Young Turkey/Young America
A New Relationship for a New Age

YTYA Program Testimonial from Turkey Participant Dilek Tosun

YTYA Partners, Andy Stoll and Dilek Tosun

This was the greatest opportunity I’ve ever had! I have attended several training programs organized by different organizations through the funding opportunities of different governments before; but this was the first one having a culture based approach with a well organized training program. I learned a lot on foreign policy issues, US-Turkey relations and the administrative system of the US. I also had the chance to get to know the American culture better through the home-stay part of the program. I felt like I was home, everybody was so nice and kind to me. I’d like to thank my partner, Andy, one more time and of course, his family and friends. We are famous for our hospitality all over the world; now, I see that Americans are just like us; they are so hospitable, friendly and warm.

After coming back I told my friends, my family and everybody around me that we think we know Americans and American culture; but actually we don’t; we just think that we know, but we are wrong. I told them all my experiences and good memories, and they were all surprised…

As for the second segment of the program, I attended some meetings to learn more about the US regional administrative system, which is completely different than ours. It was great to compare and contrast the two systems since I work for a local authority in Turkey, in the city of Istanbul. I was in Cedar Rapids, (Iowa) and Omaha, and the common point of these cities is that they were tackling problems caused by the flood. For instance, in Cedar Rapids, people I met were doing their best to rebuild the city after the flood in 2008. People were so responsible, and they were all trying to revitalize the city together, which is very impressive…

I also have learned a lot about how things work in the local level of the US. This was very exciting and directly related to my job. I had four different meetings with a county supervisor; a legislative liason for the City of Cedar Rapids; an NGO “Downtown District” focused on economic development in the downtown, and I also attended a conference on how to make the education system better. Seeing how people make their voice heard in the US was so interesting; everybody had the chance to present their innovative and new ideas.

And of course, we had fun; now I know how to do country line dancing (I’m terrible at it, but I liked it ), and I did so many “American” things from watching a baseball game (College World Series Championship) to a road trip. By the way, I must say that the food is really good here, big delicious portions

Finally, I would like to thank World Learning and the US Embassy in Turkey for this great opportunity!

Sincerely

Dilek Tosun

Turkey Participant Sherrif Shares Reflection on Program

I feel so lucky and privileged to be one of the participants of such a prestigious program sponsored by the U.S. Embassy in Ankara.  I had very high expectations before the program and I can easily tell that all of them, even more, were fulfilled. Both the DC program and the Homestays were very well managed and organized, thanks to the coordinators of World Learning.

Group picture in front of the Washington Monument in Washington DC

It was such a dynamic exchange program. As future leaders, My partner and I were able to connect and build constructive relationship specifically between Batman and Chicago, generally between United States and Turkey.  We worked on a sister city program, creating a regional school with the partnership of Turkey and US. These initiatives willwork toward the vital task of renewing and reinvigorating the two countries’ important bilateral relationship.

Throughout the first segment of the program in Washington DC and my homestay in Chicago, l was capable of building enduring connections through hands-on activities, vigorous discussions and joint follow-on projects.  Meetings with government officials, independent experts and think tanks representatives prompted serious explorations of foreign policy issues.

Chicago Cubs baseball game with Sheriff, David and Friends

Through seminars and small working groups, along with a crisis management simulation, I built leadership, negotiation, and mediation skills while delving deeply into complex policy matters and processes. Social events with other young leaders’ organizations and alumni of past exchanges ( MORGAN, JOHN BAUM and NEW AMERICA FOUNDATION’s Representatives) encouraged the building of wider networks. My home stay in Chicago with my partner Dave, provided me with an intimate glimpse of life on the other side of the Atlantic, especially regarding campaigning, foreign policy issues, and social interaction.  This combination of activities helped to forge lasting personal and professional relationships between my pair and me and the rest of the group.

The Baseball Game, The Arthitectural Boat Trip and The Pride Parade were the best examples to explore the social and cultural sides of the people in Chicago/USA.

Chicago Boat Tour

I should express that l was and still am amazed by all of these.

To sum up, I just fell in love with the US in general. The people broke all of my prejudices regarding them. They proved to me that they are great people. I noticed that Americans are normal, docile and easy going people. It is not fair that the rest of the world should see them as military based…

Thanks so much,

Mehmet Serif SAHIN

On Wednesday, June 29th The Turkish participants reconvened in Washington DC for the program closing. The group had their final meeting of the US portion

YTYA meeting with the US State Department

of the program with the US Department of State. After a successful program, the Turkish

participants departed for different areas on Thursday, June 30th. Overall the 10 Turkish and 10 American participants had an amazing two week program together.

Take a look at the project proposals created by each pair during the US portion of the program!

Check out the project proposals!

The ATAA hosted over 20 young American and Turkish professionals as a part of the US State Department-sponsored Young Turkey / Young America program.  ATAA Past President Gunay Evinch briefed American participants prior to their visit to Turkey, and Turkish participants prior to their tour of America.

A diverse group of Young America leaders included US Senate staff, academicians, think tanks experts, and non-profit organization officers. The Young Turks delegation included government, civil society and private sector leaders from cities as diverse as liberal Izmir to conservative Diyarbakir, from Trabzon on the Black Sea to Antalya on the Turkish Riviera.

Sunday June 18th was the first social gathering for the Turkish and American participants. Delicious food was accompanied by great conversation. Check out the Turkish meal that was created!

[slideshow id=4]

On Tuesday, June 21st, Mr. Tom Kutsch, Mr. Andrew Lebovich, and Mr. Jonathan Guyer from The New America Foundation met with the 20 Turkish and American participants.

The New America Foundation is a nonprofit, nonpartisan public policy institute that invests in new thinkers and new ideas to address the next generation of challenges facing the United States. New America emphasizes work that is responsive to the changing conditions and problems of our 21st Century information-age economy — an era shaped by transforming innovation and wealth creation, but also by shortened job tenures, longer life spans, mobile capital, financial imbalances and rising inequality. Launched in 1999, the foundation was guided through a period of rapid growth by founding president Ted Halstead. New America is headquartered in Washington D.C. and also has a significant presence in California, the nation’s largest laboratory of democracy.

Please add comments, pictures, and videos! Make sure to ‘like’ the page in order to receive updates.

A few of the members of the group from Turkey met up for lunch after their visa interviews! We are looking forward to your arrival in the USA!

Welcome to the new Young Turkey/ Young America Website!

We are looking forward to the start of the program!

There will be much more information to come!