December 2010
E-MAGAZINEMONTHLY
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E-MAGAZINEMONTHLY December 2010
Welcome By Jeff Streeter- Director Operations, British Council Turkey
As 2010 draws to a close, there is a strong temptation to look backwards, as our 70th anniversary year ends. It has been an extremely busy and exciting year for the British Council in all areas of our work. For example, we were proud to win an EU award for our development of an online teacher training course recently. The Bosphorus Conference, organized with the EU Delegation and TESEV, attracted high levels of interest and debate and, of
course, the opening of My City in 5 Turkish cities, with 5 amazing and quite distinct works of art involving local communities in different and exciting ways. On top of this, we have witnessed increased contact between UK and Turkish universities and seen our project about Social Entrepreneurship begin to inspire very interesting thoughts and developments among our partners and contacts. And in London recently I was privileged to attend the opening of the new Yunus Emre Cultural Centre there – which was in the presence ofPresident Abdullah Gßl.
major project run with a range of partners here in Turkey, aimed at developing leadership skills among and socially include children and young people through the medium of sport and physical activity. And our Project Our Shared Europe, which in part tries to highlight the impact of diverse communities in European history, will feature an exhibition about Evliya Celebi and his Book of Travels. Of course, 2011 is the 400th anniversary of his birth. And this month will see a new initiative; our Ankara ELT Festival, which has attracted interest from a wide range of teachers. More festivals are planned for Mardin, Trabzon and, we hope, Istanbul. Check out our home page for details! With All Best Wishes for 2011!
However, December is also a time to look forward. Next year will see the official launch of International Inspiration, a
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E-MAGAZINEMONTHLY December 2010
Setting the Standards By Burçak Aksoy, Exams Operations Manager, British Council Turkey
During the last decade, UK qualifications have become increasingly popular amongst the general public in Turkey; candidates include young professionals, public officers, professional dancers and finance executives. At the British Council, our main objective is to make UK qualifications more accessible through streamlining the delivery of exam services and supporting the standardization of English language testing in Turkey. Our Examinations Department is now delivering exams for over 45 UK boards and universities thereby helping people from all walks of life to realize their ambitions. IELTS (International English Language Testing System), which celebrated its 20th Anniversary this year, has become increasingly popular in Turkey and around the globe. We are proud that the continuous growth of the IELTS market in Turkey, with a reach over 6000 candidates, is noted as the fastest growing IELTS operation in Europe. IELTS plays a key role in creating opportunity for individuals to seize their dreams -whether those dreams include study abroad, higher education, immigration or employment.
Better Customer Relations Over the past two years, in order to enhance our customer service, we have increased the number of test sessions and expanded geographically to deliver examination services in new cities. IELTS is now being administered in Istanbul, Ankara, Izmir and Adana with a total of 48 test sessions per year. Our online registration system, the first in Europe, is currently being redesigned to increase customer convenience by the inclusion of provision for online payment. Since February 2010, we have also been supporting our candidates in their exam preparation with Road-to-IELTS, a free online preparation course. EFL Exams
The test is highly valued by English Language teaching professionals as it has an exceptional pedagogical rating – with both the face to face speaking test and the written components being marked by highly trained examiners.
In addition to IELTS, our presence in the EFL (English as a Foreign Language) market since the 1980s has been in the delivery ofUniversity of Cambridge ESOL exams. 2010 has seen the addition of a very important public school among our supplier schools: Kabataş Anatolian High School. We believe this is an important development in public sector English language teaching. Our expertise in testing and long track record in Turkey enables us to engage with both YÖK (the Council of Higher Education) and MEB (Ministry of National Education), who are very committed to improving English language learning in both private and public schools. In order to support this objective, we continue to administer ESOL exams for schools through our centers in Istanbul, Bursa, Antalya and Izmir and deliver exams in 13 major cities.
Gateway for the preparation year exemption
Professional Qualifications
IELTS’ success in Turkey is not only due to its recent acceptance in the USA, but also its wider acceptance in the local market and its positioning as a gateway for the preparation year exemption in private universities. We have been collaborating with private universities on standardizing English language testing in preparation schools. Şehir University, in its first year of operation, took a bold step and used IELTS as the stand alone option for the preparation year exemption exam. Feedback was extremely positive. Closed IELTS sessions, administered in university settings, help university administrators assess their internal systems and help provide a clear and objective overview. Universities such as Kültür University andAtılım University are among many tertiary institutions which use IELTS as a means of internal assessment.
