turkish officials’ efforts to “undermine Turkish schools abroad” which are run by his movement in many countries across the world. “Unfortunately, this appetite for destruction pushes all fair limits. These schools were established through the great self-sacrifice of the people of Anatolia,” he said.

Samanyolu schools to sue 3 government officials over unlawful search warrant

Samanyolu Educational Institutions are preparing to file a criminal complaint against three government officials on charges of misconduct related to an unlawful warrant to inspect all private schools in Ankara through the end of the 2015-2016 academic year, Today’s Zaman has learned.

Criminal complaint filed against media organizations publishing Gülen’s speeches

An organization called the Law and Democracy Foundation which was established by lawyer Mehmet Ali Canlı, a Justice and Development Party (AK Party) hopeful in the June 7 general election, on Wednesday filed a criminal complaint against media organizations that publish the speeches of Fethullah Gülen, a renowned Islamic scholar.

Media freedom in Turkey takes another blow

On Dec. 25, Mahir Zeynalov sent out two tweets. “The first tweet contained a link to a news report about the second wave of a massive graft operation and how police blocked a raid involving more than 40 suspects, including Saudi businessman Yasin al-Qadi — listed as a specially designated terrorist by the United States,” Today’s Zaman reported Jan. 31. Zeynalov’s tweets are no longer present on his Twitter account. “’Turkish prosecutors order police to arrest al-Qaeda affiliates, Erdogan’s appointed police chiefs refuse to comply,’ read the first tweet. In the second tweet, Zeynalov shared a news report detailing al-Qaeda suspects’ escape from the country after police chiefs blocked the raid on Dec. 25.”

Turkey coup: Conspiracy theorists claim power grab attempt was faked by Erdogan

Social media users have compared the coup attempt in which more than 160 people are thought to have died to the Reichstag fire – the 1933 arson attack on the German parliament building which Hitler used as an excuse to suspend civil liberties and order mass arrests of his opponents.

Kalashnikov-carrying police raid Gülen-inspired private and prep schools based on ‘reasonable suspicion’

Police carrying Kalashnikov rifles and inspectors from a number of government bodies raided 14 private and prep schools in Mardin province on Tuesday based on “reasonable suspicion” that the schools are involved in tax fraud, a move that comes as part of the government-orchestrated operation targeting the faith-based Gülen movement, popularly known as the Hizmet movement.

Latest News

Turkish inmate jailed over alleged Gülen links dies of heart attack in prison

Message of Condemnation and Condolences for Mass Shooting at Bondi Beach, Sydney

Media executive Hidayet Karaca marks 11th year in prison over alleged links to Gülen movement

ECtHR faults Turkey for convictions of 2,420 applicants over Gülen links in follow-up to 2023 judgment

New Book Exposes Erdoğan’s “Civil Death Project” Targeting the Hizmet Movement

European Human Rights Treaty Faces Legal And Political Tests

ECtHR rejects Turkey’s appeal, clearing path for retrials in Gülen-linked cases

Erdoğan’s Civil Death Project’ : The ‘politicide’ spanning more than a decade

Fethullah Gülen’s Vision and the Purpose of Hizmet

In Case You Missed It

Kimse Yok Mu meets Syrian refugees’ needs through sister families

Alevi demands remain unfulfilled as their disappointment grows

Uplifting Romanian children in need

Censored by theft: Man caught stealing copies of Zaman daily

Rainer Hermann interviews Fethullah Gulen – Do good and let it unfold

PA State Rep. Margo Davidson reflects on her visit to Turkish refugees in Greece

Prosecutor’s office launches investigation into Şahin’s claim

Copyright 2026 Hizmet News