The prizes of the painting and essay competitions awarded

The award ceremony of the "Painting and Essay Competition in Commemoration of the 100th Anniversary of the Motherland Republic of Türkiye" organised by the Xanthi Turkish Union (ITB) was held on Wednesday evening, 1 November 2023.

The participants of the event organised at the İTB clubhouse did not fit in the hall. During the event, speeches were made. The teams of the Xanthi Turkish Union presented performances, songs and anthems were sung and the winners were given their gifts. In addition, the works of the children participating in the Painting Competition were exhibited in the hall. The award ceremony and the event were organised by İpek Salihoğlu, one of the ITB executives.

ITB PRESIDENT OZAN AHMETOĞLU

Ozan Ahmetoğlu, President of Xanthi Turkish Union, made the opening speech of the "Award Ceremony of the Western Thrace-wide Painting and Essay Competition in Commemoration of the 100th Anniversary of the Motherland Republic of Türkiye". Ahmetoğlu congratulated the students and their families who participated in both competitions and said: "As Xanthi Turkish Union, we are happy to organise another meaningful event. This year is both the 100th anniversary of our motherland Türkiye and the 100th anniversary of the signing of the Lausanne Peace Treaty by our homeland Greece and our motherland Türkiye, where our rights as a minority are secured and which is of great importance for us. Therefore, it is a very important date for us, the Turkish Minority of Western Thrace. As İTB, we commemorate this milestone historical event with such a beautiful and meaningful event in which our children participate. Events have been and are being organised all over the world for the 100th anniversary of the Republic of Türkiye. If the Republic is a great folk song, a 100-year folk song, we are the Rumelia folk song of it." ITB President Ahmetoğlu also drew attention to the massacre in Palestine and said: "The happiness we are experiencing is very great, but our hearts are bitter. We are devastated when we see the images coming from Palestine. What befits children is to sing happy melodies with balloons in their hands and songs on their tongues. It is not for them to die and be slaughtered under bombs. We hope and expect this blood and tears to end as soon as possible."

DEPUTY HÜSEYİN ZEYBEK

Xanthi MP Hüseyin Zeybek started his speech by congratulating the Board of Directors of ITB for the meaningful and beautiful event. Zeybek said: "After the establishment of the Republic of Türkiye, a model emerged in which Mustafa Kemal Ataturk invested in science, education and technology and a mixed economy system was applied for the first time. And this was an extremely successful model. The most important thing was the investment in young people." Referring to the suffering in Palestine, MP Zeybek said: "Unfortunately, humanity died in Palestine. A child dies every 15 minutes. The modern world is watching from where it sits. Of course, there are voices of common sense. We are waiting for these voices to increase and strengthen and for these sufferings to end."

CONSUL GENERAL AYKUT ÜNAL

In his speech, Consul General of the Republic of Türkiye in Komotini, Aykut Ünal thanked the children who participated in the competition and whose works decorated the hall at the Republic Day Reception. Consul General Ünal expressed the following: "This year is the centenary year of many things. The 100th anniversary of the Republic of Türkiye, the centenary of the Treaty of Lausanne. A few months later, it is the centenary of the opening of our Consulate General. We have witnessed many activities in recent days. Institutions and organisations have organised activities. This evening we will travel to the hearts of our children. I say health to your pen and colouring pencil. Palestine was also mentioned in the speeches. It should not have been so difficult for Palestine to have its rightful place among the world community of states. The process should not have been like this. We are also trying to do our best to stop this bloodshed. On behalf of humanity, I would like to thank our kinsmen who have this sensitivity both in the province of Rodopi and in the province of Xanthi."

After the speeches, a clip of the Drama Bridge folk song prepared by the Xanthi Turkish Union Choir in commemoration of the 100th anniversary of Türkiye was shown. Afterwards, ITB Children's Choir performed songs and anthems. The children's choir received a standing ovation from the audience. Afterwards, the winners of the Painting Competition among primary school students and the Essay Competition among secondary and high school students were announced and presented with their gifts. The first prize of the essay competition was awarded to Sefa Karahüseyin by Mr Aykut Ünal, Consul General of Türkiye in Komotini.

Sefa Karahüseyin, who came first in the essay competition, read his essay.

The winners of the essay competition are as follows:

First Prize: Sefa Karahüseyin (laptop computer)

Second Prize: Mehmet Küşük (tablet computer)

Third Prize: Melek Kehaya (smart watch)

Honourable Mention Award: Mevre Idrisoglu (book and stationery set)

Afterwards, the winners of the Painting Competition were announced and their gifts were given. The winner of the competition, Asmin Ödük, received her first prize, a bicycle, from the Minister of ITB Ozan Ahmetoğlu. The winners of the competition, in which primary school students participated, are as follows:

First Prize: Asmin Ödük (Bicycle)

Second Prize: Eray Hacıdeli Hasan (tablet computer)

Third Prize: Eray Ada Alibaşoğlu (smart watch)

Honourable Mention Award: Gamze Aziz (book and stationery set)

Finally, ITB Painting Course students made a small performance with banners celebrating the 100th anniversary of the Republic. Various gifts were given to the students who participated in both competitions.

The event was held at the Xanthi Turkish Union; Consul General of the Republic of Türkiye in Komotini Aykut Ünal, Vice Consul Baris Çulha, Xanthi SYRIZA MP Hüseyin Zeybek, Deputy Mufti of Xanthi Fatma İmam, President of the Union of Western Thrace Minority School Councillors Ahmet Kara, President of the Cultural Association of Turkish Women in Xanthi Aysel Sağır, Western Thrace Turkish Teachers' Union Aspresident Hasan Bosnak, FEP Party Vice President Bahri Belço, Western Thrace Minority University Graduates' Association, Sevtap Hint, responsible of the Educating Mother Project on behalf of the Association of Western Thrace Minority University Graduates, teachers, families and compatriots who took part in the jury committee of the competition attended.