In support of Turkey’s progression towards European Union accession and alignment of EU norms in all activities, other UK Qualifications are also playing a vital role. We help improve workplace skills through access to international standardization and have candidates seekingUK Qualifications such as ACCA (the Association of Chartered Certified Accountants), CIMA (Chartered Institute of Management Accountants), CIM (The Chartered Institute of Marketing) and Institute of Actuaries. All these qualifications help build mutual understanding and set common ground in the working environment. As the examinations department, we will continue promoting the exams of over 20 professional bodies from various different sectors ranging from energy to insurance.
The global economic crisis has led many people to focus inwardly on their skills set and invest in their own professional development, enhancing their resumes and careers. UK qualifications in general, but particularly IELTS, have established their role in personal development as a clear unquestionable standard and a means for individuals to differentiate themselves from their peers.
It is our great pleasure to provide examination services to people from all walks of life in Turkey and see the impact created by their achievements. As the British Council looks towards the next 70 years of operations in Turkey, we will continue to enhance and refine our exams work ensuring customers have access to the opportunities that UK qualifications bring.
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E-MAGAZINEMONTHLY December 2010
Education Opportunities in UK By Yavuz Yılmazoğlu Education Projects Manager, British Council Turkey
Education is one of the most dynamic phenomenons in each country. It has got different phases to be more attractive, comprehensive and inclusive. UK has had the tradition of its education system to be attractive among international students. Celebrating its 70th Anniversary in Turkey, British Council has been communicating UK’s educational expertise / educational opportunities available. There are more and more UK Institutions prioritizing Turkey to work in collaboration with local institutions at all levels of engagement and we support those aims by acting as a liaison between Turkey and the UK. We support prospective students willing to study in UK from English language learning to vocational education and from professional certificate programmes to higher education by offering them comprehensive resources to seek and choose the best option for their future career plans through the Education UK website. Our services for educational agents and counsellors support them to advise students with better understanding of the UK qualifications and regulations with our training programmes, seminars and presentations. Only recently, we held the UCAS workshop at our premises for UK University undergraduate programme applications. It aimed to provide practical information on UCAS applications. It was held in two sessions for college counsellors and Education UK Turkey Agent Zone members whose feedback was positive. One of the college counsellors stated“Although I have been using UCAS for nearly
five years, I still found much of the information to be useful.” We organized Education UK Partnership Turkey Briefing for UK Institutions in partnership with Bahçeşehir University. For the first time; the meeting was hosted by a Turkish University and it was structured with additional activities together with the university. Following the Education UK briefing, Prof. Yılmaz Esmer, the Rector of Bahcesehir University welcomed our members which was followed by a brief introduction about the university that was presented by Sean Michael Cox, Director Grants and International Relations. The afternoon session continued with the Higher Education Opportunities Day with UK institutions. The UK representatives met with the students from Bahcesehir University as well as students from other universities in Istanbul. One of the UK representatives said“the education day was a very interesting concept. We would certainly support the running of future activities.” Through the Internationalization of Higher Education agenda that affects UK, Europe and Turkey. Our support extensively let the UK approach Turkey as a high priority partner to work in collaboration with local institutions and higher education bodies by identifying key academic research areas and contributing in policy debates that aligns with Turkey’s educational agenda. Globally, the importance of internationalization has become a key to operate across borders and “education” is one of the main ingredients. British Council, in its 70th Anniversary in Turkey, continues to support it by designing holistic strategies for the education projects.
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E-MAGAZINEMONTHLY December 2010
ETTO: Innovation in ELT
ELT Team won English Language Label award which has been given to innovative projects in language learning and teaching to encourage initiative. We had an interview with our ELT team to find out the innovative parts of ETTO
Interview with our ELT Team: Raymond Kerr, Suzanne Mordeu and Şirin Soyöz Can you tell the difference of ETTO from the other British Council online training modules? Kerr: ETTO was developed in Turkey using the same platform as other British Council global products. We adapted the materials for the local context here in Turkey. It looks different; because we do not use British Council templates. The other projects don’t have video but we have video of teachers in the classrooms teaching children. There are the same assignments and exercise types in ETTO which are on the global products. Mordue: I think that the main difference is ETTO was developed in Turkey. The other global products were developed for global audiences.
