Dil Kültürün Taşıyıcısıdır (Language Carries Cultural Identity) - Assembly of Turkish American Associations (ATAA)

ATAA UN Related Announcement# 37

In Support of language as the Cultural Heritage “https://ich.unesco.org/en/convention”

Assembly of Turkish American Associations (ATAA) ,
Turkish Women League of America (TWLA) , and
Empowering the Turkish American Community (ETAC-USA)

Jointly Present a Webinar on

“Dil Kültürün Taşıyıcısıdır
(Language Carries Cultural Identity)”

Sunday, September 7, 2025
12:00pm ET, 11:00am CT, 9:00am PT, 19:00 TR

**Online Registration:
**https://us02web.zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_mksGGtdLQ1OkQJ3VVAtVFQ

When you are registering, please select choice of your language you would like to participate with Turkish or English. After registering, you will receive a confirmation email containing information about joining the webinar.

Language: Turkish & English (Interpreters will be available)

Background

In Support of language as the Cultural Heritage “https://ich.unesco.org/en/convention” to celebrate Turkish Language Day, on September 7, 2025, The Assembly of Turkish American Associations (ATAA), Turkish Women League of America (TWLA), and Empowering the Turkish American Community (ETAC-USA) formally associated with the United Nations Department of Global Communications (DGC), jointly will hold a virtual event titled**“Dil Kültürün Taşıyıcısıdır (Language Carries Cultural Identity**.

Program Introduction

Turkic languages carry the cultural identity of the nations with Turkish roots such as Azerbaijani, Turkmen, Uzbek, Kazakh, and Kyrgyz, as they all belong to the same Altaic language family and share significant similarities in grammar and vocabulary; this is also reflected in the cultural heritage, folklore, literature, and arts. Multilingual and multicultural societies thrive through the preservation of their languages, which serve as conduits for traditional knowledge and cultural heritage.

Opening Remarks and Introduction by

**Alev Wieland
**ATAA President

Keynote Speakers

**H.E. Mr. Ahmet Yıldız
**Turkish politician and career diplomat currently serving as
the 22nd Permanent Representative of Türkiye to the United Nations

H.E. Malahatİbrahimgızı
Azerbaijani politician, member of the Milli Majlis (National Assembly of the Republic of Azerbaijan)
since the second convocation and continues to serve in subsequent convocations
_“Milli kimlik ve küreselleşme (National Identity and Globalization)”_

UNESCO Türkiye Speakers

**Prof. Dr. M. Öcal Oğuz
**Chairman of the Board of Directors of the Turkish National Commission for UNESCO
and Professor at Ankara Hacı Bayram Veli University
“UNESCO Dünya Mirası bağlamında dünya Türkçe gününü kabul
ettirmek için günümüze kadar yapılmış olan çalışmalar”

Prof. Dr. Mehmet Akif Kireççi
Dean, Faculty of Political Sciences, ASBU; Board Member,
The Turkish Fulbright Commission; Deputy Chairman, Turkish National Commission for UNESCO
_“UNESCO Dünya Mirası bağlamında Türkçeyi tanıtmada
sivil toplumun rolü ve geçmiş çabaların değerlendirmesi”_

Expert Speaker

Prof. Dr. Emine Gürsoy Naskali
President of the Celal Bayar Foundation
_“Dil ve kültür arasındaki karşılıklı etkileşim: dil bilimsel bir perspektiftir”_

Moderators

Berna Gürdal
Alev Wieland
Dr. Ebru Çetin Milci
Sean Özalpaşan

Youth Speakers

Fatima Melek Askerov
Azerbaijan
_“Preserving identity: How Azerbaijanis Maintained
their Turkic Language under Soviet Rule”_

**Nurbike Bostanoğlu
**Kazakhstan
“The effect of media on the loss of interest in
learning Turkish in our youth”

Sean Özalpaşan
ATAA UN Youth Representative
_“Why is it important to recognize Turkish on the International Platform”_

Video Presentation by
Alya Rana
“The Sound of Identity: Music as Cultural and Linguistic Expression”

Upcoming Program Announcement by

Canan Özaktay
** ATAA Southeast V.P. and ATAA UN Committee Member
_“Nov 16-World Science Day for Peace and Development Program”**_

Closing Remarks by

**Alev Wieland
**ATAA President

Biographies

H.E. Mr. Ahmet Yıldız

_Turkish politician and career diplomat currently serving as the 22 nd _ Permanent Representative of Türkiye to the United Nations since 25 April 2024

Ambassador Yıldız held office as Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs for two terms: from 22 June 2023 until 25 April 2024 and from 2016 to 2018.

