We are happy to share that we have started the matching cycles for the TurkishWIN Mentoring Program. We congratulate the first batch of our mentor-mentee pairs!

The objective of the TurkishWIN Mentoring Program is to foster personal and professional development through sharing a unique experience with another successful woman within the network. The mentor-mentee matching is done every month. To fill out your mentor and/or mentee application, please log-in to TurkishWIN.com and follow the instructions in your homepage where you will find the forms and a document reviewing the program.

The Mentoring Program is available to TurkishWIN members. To join TurkishWIN, please fill out a short application here.

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One of the dreams of the TurkishWIN is to build a trust network among like-minded women between the global Diaspora and Turkey. We know “Diaspora Matters” and were thrilled to take part in two high-impact initiatives last week:

1) We attended The Secretary’s Global Diaspora Forum in Washington D.C. The Secretary of State’s Office of Global Partnerships, in collaboration with the US Agency for International Development (USAID) and the Migration Policy Institute (MPI), organized a three-day event and brought together leaders of the Diaspora organizations in the United States to provide a platform for collaboration. We are honored that our young organization was one of the groups invited to represent the Turkish diaspora.
2) TurkishWIN was chosen as one of the expert organizations to be featured with an interview at http://diasporamatters.com/ , an information portal for Diaspora communities to learn from each other.

For starters, let us share with you some numbers as reported at diasporaalliance.org:

62 Million: Number of first- and second-generation diasporas in America; almost all Americans have immigrant roots further back. 
$48 Billion: Amount of recorded remittances sent from the United States by diaspora communities in 2009. 
#1: America ranks first as a host of the largest number of international migrants in the world.

We would like to share with you a sentiment that stirred stronger as the conference unfolded: A rising thanks. We are thankful to the United States for the opportunity this country gave us to succeed and to follow our dream. We are thankful to our home countries to have raised us. Our urge is to bring what we learned and earned from our new home to our homeland to bridge the thanks. The motto of the IdEA captures this sentiment right on: “Moving Forward by Reaching Back.”

International diaspora Engagement Alliance (IdEA) was launched at the conference.  IdEA is an innovative platform for public-private partnerships designed to engage diaspora communities, the private sector, and public institutions in a collaborative process. The goal is to support the development of diaspora-centered partnerships that promote trade and investment, volunteerism, philanthropy, diplomacy, entrepreneurship, and innovation in countries of origin. We love the five core ideas and their respective names: Diaspreneuership, diasplomacy, diasporacorps, diaspora 2.0, diasphilanthrop.

As one speaker aptly concluded, we may have come with different ships and planes but we are on the same boat now. Enjoy your ride!

To learn more follow the links below:
Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton’ s Keynote
TurkishWIN interview at Diaspora Matters
International diaspora Engagement Alliance

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Kingsley Aikins, the Curator of the Diaspora Matters, interviewed Melek Pulatkonak, the Founder of TurkishWIN. Diaspora Matters is a website that launched to coincide with the Secretary's Global Diaspora Forum which is taking place in Washington D.C. from May 17-19, 2011.

Enjoy the interview and learn more about TurkishWIN's mission and vision!  

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April was a memorable month for TurkishWIN!

We had an amazing kick-off event of our Istanbul chapter on April 12, 2011 with more than 140 guests in attendance and 2,126 online viewers from all around the world.

Our speakers dazzled us with their talks on "Dream, Play, Achieve" and inspired us with their courage and generosity. I would like to share some of my favorite lines (paraphrased from their presentations) with you:

• "I decided I wanted to make a difference in Turkey. I am providing financial literacy education to pave the way to financial freedom for everyone. What are you doing?" by Ozlem Denizmen Kocatepe
• "If you feel embedded in a place but feel forever alien, you are not alone." by Anastasia Ashman
• "Take calculated risks, plan well, believe in luck and karma. Just do it!" by Sedef Koktenturk Baldwin

You can catch the talks online now. We would like to thank our local brain trust, sponsors and partners, Microsoft,   Iltek Media, Pozitif TV and Kagider, for helping us produce this dream event.