Soyöz: And also it was piloted in Turkey after the development. Piloting was followed by the focus group meetings of Turkish teachers working in state schools in Turkey. Kerr: We do not use CD-ROMs. It uses moderators who are like online trainers. The course is unique. The interaction that ETTO has is unique. What do you think why the project of ETTO won the English
Language Label. What is the importance of ETTO?
we have 18 countries and from January we will have bigger region Kerr: Up until now British Council because we will have Russia. has been able to reach teachers across Turkey. Turkey is a very big Why do you focus on teacher country. We started working with training rather than student MEB 3 years ago and tried to reach training? as many Turkish teachers of English as possible. The size of the Kerr: We don’t have teacher country, the lack of resources and training centre here in Turkey and the small ELT team means that we we looked into the idea of working have a lot of work to do. Turkish with teachers rather than learners t e a c h e r s d o n o t h a v e r e a l l y because teachers affect learners. experience of courses like this one. So if we can affect teachers, they Teachers do not have training that will affect their students positively. they need. MEB targeted us as a Primary school teachers have a key partner to reach Turkish lack of training, lack of resources teacher wherever they are in the and it means that a lot of English teachers are teaching English in country very grammar focussed way. So Mordue: Hard work. ETTO has been children switch themselves off and developed and edited depending they never switch back on. what the teachers need. We have been working with teachers in Mordue: The big thing is that if you have a class of 30 people, you can government schools. only affect 30 people. But if you Soyöz: This award is given to have 30 English teachers, you can innovative projects. The innovative affect hundreds of people. part of ETTO is the communication and interaction. For example: Which communication tools do group activities, discussion forums, you use to reach the teachers? videos showing teaching practice Mordue: Through Facebook, and classroom interaction. Teaching English websites, British Kerr: This course includes pair C o u n c i l T u r k e y w e b s i t e , w o r k , g r o u p w o r k a n d presentations in international and presentations. These are very local conferences, webinars (web typical in face to face development conferences), workshops, Twitter, courses. The online difference is ELT festival in Ankara… that you are not in the same room with other people. Teachers have Soyöz: Blogathon. Our new project to do one assignment of at least and it is our new competition that 5 0 0 w o r d s i n e a c h m o d u l e . we are arranging. We are also Teachers are guided at each point reaching teachers through the o f t h e a s s i g n m e n t s b y t h e competition as our previous project questions to help them and they with TRT Çocuk. know that they are supported at every part of the course. Also after Kerr: We are arranging winter t h e c o u r s e s m a n y g r o u p s o f seminars in Turkey at the end of teachers establish networks and January. One will be in Mardin, the keep up friendships inside Turkey o t h e r i s i n T r a b z o n . W e a r e and across the Black Sea countries bringing of two big names: Carol where we have been running this Read and Alec Williams. There are course over the last 2 years. Now short seminars; but focusing on young learners.
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E-MAGAZINEMONTHLY December 2010
My City Interview with My City’s Artists MY CITY - ISTANBUL: ANDREAS FOGARASI, AUSTRIA Istanbul is many cities at once, consisting of very different urban structures and ways of life. This complexity asks for an artistic intervention that is similarly complex and multifaceted, getting inspirations from the past, the present and the future of the city. For me there are three equally important layers both in the urban/ social structure and in the surface of the city.
MY CITY - MARDIN: CLEMENS VON WEDEMEYER, GERMANY I was inspired by the view from Mardin and inside the labyrinth of small paths. I could not take my eyes away from the view. But mostly the archeological sites in and around Mardin were important for me. In Dara there is a giant cisterne or storage facility, and a nekropolis with certain indices that seem to be connected to sun worshipping. The Deyrulzafaran Monastery might have a sun temple under the foundation of the monastery. By the way, the monasteries in Mardin province are being kept in good ! condition. Hasankeyf is also a fantastic ancient city of cave-dwellers on the shores of river Tigris. I like the aesthetics between classical modernism and the archeological sites, but it is just a pseudo-clash. We have never been modern and I would not reclaim the right to destroy the old for something new. New forms adopt ideas and aesthetics from the past and present only. But the present is not free. It is a prisoner of major desires.