He was a member of the Grand National Assembly from 7 July 2018 to 14 May 2023 and prior to that he served as a senior adviser to both the Prime Minister and the President of the Republic of Türkiye between 2014 and 2016.

Throughout his career, he has been appointed to posts in various embassies and consulates of the Republic of Türkiye around the world. He served as Ambassador of Türkiye to Bosnia and Herzegovina from 2011 to 2014; Consul General in Mosul, Iraq from 2009 to 2011; in Saudi Arabia from 2006 to 2008 and from 2004 to 2005; in Syria from 2005 to 2006 and from 2000 to 2002; in the United States from 1997 to 2000; in Germany from 1993 to 1995; and in Libya from 1991 to 1993.

He holds a bachelor’s degree from the School of International Relations in the Faculty of Political Science of Ankara University and speaks English and Arabic.

H.E. Malahat İbrahimgızı

Azerbaijani politician, member of the Milli Majlis (National Assembly of the Republic of Azerbaijan) since the second convocation and continues to serve in subsequent convocations

__ She serves in several committees in Milli Majlis. She is Vice-Chair of the Labor and Social Policy Committee, member of the Health Committee, and a member of the Disciplinary Commission of the Milli Majlis. Malahat İbrahimgızı also member of several parliamentary assemblies including the NATO Parliamentary Assembly and the Euronest Parliamentary Assembly. She is also a member of the New Azerbaijan Party.

Malahat İbrahimgızı is a member of the TURKPA Commission (Parliamentary Assembly of Turkic States) on Legal Affairs and International Relations. She holds a Doctor of Philosophy in history, a degree in Pediatrics from the Azerbaijan State Medical Institute, and a degree in Law from Baku State University. She has held various positions, including chief doctor of children’s polyclinics, and served as the first Vice-Chairperson of the State Committee on Women’s Problems.

UNESCO Türkiye Speakers

Prof. Dr. M. Öcal Oğuz

Chairman of the Board of Directors of the Turkish National Commission for UNESCO and Professor at Ankara Hacı Bayram Veli University

Dr. Oğuz graduated from Karadeniz Technical University’s Department of Turkish Language and Literature in 1984. He completed his master’s (1987) and Ph.D. (1991) at Gazi University, focusing on Turkish folk poetry. In 1992, he began his academic career at Hacettepe University, becoming Associate Professor in 1995 and Full Professor in 2002. Since 2005, he has served as Head of the Department of Turkish Folklore at Ankara Hacı Bayram Veli University.

Oğuz has taught and supervised theses at undergraduate and graduate levels in folklore, cultural studies, intangible cultural heritage, and teaching Turkish to foreigners. He has worked at several institutions in Türkiye and abroad, including Gazi University, Bilkent University, Ahmet Yesevi University, and universities in Tunisia and Kazakhstan.

He played a key role in establishing major folklore institutions and museums, such as the Turkish Folklore Research and Application Center and the Intangible Cultural Heritage Museum. As a cultural policy expert, he contributed to UNESCO conventions on intangible cultural heritage and cultural diversity, and served as one of six international experts evaluating applications for the UNESCO Representative List (2008–2010).

Oğuz has held leadership roles in various cultural organizations. He was founding president of the Intangible Cultural Heritage Association and has been active in ILESAM and the Turkish World Foundation. He served as Chairman of the Turkish National Commission for UNESCO (2011), following roles as Deputy Chairman (2010) and Board Member (2006).

He has authored 75 books, around 150 articles, and over 50 presentations, and has been editor-in-chief of National Folklore magazine since 1989.

Prof. Dr. Mehmet Arif Kireççi

Dean, Faculty of Political Sciences, ASBU; Board Member, The Turkish Fulbright Commission; Deputy Chairman, Turkish National Commission for UNESCO

Dr. Kireçci received his PhD degree from the Department of Near Eastern Studies at the University of Pennsylvania, USA, with his thesis titled “Decline, Discourse and Self-Orientalization.” He has taught at the same University and has worked as a lecturer at the Stevens Institute of Technology.

