Int’l language festival students given high-level welcome in Australia

Australian Governor-General Peter Cosgrove is presented a gift by one of the contestants of the 13th International Language and Culture Festival. (Photo: Today's Zaman)
Australian Governor-General Peter Cosgrove is presented a gift by one of the contestants of the 13th International Language and Culture Festival. (Photo: Today's Zaman)


Date posted: June 8, 2015

ENES CANSEVER/ ZAFER POLAT/ SYDNEY

Some 60 students from 19 countries who came to Australia as part of the 13th International Language and Culture Festival have received an enthusiastic welcome by senior Australian officials.

Australian Governor-General Peter Cosgrove hosted the students at his official residence with his spouse, Lynne Cosgrove, on Saturday. Saying that he was pleased to see Australia hosting this year’s International Language and Culture Festival, Cosgrove praised the initiative’s efforts for global peace during the students’ visit. “As we all know, the world is unsettled and is being faced with some serious challenges which can cause great division. … What we aspire for is a unified world, where people not only respect each other but embrace and display altruistic traits. It’s great to see those who share this vision of sustaining global peace have put this ideal into practice. Through their efforts we are seeing peace bloom in the lands they are serving; and it is through education that we have harnessed the talents of these aspiring individuals. It is great to see we are all working towards universal peace,” Cosgrove said.

The governor-general and his wife then accepted gifts the students brought from their home countries. The students sang songs in Turkish and English during their visit.

Australia will for the first time host an International Language and Culture Festival on Sunday. The festival is organized by Sirius Educational Institutions, which have been active in Australia for years.

The first 11 editions of the event were hosted in Turkey, but due to government hostility and the ongoing persecution of the Gülen movement, or Hizmet movement — which is involved in organizing the culture festival — the organizers have held the event in various countries since 2014 to avoid potential problems.

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan has accused the Hizmet movement of attempting to overthrow his Justice and Development Party (AK Party) government, but has failed to present evidence to support this allegation.

Source: Today's Zaman , June 06, 2015

Tags: | | | | |


Related News

Unlawful acts revealed in police raids on Gülen-inspired schools

Another illegal practice was revealed on Wednesday regarding police raids on schools inspired by the faith-based Gülen movement, popularly known as the Hizmet movement, on Sept. 21, as officers refused to give a copy of the police report of seized items to school authorities despite demands by the institution’s lawyers.

Pregnant behind bars with a two-year-old kid

Elif Aydın, 31, is one of the educators arrested in Turkey over the past three years. She was two-months pregnant when she was sent to prison. The pregnant woman stayed by sharing the same bed with his son in prison for months.

When paths part…

ORHAN MİROĞLU The Hizmet movement and the Justice and Development Party (AK Party) have arrived at a critical junction in the road. The main problems that have emerged on the route towards this critical junction are of course not limited to the debates and disagreements surrounding the question of the closure of the prep schools. […]

UN takes Turkish school as model in Mali

The UN Women’s Mali branch has taken as a model Horizon Turkish School’s Mathematics Olympiad to determine successful primary school students in the country. The Olympiad covered the subject of mathematics under the name of “Mathlogique” held across Mali. This year approximately 3,000 students attended the competition.

Turkish govt has declared war on us, Nigerian student cries out from hiding

Nigerian students in Turkey are in hiding following the government’s crackdown on them. “We are scared of leaving our rooms for fear of being arrested and charged with terrorism, or deported. Most of us are in our final year. What do we do?” students said.

Deputy PM Bozdag: We’re proud of Turkish schools

Turkey’s Deputy Prime Minister Bekir Bozdag paid a visit to the local Turkish school, during his official visits in Moldova. A Moldovan students performed a Turkish song in Bozdag’s honor. “The Turkish schools –be it in Moldova or elsewhere in Europe, Africa, Asia, Middle East or Balkans- have been Turkey’s source of pride. They have […]

Latest News

Sacramento leaders gather for Iftar dinner in celebration of Ramadan

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

In Case You Missed It

South Africa welcomes International Festival of Language

From Islamophobia to ‘Hizmet-phobia’

Closing down prep schools and calling it ‘transformation’

Why Kimse Yok Mu probe may affect education in Nigeria

The tragic story of a Turkish family fleeing to Greece from persecution

Turkey, The great purge – Four lives upturned by Erdogan’s ‘cleansing.’ Episode 1 – Asli

Turkey’s Erdogan and onslaughts against opposition

Copyright 2026 Hizmet News