Another inspiration was the general idea of cinema, which I had in mind and which mixed with the !!"#$%&'(!)*+'%'(,!! impressions here in Mardin. An open air cinema can ! First, t h e !! look differently in each region of the world. Here, the historic monuments, places of wisdom, splendor and city and the sun shaped it's location and design, ! ! the tourist sights. Secondly, the informal settlements, mostly by social desires and aesthetic conditions. "#$%$&'!()&!*$+$%$,$-! that were the basis of the city’s urbanisation in the ! last decades. And thirdly, there is a strong tendency among those who can afford it, to overdesign every aspect of their lives, their apartments, restaurants, bars or shops - a certain kind of Istanbul cool that tries to counterbalance the chaos of urban life. I felt that these three layers had to be equally acknowledged in the work, in its topics, in it’s positioning in the city and in its material quality. A lot of research and knowledge went into the project, for example over the time I have made and collected thousands of photographs, together with texts, statistics, maps and other bits of information. In the end, I transformed all this into a text, or actually fragments of text, some of them are descriptions of images, object or events, some of them are a poetic questioning of certain ideas about the city. The texts are somehow documentary but never really didactic; sometimes they keep information from the reader, for example by concealing the actual places they are describing, so that some of the texts are a kind of guessing game about Istanbul.
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! "#$%$&'!.)&!*$+$%$,$-!/0123!#)45#'!6!75-+1&!,$-$#!35#8!!1#$!91-#182$:! ! Images travel faster than humans
It has been an interesting experience for myself, meeting lots of interesting people and to get an insight view to some people here. This was a privilege, but I am not acting as a diplomat, and the work should not be interpreted as art carrying an Civil dialogue between Turkey and rest of Europe official meaning. If the gesture (the work) of an artist is not excluded or neglected or enshrined by political It is always good to invite people from other contexts representation, but discussed in a broader sense to broaden the view onto the own situation. Many within the local community, it could create a dialogue. projects like this are needed, in both directions. It can trigger also a dialogue of images between Mardin and the rest of the world. Images travel faster than humans if they are allowed.
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E-MAGAZINEMONTHLY December 2010
My City Interview with My City’s Artists MY CITY - ÇANAKKALE: MARK WALLINGER, that many will feel that they also have something GREAT BRITAIN important to say about their city; And that they find the best and most suitable way to do that. My work is my response to Çanakkale. My first impressions were inevitably bound up with the history and mythology of the place, its destiny a function of its geographical position.
The work is aiming at encouraging people for selfexpression. The authors in the book are young people in Trabzon, who do not have something amazing and exceptional to say. But still what they brought to the project are valuable observations and contributions and perhaps tell more about life in Trabzon than the official information. Helping dialogue between individuals I realised that many people in the artistic and intellectual scene of Trabzon had very sharp opinions about Western Europe and European Union. Maybe some of them have now changed when getting involved in this project. At least I hope that those people now perceive all Europeans not as one homogenous group. And also I believe that this project has influenced some people’s understanding of what can be contemporary art and art in public space. !
But the influences have by no means been only people will use it as a space for flowing from Europe to Turkey. My perception of contemplation. It is not often we get to see yesterday Turkey has expanded a lot with getting to know so minutely rendered. I love the promenade along the Trabzon and traveling a little bit in the region. whole sea front and the position of the Cinema Amnesia at the end furthest from bustling harbour and marina, the historical castle and naval museum allows space for new thoughts about the past and then, perhaps by extension new ways for the future.
! "#$%!&#''()*+$!! ! I hope local
I am extremely grateful to have been given this opportunity to make a work in response to such a fascinating location, and proud to be !!!!!"#$%!&#''()*+$!! part of a project ! that promotes works of art that reach out to make ! ! contact, create a dialogue and set a debate in train. We will all be the beneficiaries of a wider community of shared hopes and values. MY CITY - TRABZON: MINNA HENRIKSSON, FINLAND When I first came to Trabzon I was taken to the touristic and historical sites, but after that I was not interested in them anymore, and I wanted to see the everyday hang-around places and real meeting points in the city. My aim was to look at the present, and possibly the future of Trabzon, not the past. Now I have got to know local people and have visited homes and working places. Also I know many stories of different neighborhoods or streets. It is impossible now to go back to looking at the city with the fresh eyes of the first impression. I hope that many people will think that they could have done it themselves. By that I mean that I hope
! "#$$%!&'$(#)**+$! ! !