Kireçci, who joined the Social Sciences University of Ankara Department of International Relations as a faculty member in 2019.

After working at Bilkent University for a while, is the editor of Istanbul: Metamorphosis in an Imperial City (with Ed Foster, 2011), Arab Spring and the Turkey Model Debates (2013) and Independence and State-Building Process in Turkish Republics (2018), and the author of Arab Nationalism (2012) and Cultural Policies Towards 2023 (2015).

Expert Speaker

Prof. Dr. Emine Gürsoy Naskali

President of the Celal Bayar Foundation

Dr. Naskali graduated from the Department of Oriental Studies of St. Anne’s College at Oxford University in 1973 and completed her doctorate in Turkish at Istanbul University. She taught at the Department of Asia and Africa at the University of Helsinki from 1977 to 1984 and at Oxford University from 1987 to 1989. She continued her professional career at Marmara University’s Faculty of Arts and Sciences, holding administrative positions such as director of the Institute of Turkic Studies, dean of the Faculty of Arts and Sciences, and vice-rector.

She oversees the Celal Bayar Foundation’s museum, library, and extensive archives in Umurbey, Gemlik, and Bursa. Dr. Gürsoy Naskali worked on and published on Turkish language and culture, Central Asia, Siberia, the Caucasus, Ottoman Turkish, Persian, and recent Turkish political history. Since 1993, she has organized national and international symposiums and published on topics related to our cultural and political history.

For her work, she was awarded the Manas medal of the Kyrgyz Republic Presidency, the Abay medal of the Kazakhstan Academy of Sciences, and awards from institutions and organizations such as Tika, Türksoy, Istanbul Governorship, Turkish Armed Forces, Turkish Hearths, Anatolian and Eurasian Institute, and Tasam.

Some of her works are on recent political history. His publications include Yassıada Minutes (12 volumes), Collective Defense, Personal Defenses, Client Defenses, The Medal of Independence on the Gallows; Free Party Memoirs from the Celal Bayar Archives; Surname Stories of the History of the Republic; The First Grand Congress of the Democrat Party, 1947, Minutes, Commentaries; Democrat Party Group Minutes (1950), etc.

Another group work she participated focused on the Turkish language and published on: Turkish language, Ottoman Turkish, and Central Asian Turkic dialects and literature, Altai Epic, Maaday Kara, and the Manas Epic, Altai-Turkish and Khakas-Turkish dictionaries, as well as the collective work “Riddles of the Turkic World” (4 volumes). After the collapse of the Soviet Union, she had the opportunity to travel to Central Asia and Siberia on numerous occasions.

She publishes a long-running series compiling Turkish cultural heritage under titles of: cultural history, Tobacco, Salt, Hair, Shoes, Prison, Burial, Hunting, Bread, Orphans, Shepherd, Farewell, Lament, Cleaning, Deer, Fear, Gift, Reaching the Sky, Body, Curse, Insult, Oath, Coffee, Wanderer, Quilt, Noah, Slang, Sermon, Bee and Honey, Candle, Fruit, Calendar, Color, Amulet, Fish, Snack, Stone, Flower, Bird Language, Kitchen Utensils, Postcard, Crying, Olive, Resentment, Lie, Kanto, Graffiti, Poison, Laughing, Anger, Tango, Gossip, Dwarf, Auction, Gambling, Separation, Market, Garbage, Tavern, Fur, Mockery, Bride, Theft, Poverty, Comics, Water, Radio, Taxi and public transportation, Blood Relation, Debt, Torment, Disloyalty, Train, Hesitation, Circus, Magician, Loafer, Carpentry, Urban Legends, Neighborhood, etc.

Youth Speakers

Nurbike Bostanoglu

English Language and Literature student, Hoca Ahmet Yesevi University University, Kazakhstan

Nurdike was born in Kentau, Kazakhstan. She began her education in Türkiye and she is currently continuing her studies in Kazakhstan. She places great importance on gaining experience in different fields to enhance her academic competence.

By taking an active role in the student parliament, Nurbike, improved her leadership and organizational skills. She also participated in an exchange program at the Azerbaijan University of Languages for one semester. During this period, she gained international experience, had the opportunity to explore different cultures, study in multilingual environments, and broaden her perspectives.