On April 19th, a small group of TurkishWINners enjoyed an intimate luncheon with former Senator Bill Bradley at the Allen & Company in New York. Bill answered our questions about leadership and emphasized the importance of values.

Our next event will take place in Istanbul on June 7th at KAGIDER. To catch TurkishWINners talk about the “Art of the Start,” RSVP here.

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I am a senior at Swarthmore College.  My passion is making micro–credit available to women in Anatolia.  I founded Micro Anatolia to start that journey with baby steps. 

I was inspired to start this project by my previous experience working with Anatolian children when I was exposed to their families’ poor and unacceptable living conditions.  As a Koc High School student and Duke of Edinburgh International Youth Awardee, I have volunteered for various organizations and started running “House of Love,” a housing project for orphan girls.  What I witnessed was the same story: Anatolian women move into big cities in hopes of better opportunities, but they lack the education and skills to find jobs.  As a result, their children also suffer. I have always been interested in children and women’s right. I believe if there is a problem, we have the choice to either ignore it or to address it.  I chose the latter and started to make a small difference.

The project Micro Anatolia’s mission is to implement a sustainable microfinance project for the migrant women from Anatolia who live in the squatter settlements, gecekondus in Ankara.  The major goals of this project can be summarized as follows: a) to ameliorate some effects of poverty, b) to facilitate the integration of immigrant mothers and young women in the gecekondu to other districts of Ankara c) to help women start their own businesses.  The ultimate objective is to economically empower Anatolian migrant women and indirectly their children.

 The premise behind Micro Anatolia- supporting Anatolian migrant women to bring socio – economical change to their lives- gives me great excitement.  I had the chance to get to know these women and their children through the Creative Writing Workshop I initiated for children with leukemia in the Ronald McDonald Charity House at Marmara Hospital in Istanbul.  I ran the workshop periodically for four years while in high school.  The Marmara Hospital is close to one of the biggest squatter settlements where more than half a million migrant Anatolian families live.  Through teaching, I had the chance to get to know the patient children`s families and especially, mothers, quite well.  Most importantly, I developed an understanding for their needs and yearning for economic empowerment. 

After I was awarded the Eugene Lang Opportunity Scholarship for $10,000, I designed the Micro Anatolia project in consultation with professors from Swarthmore, Oxford, Wharton and INSEAD.  After my internship at BlueOrchard Investments, a microfinance investment manager based in Switzerland, I launched Micro Anatolia in 2009 and started managing the fund.  The objective of the project is to provide the initial investment to the Anatolian women to help them start their small businesses.  By the end of 2011, 51 women will have received loans and started running their small businesses- with a total of $10,000 in seed capital.  Their interests and businesses range from selling traditional Turkish embroidery and handicraft, hairdressing, to selling baked goods, jewelry and women’s clothing.  

For more information on Micro Anatolia, please visit http://www.swarthmore.edu/x28418.xml You can meet few of the Micro Anatolia entrepreneurs below:

Nihal Hanim, 26, runs a small beauty salon with her husband. She uses the micro loan of $850 to buy hair dye and brush.

Hatice Hanim, a mother of two, is running a small bakery. After starting her small business in 2009, she now employs four other Anatolian women. Today, as a team of five, they earn around $100 per day and contribute to the families.

See the full gallery on Posterous

The next step in project Micro Anatolia is to help these women, who produce merchandise, sell their products online- in Turkey and abroad.  Will you join me?

Ecem Erseker is a senior at Swarthmore College, Pennsylvania.  She will graduate in May, 2011 with a major in Economics and Asian Studies.  Ecem studied at Oxford University last year where she focused on Social Finance and Banking.  She speaks Turkish, English, French and Spanish.

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R. Muge Yuzuak hosted TurkishWINners at the American Field Service (AFS) and gave a thought provoking talk on the importance of intercultural sensitivity to reach peace in our connected world. If you missed the talk, you can watch it online now.

What's next? We are changing up cities and the format of our events. You can catch the next TurkishWIN event,"Dream, Play, Achieve," in Istanbul on April 12, 2011. Our speakers include: Anastasia Ashman, an award-winning writer/producer of cultural entertainment; Ozlem Denizmen Kocatepe, President for strategy at Dogus Holding, a board member in Dogus Automotive, and a financial literacy advocate; and Sedef Koktenturk, an investment advisor and an Olympian. To RVSP click here.  