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E-MAGAZINEMONTHLY December 2010
Office Voices Aslı Toppare - "My City" Team Aslı Toppare finished METU International Relations Department, followed by a master’s program in International Law, and then launched into the career world. She worked as the assistant of famous historian İlber Oltaylı and then in several respectable
posts at the UN, the International Organization for Migration and the British Embassy in Ankara, after which she joined the British Council Turkey team with the My City project. With the project, she had to transfer her life to Istanbul; yet she says she has never had any problems about it. “The easiest way to live comfortably in Istanbul is to have your home close to your work; that way, you do not have to deal with traffic, which is the biggest problem in this city,” says Aslı, who is very happy to live in this very colourful city which she says is full of surprises and attractive outdoor venues. Plus, she is not alone; she lives with her small kitty, Topik. As much as she is happy about the peaceful and friendly work environment she has found at British Council Turkey, Aslı is also pleased about her job because of the professional knowledge and experience
she gains on EU relations; she is also a professional yoga instructor. When she moved from Ankara to Turkey, she did not abandon her yoga, which she adopts as a lifestyle, and continues to instruct at a special yoga centre. Since she loves children, she also works with children with yoga sessions tailored specifically for them. After practicing professional fencing at the Ankara Fencing Club for 5 years, she says she had to give up her fencing due to her heavy exercise program, and that it is very difficult to pursue fencing as only a hobby. No one can deny that 3-hour sessions 5 days a week make a pretty tough program that is too hard to keep up with. What she will never consider giving up is her car, which is one of her greatest hobbies, and her driving licence, which she obtained as soon as she was 18. Driving has become a passion for her, since it makes her feel free. At home, her favourite activity is cooking, and spending time with her Nintendo Wii. When she first bought her Nintendo, she played constantly whenever she was awake, and consequently lost a lot of weight, which is why she is now trying to spend less time with the game. When it comes to her cooking, she advises us to sample her lentil patties and eggplant ragout. Aslı prefers going different places for her vacations and likes dynamic and adventurous tours. She especially likes going to Scotland and London in the UK. She likes Scotland because it is splendidly green and decorated with lots of beautiful buildings. She explains that she loves London because of it offers one the chance to live at the heart of a multitude of different cultures, which makes it impossible to feel alone or like a stranger. Since she started working with British Council Turkey, her Project, My City, went through 4 audits. One of them took as long as 4 days, at the end of which she earned the title “Super Girl” among her team.
If you'd like to know us closer, read the "Office Voices" and find out more about us. This month, you will meet our colleague Aslı Toppare from My City team.
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E-MAGAZINEMONTHLY December 2010
A Journey to Partnership By Ali İlhan Gülek, Bahçeşehir K-12 School, History Teacher
I was happily excited about being invited to the “Our Shared Europe” Project, which has adopted history as its starting point in recognition of its importance. Coming from a country like Turkey, which has lived in close connection with history, and from a geography that has seen and sheltered many cultures in the course of thousands of years, has made this journey even more special for me. Project manager Martin Rose’s ideal of “reaching accord and creating peaceful partnerships at all levels” between different cultures, languages and religions, which he called challenging work, had already taken place and is already alive in my country –despite political conflicts and hostilities arising from time to time. In my culture, there are permanent traces from the Sumerian, Greek, Roman, Hittite, Arabic and Persian cultures. Our women are as fearless as the Amazons; we entertain in the same fashion as the Hittites, and we say “walls [the ground, in our case] have ears” just like the Phrygians. Although the majority of our nation is Muslim, the traditions and ceremonies of old religions and beliefs still continue. We ask the dead for help, we tie strips of cloth to tree branches like they do in Central Asia to make wishes. We celebrate the birth of Cybele, and we hit each other with eggs during the Easter. In short, we are multi-religious, multilingual and multicultural. All these made me think we could contribute to this project, even before my departure… I was invited, and the purpose of the project was to ensure Europe-wide recognition of Islam’s contribution to European culture, yet was I going to be able to get a visa? The mentality that sees all Muslims as terrorists and the rising racism in Europe are grounds of concern for me. British Council’s highly successful organization was made even more pleasurable with the unending energy and helpfulness of Berrak Altun; we arrived at Nottingham, where the meetings were to be held, without encountering any problems. And Robin Hood did not waylay us! The group was very harmonious and cheerful. We formed warmer relationships first of all with the Greeks - being our neighbours - and then with the Moroccan and Spanish delegates, and finally with the Germans, who have been living together with the highest population of Turks in Europe. Being Mediterranean was a decisive factor.