Through various internship experiences, she practiced in areas such as administration and translation. Nurbike is a disciplined, detail-oriented, and responsible individual. She is always open to self-improvement and she value global learning and intercultural interaction.

Fatima Melek Askerov

Senior Student

Fatima a young author with extensive knowledge on the Nagorno-Karabakh region and Azerbaijani-Armenia relations.

She has completed several research studies on psychological impacts on civilians and long term effects of the Nagorno-Karabakh war.

Sean Özalpasan

_ATAA UN Youth Representative
_Freshman at Tuft University, Computer Engineering Program

Sean is a graduate of Harvard Westlake School in Los Angeles, California. Sean is a proud member of the Turkish American community, and takes pride in participating in ATASC events around LA.

Because of his diligent work with ATAA, Sean was selected to represent all Turkish-American Youth at the Turkish World Youth Forum, held in Almaty, Kazakhstan.

Sean also enjoys creating his own coding projects, leading his school’s sailing team, and leading his school’s Turkish Club. Furthermore, Sean enjoys traveling and whenever he and his family go to Turkey, they make sure to visit UNESCO recognized ancient historical sites as well as important hallmarks of Ataturk’s legacy on Turkiye.

Alya Rana

Film & Television Student, NYU Tisch

Alya was born in Istanbul, Turkey in 2006 and migrated to the US around 2013. She graduated from Leesville Road High School in 2025 and is currently a freshman at New York University. She is majoring in Film & Television at NYU Tisch, and will pursue her education in filmmaking after graduation.

She is a member of National Honor Society, International Thespian Society, and was assistant technical director in the theater department of her high school.

She has also won student of the year for Adobe Visual and Video Design for the last two years, volunteering as a graphic designer for her school and ATA-NC.

From playing piano to opening an art gallery, she’s been focusing on her short films and writing. Her dream is to become a producer and a film director by using her life experiences.

Language Translators

İrem Göçgenci Jakobsen

İrem is a certified public service interpreter and court interpreter based in Hamar, Norway. She interprets in the language combinations of English-Turkish, Norwegian-Turkish and German-Turkish. Irem holds a bachelor’s degree in translation and interpreting in English-Turkish and German-Turkish language pairs, from Dokuz Eylül University.

Her areas of interest were European Union and international trade, and she majored in conference interpreting. Upon moving to Norway in 2016, she has taken her second bachelor’s degree in public sector interpreting in Norwegian-Turkish from Oslo Metropolitan University. She is also a licensed teacher in English, German and Turkish as a foreign language, and worked as a language instructor in Turkey and as a teacher at Norwegian upper secondary school.

Irem continues to pursue her interest in language didactics in her MA project on refugee women learners of English in Norway at the Innlandet University of Applied Sciences, as well as working full time as an interpreter for the Norwegian government institutions and municipalities.

**Ezgi Cohen
**

Ezgi is Turkish-American professional with a BA in English and a pedagogical certificate, is a versatile individual excelling in the fields of acting, writing, translation, and real estate.

A graduate of Stella Adler Studio in 2009, where she completed a rigorous 2-year acting conservatory program, Ezgi has showcased her linguistic prowess by crafting and translating texts in both English and Turkish.

Currently based in New Jersey, she seamlessly balances her roles in acting and real estate with unwavering dedication and skill.

Project Team

**Alev Wieland
**

ATAA President

Alev Wieland has Bachelor of Science in Electrical Engineering from University of Cincinnati, OH. Worked for Balcan Engineering at Proctor of Gamble as Project Engineer for 7 years. She retired from PepsiCo, Inc-AMEA Capability Director in 2012.

Alev has extensive experience in Lean Manufacturing, Lean Product Life Cycle Management, Equipment and Processes Development. Project Management, Construction Management, Food Manufacturing, Paper Converting, Cosmetics and Laundry Soap Industries. She has solid understanding of Engineering, Manufacturing and Operations Processes. She is an expert in ISO 9001 and GMP Certifications and Standards. Alev is the CEO of Manufacturing Excellence Technical Services and Alev Cosmetics.

