A national competition was held on Monday in Washington, D.C. to determine finalists for the International Turkish Olympiads that will start on May 30 in Turkey. (Photo: AA)
26 March 2012 / TODAY’S ZAMAN, İSTANBUL
International private Turkish schools in the US chose their finalists for the 10th Turkish Olympiads, which will take place between May 30 and June 14 in Turkey, at a national competition in Washington, D.C., on Monday.
The International Turkish Olympiad, which is organized by the International Turkish Education Association (TÜRKÇEDER), brings together hundreds of foreign students each year from Turkish schools established throughout the world. Students from various countries compete in singing and poetry contests, entertaining audiences with their outstanding performances of popular Turkish songs and well-known Turkish poems.
The national competition in the US was sponsored by the American Turkish Friendship Association (ATFA) and the Mid-Atlantic Federation of Turkic American Associations (MAFTAA). American students competed in a wide range of categories in the competition. The Turkish ambassador in Washington, Namık Tan, who attended the event, commented during the competition that those American students who are learning Turkish and Turkish culture as international Turkish students are bridges between the American and Turkish cultures. He added that he was very happy to see that Turkish language and culture was reaching an increasing number of people each year.
Attending the competition, the US Congressman from Virginia, James Moran, started his speech by wishing everyone a happy Nevruz, a spring festival, and went on to say, “Such activities bring the American and Turkish cultures together and provide chances for Americans to understand Turkish culture much better.”
Turkish schools in Ukraine also completed their qualifying rounds in a national competition which was held at the Ukraine Operette Theatre on Monday in Ukraine’s capital, Kiev.
Georgian students competed in categories such as singing, reading poetry, folk dancing and writing compositions. A performance by the Ottoman *Janissary Band consisting of students from one of the outstanding Turkish schools in Ukraine, the Meridian International School, received great applause from the spectators at the event. The competitions ended with a song titled “A New World,” which was sung in unison by all the finalists that will attend the international competition in Turkey.
The other country that completed its qualifying rounds for the 10th International Turkish Olympiads is Senegal with a national competition on Sunday. The national competition was held in the capital, Dakar, by the Yavuz Selim Educational Institutions.
The Turkish ambassador in Dakar, Aslıgül Üğdül and former Turkish State Minister Işılay Saygın attended the competition. Speaking at the competition, Üğdül thanked
the businessmen who established Turkish schools around the world, and all teachers who are teaching the Turkish language to foreign students so tirelessly. Üğdül also said she has been proud of the Turkish schools in Senegal since she took over her post two years ago.
* Janissary, also spelled Janizary, Turkish Yeniçeri, (New Soldier, or Troop), member of an elite corps in the standing army of the Ottoman Empire from the late 14th century to 1826. Highly respected for their military prowess in the 15th and 16th centuries, the Janissaries became a powerful political force within the Ottoman state. The Janissary corps was originally staffed by Christian youths from the Balkan provinces who were converted to Islām on being drafted into the Ottoman service. Subject to strict rules, including celibacy, they were organized into three unequal divisions (cemaat, bölükhalkı, segban) ... (100 of 238 words) 
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