In the meetings, we were informed about the work carried out under the Project by Muslim group representatives and city directors. In the school visits, which were not nearly enough, what attracted my attention most was the tranquillity. It was nice to see children from different cultures and faiths receiving education in great harmony with the knowledge that they are cared. There is a genuine effort to break the misguided view on Islam and Muslims. However, it seems to me that this will not be easy either for the UK or Europe. Despite all these, the chosen road is right. Priority should be given to education, and the project should be continued without allowing it to be compromised by political disturbances. With the busy schedule, there was no time to explore the city. Yet we made use of every free moment we could find and visited Nottingham Castle and the Museum. We remembered Yahya Kemal Beyatlı’s verse “Sana Dün Bir Tepeden Baktım Aziz İstanbul”(Yesterday I watched you from a hill, Glorious Istanbul),and watched Nottingham from the heights. With its red brick houses, canals and domed churches, we witnessed a city with lots of character. After the working program successfully organized by Mark Levy ended with the recording of all suggestions, we distributed to all participants the “evil eye beads” we had brought from Istanbul. Just so no harm came to the Project workers and the Europe which we would be sharing. Then, we sweetened our mouths with some Turkish delight. On the next day, we went to London by train, at five o’clock in the morning, to see my dream museum. Berrak Altun, Cenk Temel and I wandered the streets of London like the three musketeers. We waited at the doors of the British Museum until opening time; it was like a practice field for our project. It was as if we were in a showroom depicting how civilization evolved with the contribution of the whole world. It was as if the exhibition halls were saying that there could not be a civilization without the Sumerians, Egyptians, Persians, Greeks and Aztecs, and certainly not without Anatolia. Yet, we could not close our ears to the pleading questions we saw in the eyes and textures of the exhibited subjects: “Why are we here? Why are we not in the lands we were buried in? We were as sad as them, unable to keep our eyes away. I said: “My God, you are right!”, and shared their sorrow. And I tried to soothe them saying “maybe one day, when the world is even more civilized, you will be able to return to your homelands.” Though, I do not know if they believed me or not. Saying farewell to all these wonders of civilization at the British Museum, we boarded our planes to return to Istanbul with the excitement and hope of “setting up new partnerships, creating new civilizations and a world without strife and war”. And we were back in the bosom of “Anatolia, the Land of a Thousand Gods, the Land of the Rising Sun. I thank the British Council for giving me this experience and Sinem Vatanartıran, Director General of Bahçeşehir K-12 School, who took the initiative to be a part of this partnership.
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E-MAGAZINEMONTHLY December 2010
Social Entrepreneurship By Serdar Dinler, President at Corporate Social Responsibility Association of Turkey
Social enterprises are social mission driven organizations which apply market-based strategies to achieve a social purpose. Social enterprise is a new concept with considerable potential in Turkey. There are some emerging social enterprises in Turkey which are keen to explore how they run and grow their business and maintain their social perspective. There is also a potential for some NGOs to turn into social enterprises. With the parts of the global economy still recovering from recession, many countries are facing challenges of reduced funding for social purpose activities. In this context, social enterprise is a concept which is of increasing interest across the developed, emerging and developing economies; and to the social responsibility work of larger corporations. We know the benefits of social enterprise. From this point, we founded the “Social Entrepreneurship Academy” jointly by British Council, Kadir Has University and GSM-Youth Services Centre under Life Long Learning Centre of Kadir Has University in Istanbul. Under this umbrella, we organized a “Social Enterprise Course” with the help of British Council at Kadir Has University. 16 trainers attended this course which lasted during a week. Our professional trainer gave information about the situation of social enterprise in the world, principles and definition of social enterprise and explained who the social entrepreneurs are. Trainers explored the triple bottom line, learned key clauses for preparing a social enterprise constitution, stages of market research and segmentation. They also learned managing the triple bottom line, developing the social enterprise plan course, developing social enterprise branding; building capacity to create new social enterprises and expand existing ones. Certificates were given to the participants at the end of the course. They now on one hand able to build their own social enterprise and on the other hand to teach social enterprise to another people. We believe that social enterprise is the right way to do business and to develop our country. Thus, we continue to promote social enterprises, support entrepreneurs, inform people, companies, government and media about this subject, and to empower new trainers.
