Profile
of a Turkish-American Community Builder:
Sema
Karaoglu
by Emin PAMUCAK
LM-South, North Carolina
One of the most recognizable Turkish-American community members
is Sema Karaoglu, known primarily for
her community building efforts through
the internet based women's networking
group called Daughters of Ataturk <http://www.DofA.org>. Founded in 1999, Daughters of Ataturk's
mission is to globally promote Turkish
women and foreign spouses of Turkish men,
whether they are professional career women
or stay-at-home moms. While Sema
proudly admits that many Turkish-Americans
are professionally successful and are
active members of the societies they live
in, their Turkishness or Turkish identity
is not always apparent. She knows that nurturing a community of
like minded people, and keeping this network
of people that share a common heritage
connected together is just as important. This has been the primary founding vision behind the successful
Daughter of Ataturk organization.
The growth of the Internet has made Sema's community building efforts
even more successful by providing an enabling
tool for advancing the Daughters of Ataturk's
mission on a global platform. During a recent teleconference with Light Millennium - South
members, Sema indicated that the Internet
has given her organization a wonderful
opportunity for building alliances among
individuals who are socially and geographically
separated. Creating a virtual community
of like minded people, who may otherwise,
not have the opportunity to interact.
The Daughters of Ataturk community members share their individual
projects, aspirations, and most importantly,
their success stories through their own
yahoo group at the following link: <http://groups.yahoo.com/group/Daughters_of_Ataturk/>
Most Daughters of Ataturk members, like Sema, are community builders.
They are not self-serving individuals. Rather,
they are interested in improving and perpetuating
their heritage and their communities. The
group, as a whole, shares with and inspires
one another in nurturing and developing
a community spirit. Many members
individually are "quiet achievers"
in their own communities, doing good work,
but doing it quietly. For this reason,
soon after the inception of Daughters
of Ataturk organization in 1999, Sema
originated the Daughters of Ataturk's
Women of Distinction Award to publicly acknowledge the contributions
of the International Turkish Women. On
its seventh year of recognitions, over
200 International women around the world
have been formally recognized by Daughters
of Ataturk. This year for the first
time, Sons of Ataturk, as well as international Turkish NGO's serving the Turkish cause
(including the Light Millennium) have
also been recognized by Daughters of Ataturk.
Sons of Ataturk's website: <http://www.sonsofataturk.org>
was dedicated to the memory of Sema's
father Seref Karaoglu.
About Sema Karaoglu:
Sema Karaoglu was born on the Island of Cyprus back when it was
still a British Crown Colony. She
moved with her parents to the United States
as a young child.
Following the footsteps of her
mother, Leman, who was very active in
rekindling the almost defunct local Turkish-American
club, Sema also became active in the club
at an early age and continues to this
day. Years later in the 70's, as the local club was incorporated
as an Association, Sema was instrumental
in translating the original bylaws from
Turkish to English. After briefly
serving as regional VP with ATAA, she
now devotes her time to Daughters of Ataturk
and continues to be active with many other
Turkish American associations. Sema is married to Arthur Osman
and has two children, Kara and Osman.
Some inspiring excerpts from Light Millennium teleconference with
Sema Karaoglu follow below:
About the Daughters of Ataturk Name:
"Kemal Ataturk was the founder of the modern Republic of Turkey
from the ashes of Ottoman Empire. His
vision included a contemporary society
based on principles of democracy and modern
day knowledge and teachings, without difference
to gender and equal opportunity for all.
In a way we are all Daughters and
Sons of Ataturk, propagating his vision. Modernization of Turkey led to the
emancipation of the Turkish women which
is a unique historical event. With this name for our organization, I
wanted to identify the importance of Ataturk's
vision as well as honor all Turkish women."
About the Daughters of Ataturk Comradery:
"We all draw energy and strength from each other. Daughters of Ataturk could not be successful
without the participation of our members.
There's nothing we cannot do as long as we act as one, learn
from our mistakes, share our success stories
and inspire one another. Our main goal is the promotion and the
recognition of Turkish Women."
About Positive Community Impact:
"One way we can achieve positive impact for our communities
is to be active and integrated members
of the greater societies we live in. We need to participate in our local communities,
our children's school programs, student
organizations at the universities, or
other professional and service-oriented
clubs. The more active we are the better
chance we have to make a positive impact
in our societies."
About Being a Turkish-American:
"As Turkish-Americans we are all products of this nation,
as well as our native land. I am
proud of my heritage and culture, as well
as how this society has shaped me as a
person. It is the second and third
generation of Turkish-Americans can we
hope that will carry the torch of Turkishness
and Turkish identity, and keep our voices
heard in this land of immigrants, our
adopted home."
Advice to the Turkish-American Youth:
"You are part of two worlds, and you are a richer person because
of this. You can pick the best aspects
of each culture, but to do this you have
to be involved in both. On my 7th
birthday, my father gave me a pair of
scissors, a glue stick and a scrap book
as my present, and asked me to collect
and create a treasure chest of articles
about Turkey, not from Turkish media but
from the foreign print media. To
this day, I still clip and save articles
on Turkey and Turks.
You can read more about Sema Karaoglu's
advice to the Turkish-American youth in
Burcu Bozkurt's "Teen Perspective"
article>
Many thanks to Sema for her time and I hope that many young generations
of Turkish-American women will follow
in her lead.
Emin Pamucak
April 10, 2006
Cary, North Carolina
Light Millennium - South
More LM -
South articles at> http://www.lightmillennium.org/south.html
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