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This week we were enchanted by Muge Yuzuak's talk on "Intercultural Learning and the Journey of Making of a Global Citizen." Muge used Dr. Milton Bennett's framework of six development stages in intercultural sensitivity as she shared with us her world views. She concluded the lecture with her theory that world peace can only be built on the pillars of intercultural sensitivity.

We were generously hosted at the American Field Service (AFS)'s office where Muge Yuzuak is a Board member. Begun as a service of volunteer ambulance drivers in 1914, AFS has evolved into an international youth exchange organization. AFS remains as the leading organization to help young people embark on a journey of becoming a global citizen.

The event pictures are below. Muge's talk will be online soon.

See the full gallery on Posterous

We have two exciting upcoming events:

- TurkishWIN's inaugural event in Istanbul will take place on April 12th and will feature four amazing speakers. You can learn more about this event and RSVP here. 

- An intimate luncheon and discussion on leadership, hosted by Senator Bill Bradley, will take place in New York in April. This is a closed event for TurkishWIN members only.  

Please follow us on Twitter and Facebook to get our news and updates!

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Do not despair! I was lucky enough to take the ride of wonder at this year’s TED conference and spent a lot of time at the bookstore. My house is full of books and every new purchase triggers a conversation with myself which goes like this: Do I really have to have this book? Can I read it in the next decade? I already have so many books at home. I am pretty sure I am not the only one having this monologue. 

To complicate the matter, this year, TEDsters like Bill Gates, Seth Godin and others shared their book recommendations. Solution: I have asked the organizers for a copy of all the books in display to free myself from the pressure to make a decision.

Sadly, this list shows only the titles of the recommended books. The upside: most titles are unique identifiers to help you find what you are looking for. Enjoy!    

tedbooks1.pdf Download this file

tedbooks2.pdf Download this file

tedbooks3.pdf Download this file

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Online media and word of mouth marketing expert Idil Cakim gave an amazing talk and shared with us a seven-step plan to expand a brand in social media and connect to millions. This brand can be yours or your company's.  

If you missed the talk, you can watch it online now. The slide presentation below and her book on "Implementing Word of Mouth Marketing: Online Strategies to Identify Influencers, Craft Stories and Draw Customer" are additional resources. You can follow Idil on Twitter @idilgh.

TurkishWIN_Talk_by_Idil_Cakim.pdf Download this file

We thank Fatma Aldas for hosting us at the Axa-Advisors in New York. A few event pictures are below.

 We hope you can join us at the upcoming TurkishWIN talk on March 15, 2011 in New York. Muge Yuzuak will give a talk on "Intercultural Learning and The Journey of Making of a Global Citizen." We can't wait!

See the full gallery on Posterous

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Last week Elmira Bayrasli shared with us her story and views on entrepreneurship as catalyst for change in Turkey and around the world.

You can now watch her talk online. You can  comment on the talk by pinging us @turkishwin or  Elmira @endeavoringE.

Enjoy!

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Last night we enjoyed a great talk by Elmira Bayrasli. Elmira is a magnetic story teller and shared with us her story as she posed the question whether Turks can be defined as nomads or entrepreneurs.

We will share with you only one of the stories with which she touched us. Elmira took us along her journey to Kars, a journey inspired by Orhan Pamuk's novel "Snow," and told us about a conversation with a young local boy. When she asked, "What do you want to be?", he replied "an inventor."   Stay tuned to watch the whole story  in the upcoming TurkishWIN video...

We thank Imge Soker for hosting us at the HSBC USA in New York.

The pictures of the event are below. We hope you can join us at the upcoming TurkishWIN talk on February 17, 2011 in New York. Idil Cakim,  Senior Vice President of Interactive Media in GolinHarris’s Dialogue Group, will give a talk on "Building Your Brand Using Social Media."

You can also follow us on Twitter and Facebook.