“Social Entrepreneurship Academy” have been founded jointly by British Council, Kadir Has University and GSM-Youth Services Centre under Life Long Learning Centre of Kadir Has University in Istanbul.
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Selector Radio on the air! The Selector is the international radio showcase for the best new music from the UK. Follow us on our website.
A Small Break By Güler Yıldız, Radio Broadcaster - Yaşam Radio
Yaşam Radio is a small but cheerful radio station in Istanbul. For over a year, we have been bringing the voice of the people and cultures, in their own languages, to our listeners in Istanbul. We know that this is the one single photograph that is sorely missed in this country, as there are has very strong social, economic and political reasons. The Selector programme has added to our multilingual broadcasts yet another unique colour. It is a fantastic 2-hour break even for me, an avid fan of traditional music … With this project brought to us by British Council Turkey, we have now added the Selector Radio to the entertainment world of Istanbul. We thank British Council Istanbul for bringing us the Selector programme.
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E-MAGAZINEMONTHLY December 2010
Young Entrepreneurs Turkey By Güney Yasavur, Web & Content Services Project Manager, Superonline
Today it is not about what communication was like before compared to now. Today we are talking about the evolution of the internet and computers. By default, they are an integral part of our lives. The internet has become a commodity service. How we access it has changed; before it was just a computer. Now we can add on added mobile devices such as Smartphones, Netbooks and Tablets. Interactivity has changed and evolved. Technology has
become much more affordable. Different people use these tools in different ways and their ideas have become a reality. There is also a growing competition among ideas and people have become more and more creative. There has also been a huge increase in the number of successful young entrepreneur in the internet sector. It is no coincidence. Most web sites used today have been created by people aged 20 and 30 years old. “Entrepreneurs” is becoming more and more used to describe today’s youngsters. Their enthusiasm and power encourages them to take risks, but lack of investment and experience has changed from being a disadvantage to an advantage. There are many venture capitalists who are willing to invest in their ideas and vision. They do not only invest capital, they are also ready to share their business expertise and experience. Coming back to Turkey, there are also many good examples of young entrepreneurs. Because of the Internet, many people are inspired by successful young people and grasp market opportunities. A range of creative businesses mostly using an online platform are beginning to emerge encouraged by
investment from venture capitalists. There are several organisations whose aim is to guide and create a vision for young entrepreneurs. Thus creating a bridge between them and professional, enthusiastic amateurs called Young Entrepreneurs. The British Council is one of these organisations. Bringing in Daljit Singh, a well known creator in the field of innovative design was a great incentive for young entrepreneurs in Turkey willing to learn at first hand from people outside the country. With the help of the British Council, there will be much better examples of good businesses for us to be proud of.
You can visit our blog, to read the article of Vadi Efe Young Interactive Entrepreneur of Turkey 2010.
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Capture Climate Change By Salih Ağır,“Capture Climate Change” Photo competition standard category 1st award
I have always been interested in photography since my high school years, and in 2004 I started taking thematic photographs with embedded messages. While increasing my knowledge about photography, I was also attending various photography exhibitions and taking part in competitions. As I was planning to take part in universally themed photography competitions, the photo contest “Capture Climate
Change” organized by the British Council came as a great opportunity for me. My photo brought my message on climate change across to a wider audience. I believe it is necessary to reinforce through various means the social awareness on the negative impact of climate change and global warming on our country and the world. I try to convey my thoughts on this issue with my photographs, which are my best way of expressing myself. I participated in
the "Capture Climate Change" photo contest organized by the British Council in order to describe how I think and feel about this subject. I believe British Council carries out a lot of important publication and social projects. The “My City” project and “40 stations” photo exhibition are among the projects I followed with great pleasure. I wish British Council, active in Turkey since 1940, success in all its future projects!
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E-MAGAZINEMONTHLY December 2010
Digitally Manipulated Photography By Volkan Zengin,“Capture Climate Change” Photo competition manipulated category 3rd award
I can safely say that my drawing skills, passed down from my family, have had an effect on my taking up photography. Since childhood, my biggest dream was to become a movie director. For a long time, I researched video techniques and animation programmes. And my photography developed during this research, changing my whole perspective on life. To me, photography is like a frozen, inanimate theatrical scene. And what brings it to life is our minds. What I like best about digitally manipulated photography is that you can easily describe the ideas in your head, using imaginary elements. With an asset like Photoshop at hand, I am able to convey my philosophical ideas and depict social problems and wildlife issues in any way I want. At specific times, I focus on certain issues and work on them. While preparing a series of manipulated photographs on climate change, I saw a poster of the “Capture Climate Change”photo contest on a photography website that I regularly follow. As I was already working on such a series, I thought it would be nice to send in my photos, and hence I joined the competition. I have two-degree myopia and I do not use glasses yet I am able to see what most cannot. This is about trying to really see what you are looking at. People either do not see or completely ignore that our waters are getting more and more polluted, our water levels are decreasing and our natural vegetation is slowly disappearing. I think this indifference is what will bring about the end of the world. I believe some beautiful and fruitful ideas came out of the photo contest and exhibition on “climate change” organized by British Council Turkey. I hope people will be affected by the exhibited photos and will become more sensitive about climate change.
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E-MAGAZINEMONTHLY December 2010
ETTO WON EUROPEAN EVLİYA ÇELEBİ – LANGUAGE LABEL BOOK of TRAVELS EXHIBITION “English Teacher Training Online” won the prestigious European Language Label – awarded by the Turkish National Agency on behalf of the European Commission’s department of multilingualism. ETTO is a moderated 50-hour online course for primary school teachers of English, which over 800 Turkish teachers have completed to date. The course was developed in Turkey and has become the basis for a British Council Global Product – Primary Essentials – now used worldwide.
SELECTOR RADIO Stay Tuned!
Selector Radio is now on air with “Evliya Çelebi - Book of Travels” Karadeniz Technical University and exhibition and the panel will be Anadolu University and has been held in Dumlupınar University, broadcasting with Yaşam Radio Kütahya, 8 December as a part of since October. Our Shared Europe. • Yaşam Radio 89.4 (İstanbul) Friday 2300-0100 Caroline Finkel (historian- author)
and Dr M. Murat Erdoğan (Hacettepe University – Deputy • Radio KTU 106.2 (Trabzon) Tuesday 1500-1700 Manager of EU Relations Center) Radio A 101.7 (Eskişehir) • will discuss over past and future Friday 1600-1800 relationships between Turkey and Europe. Also the website is avaliable from now. You can find all details and the music lists by visitig our To read the article about ETTO, website. please visit our blog.
CLIMATE ARENA ON THE WHEELS The best selected 26 photos from “Capture Climate Change”photography competition will accompany Climate Arena discussion series by staying a week in each city. Next stop is Konya and then Gaziantep in December. • 2 December 2010, Konya Selçuk University • 20 December 2010, Gaziantep Please visit the link for more information.
ELT FESTIVAL in ANKARA
Professional development continues... A series of workshops for ELT professionals is organized in Ankara between 6 -10 December. 90 minute session runs five consecutive days. • Monday 6th December: Vocabulary activities • Tuesday 7th December: Fun exam preparation activities • Wednesday 8th December: Motivating teenagers • Thursday 9th December: Bringing everyone into the picture • Friday 10th December: Listening activities • For further information follow the link .
Read our Blog!
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E-MAGAZINEMONTHLY December 2010
Š British Council Turkey editor@britishcouncil.org.tr +90 312 455 3600
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