Alev has been serving as the President-Elect of ATAA since May 2024. She served on the ATAA Board of Directors as the Southwest Region Vice President from 2020 to 2024 and as First Vice President from October 2023 to May 2024. Alev also serves as the co-Chair of the ATAA UN Relations Committee and Chair of the ATAA Newsletter Committee.

She is the Secretary General and NGO Relations Director Contemporary Education Foundation (COEDFO) since 2013, has been responsible for organizational communication, meetings management, documentation, website management. As the Trustee and active member of the Turkish American Association of Northern Texas (TURANT), she has been providing organizational operations support to its elected board members and helping with executions of projects since 2000.

Since 2008, Alev takes active role at her local Main Street Organization and International Community, helps with organizations of the major festivals that is proven to become the key events that provides income to the city. She served as President of Cincinnati Turkish American Association (CTAA) from 1994 to 1996.

Since 2023 Alev serves as the Trustee of the Turkish American Visual and Performing Arts (TAVPA).
Since March 2024, Alev is serving Dallas Turkish Businesswomen’s Network as the Advisor.

Association of Northern Texas (TURANT), she has been providing organizational operations support to its elected board members and helping with executions of projects since 2000.

Since 2023 Alev serves as the Trustee of the Turkish American Visual and Performing Arts (TAVPA).

Since March 2024, Alev is serving Dallas Turkish Businesswomen’s Network as the Advisor.

**Berna Gürdal
**

_President, Turkish Women’s League of America (TWLA)
_

Berna Gurdal graduated as a dietitian from Hacettepe University’s Nutrition and Dietetics Department in 1997. From 1997 to 1999, she worked as a Corporate Dietitian at Panorama Catering Company. Between 1998 and 2005, she served as a clinical dietitian in the Internal Medicine Department of Uludağ University. During her tenure, she participated as a speaker in various conferences and presented posters at international congresses. In 2006, she contributed to the book Diabetes Mellitus Türkiye by writing on the topic of Nutrition and Diabetes Treatment.

Since 2005, she has been residing in New York, where she earned certificates from Stanford University’s Child Nutrition and Cooking program and Cornell University’s Nutrition and Healthy Living certificate program.

She has been a member of the board of directors at the American Turkish Women’s Association (ATKB) since 2017 and currently provides nutrition and diet consultancy services through BG Life Style. She is married and the mother of two children. Her son Onur graduated from Atatürk School in 2018, and her daughter Duygu graduated in 2023.

Berna Gurdal is serving as the president of ATKB for the 2023-2025 term.

Dr. Ebru Çetin Milci

Scholar and Library Specialist

Dr. Milci is a scholar and library specialist with deep expertise in Turkish and Turkic languages. Originally from Istanbul, Turkiye, she has lived in the San Francisco Bay Area since 2014 with her husband and son.

She earned her BA in Turkish Language and Literature from Mimar Sinan University and completed both her MA and PhD in Turkish Philology at Marmara University. With over 15 years of experience as a Turkish language and literature teacher, she has taught in public and private high schools and served as a lecturer at Galatasaray University in Istanbul. Passionate about Islamic manuscripts, bookbindings, and linguistics, Dr. Çetin Milci transitioned to a career as a Middle Eastern library specialist after moving to the U.S. She currently works at Stanford University Libraries as a Metadata Specialist for Turkish Resources & Complex Copy, where she catalogs a wide range of materials, from modern and historical Turkish texts to Ottoman world holdings.

Her expertise extends across several languages, including Arabic, Persian, Armenian, and Turkic languages, with a research focus on 17th- and 18th-century Gregorian Zone Kipchak Turkish law texts written in Armenian script. She has also applied her linguistic skills at companies such as Facebook, sharing her knowledge across industries.

Dr. Çetin Milci has full proficiency in Turkish, Ottoman Turkish, Turkic languages and English, as well as professional working proficiency in Armenian, Arabic, and Persian.

**Dr. Selim Erhan
**

ATAA Trustee and ATAA UN Committee Co-Chair

Dr. Selim Erhan was born in Istanbul Turkey. After graduating with a chemical engineering degree from the University of Istanbul, he continued his studies at Western Michigan University with a Ph.D. in Polymer-Organic Chemistry. After teaching at Western Michigan University, Kalamazoo College and Lake Michigan College, he started a research career first at the USDA’s National Center for Agricultural Utilization Research in Peoria, IL. He continued his career in the private industry, working on application of bio-based products to industrial applications.