See the full gallery on Posterous

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2010 was a special year for the TurkishWIN. I thank you for your support, kindness and generosity in helping me turn an idea into  reality.

I am excited to share with you our upcoming events and new initiatives.

We will kick off the year with Elmira Bayrasli's talk, "Turks: Nomads or entrepreneurs?" on January 11, 2011. Elmira  will discuss how entrepreneurship has been the catalyst in Turkish politics and economics. Elmira Bayrasli writes and works on global development issues. She is working on a book development that focuses on aid and entrepreneurship. Some of the previous hats she wore include: Vice President for Policy & Outreach at Endeavor; Chief Spokesperson and Director of Press and Public Information at the OSCE Mission to Bosnia and Herzegovina in Sarajevo; and member of Madeleine K. Albright’s team at the U.S. Mission to the United Nations. 

We thank Imge Soker for hosting this TurkishWIN talk at the HSBC USA in New York. You can RSVP here.

Save the dates for these amazing talks:

February 17, 2011: "Building Your Brand Using Social Media" by Idil Cakim, Senior Vice President of Interactive Media in GolinHarris’s Dialogue Group 
March 15, 2011: "Intercultural Learning and The Journey of Making of a Global Citizen" by R. Muge Yuzuak, Global Business Executive  

 Now, to the new initiatives! We are working on TurkishWIN's mentorship program and new programming in 2011, which will include events in Turkey and virtual programming. Stay tuned!

If you would like to volunteer your precious time, please raise your hand and email me at infoatturkishwindotcom to join one of the following groups: programming, mentorship and marketing.

Last but not least, we would like to thank Duygu Ordu and Kivanc Anar who have documented the TEDWomen simulcast TurkishWIN co-sponsored in early December.

I wish you and your families a wonderful year filled with love, laughter and success in good health! 

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TurkishWIN is one of the proud sponsors of the simulcast of the TEDWomen conference hosted by TEDxGotham in New York City. 

TEDWomen will take place in Washington D.C.You can share one or both days with a local community of TED-minded women and men in New York. The simulcast gatherings will take place at Booz & Co. on December 7th (101 Park Ave.) and BR Guest on December 8th (206 Spring St. @6th Ave).

To Register for the simulcast on December 7th, please click here

To Register for the simulcast on December 8th, please click here

Space is limited to several dozen seats for both events, so please RSVP soon if interested. This is a free event. If you do not live in New York, you can look-up a local simulcast at this link.

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As a Chinese philosopher once said, "A journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step." 

2010 has been a year of preparations and anticipation to launch the Turkish Women's International Network. Our goal is to provide a global trust network for accomplished Turkish women around the world and their community.

TurkishWIN's kick-off event took place on November 11th in New York City and featured Defne Ayas, Arthub Asia Director and Performa Curator. Split between Shanghai and New York, Defne Ayas works as a director of programs to Arthub Asia, a multi-disciplinary organization devoted to contemporary art creation in China and rest of Asia, and as an art history professor at New York University in Shanghai. Ayas is also curator of PERFORMA since 2004, the biennial  visual art performance of New York City, where she has presented more than fifty live performances and performance-related programs with an international roster of artists, curators, and critical thinkers.

Defne's talk's title was "Goddesses: Goddesses may take us to the very heart of what it is to be a woman." She shared with us the connections between the goddess culture and our contemporary lived experience and what it is that we share with our ancestors. The talk promises to be a visual compendium from a variety of contexts, encompassing both Eastern and Western references, with a special focus on Asia Minor and Mesopotamia, and draws upon art, mythology, and spirituality. With illuminating commentary, Defne positions a group of fascinating Goddesses within their cultural context, from those of the early Egyptian civilization to the forgotten pre-Islamic Arab ones as found in art and literature. Surveyed together, goddesses promise to reveal many of the most fundamental archetypes of a woman's universal experience in this world. Interested in the universal power of female deities and their expression in society, Defne aims to bridge the gap between religions and civilizations and remind us of the lost connections in-between. was an amazing success. 

You can watch Defne's talk here. The pictures of the event are below. Join us at Facebook to hear about upcoming events!

See the full gallery on Posterous

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