Dr. Erhan started actively working on introducing Turkey and the Turkish Culture in USA while studying at Western Michigan University in 1980. He joined the Turkish American Cultural Alliance in 2000 and became active in educational activities and in 2009. He was the co-founder of the highly successful TACA – Public Outreach Program, aiming at educating middle school, high school and university students on important issues. The Public Outreach Organization brought speakers like Prof. Justin McCarthy, Prof. Turkkaya Ataov, Emre Kongar and Lincoln McCurdy.

In 2013 he joined TACA’s Board of Directors and became the Director of the Ataturk School and the Adult Turkish School. Continued as the TACA Public Outreach Chair preparing seminars and conferences to reach out and enlighten the public in the Midwest region.

Dr. Erhan was elected as ATAA’s Midwest Region VP 2015 to 2019. He has continued working at ATAA, helped to form the UN Committee and was instrumental to form the highly successful Turkish American Presidents Group under ATAA, improving communications with the Component Associations in USA and pulling in similar Turkish organizations from Canada. In 2022, he was elected to ATAA’s Board of Trustees.

**Yücel Burdurlu
**

ATAA Secretary and UN Committee Co-Chair

Yücel Burdurlu was born and raised in Istanbul Türkiye. After receiving her Bachelor’s degree in chemistry from Hacettepe University Ankara Turkey, she continued her graduate studies at California State University Long Beach.

After graduating, she started a career in private industry working on applied and theoretical research on coatings and coating raw materials. Yucel worked for Imperial Chemical Industries formerly known as ICI Paints North America in their Strongsville Research Center most of her career in the international innovation team where she was involved variety of interesting projects in collaboration with their Slough Laboratory in Slough, England, ICI France in Rouge, France and ICI South America Research Center in Sao Paulo, Brazil.

Next, Yucel worked for BUNGE Oils North America where, she worked with inorganic synthesis of anticorrosive pigments and tested them in collaboration with Batelle Laboratories in Columbus Ohio, University of Southern Mississippi and Southwest Research Institute in San Antonio, Texas.

Presently, Yucel is with True Value Manufacturing in Cary Illinois as a Research Chemist. Yucel lives in the suburbs of Chicago. She joined TACA’s Board of Directors in 2013-2015 and she was the Director of the Ataturk School and the Adult Turkish School 2014-2015.

Yucel also has been a member of the Chicago Turkish Festival Planning Committee and a volunteer in the festival since 2013 and has served as the Volunteer Coordinator for the Chicago Turkish festivals in 2016 and 2018. Yucel is planning to continue working on bringing Turkish and American groups together using her organization skills, people skills, education skills and her passion for harmony and peace.

Canan Özaktay

ATAA Southeast V.P. and ATAA UN Committee Member

Canan was born in Istanbul and moved to Michigan in 1969. She received her BS degree from Michigan State University in 1978 and spent most of her career through 2005 in the Automotive Industry and later moved to New Hampshire where she received her MS degree in Healthcare Management from Franklin Pierce University. In 2007 Canan moved to Florida where she received her Real Estate license in 2012 and Broker’s License 2019.

Currently she is the Broker/Owner of Epic Solutions Realty, Boca Raton FL. Canan is an enthusiastic member of the community and believes in service. While she lived in Michigan, she was a member of Turkish American Cultural Association of Michigan (TACAM) and served in various positions which included the President of the organization (2004-2005).

She joined Florida Turkish American Association (FTAA) as a member in 2008 and volunteered in several committees and was the President 2022-2024 term. Canan’s memberships include Boca Raton Rotary Club where she serves in the Foundation Committee and also the Leadership Boca Class of 2023.

She is a proud new member of the ATAA UN Relations Committee. Living in Boca Raton, Fl, Canan is married to Dr. Cüneyt Özaktay. She is mother of Crystal Smith, Brandon Hampton and Levent Özaktay.

For further inquiries, please e-mail uncommittee@ataa.org, president@ataa.org (Alev Wieland, ATAA President) or selim.erhan251@gmail.com (Selim Erhan, ATAA UN Committee co-Chair)

Websites: www.ataa.org | www.ataa.org/u-n | atkb.org

References: