First row - left to right: Angela Dogançay, Bircan Unver, Güngor Mimaroglu, Çigdem A. Acar, Julie Mardin, Burak Akten (right-corner) and Gokalp Disiacik (back right-corner). Second row - right to left: Beyhan Karahan, Mehmet Uca, Mehmet Dede, and Evren Ay.

 

Since its birth as a solo project, Light Millennium has gathered a dedicated and creative circle of contributors, staff and friends, gradually advancing Light Millennium's vision and cementing its importance as a global alternative platform.

"Legitimizing the Light Millennium"

Beyhan Karahan made the openning remarks as follow:
"When designing a town, an urban space or government buildings, we legitimize 'the regime,' 'the ruling party,' 'the leader.' 

When designing a residence we legitimize a way of life that our clients choose to define themselves with.  When we succeed, the owners attain the image that they desire.

We always try to find a likeness of mind so that our efforts would become a natural extension of our own artistic passion.

Tonight, our mission is to legitimize the Light Millennium. Our dear friends, lovers of peace and harmony in this world.

"What could be more gratifying than this?"
With Mrs. Karahan's remarks, the event was energized and in turn sparkled.

Bora Yasar (right) and Olcay Sesen (left) performed fresh, new and rich "Sounds From Anatolia" with variety of authentic instruments.

Mehmet Dede represented LM's open door approach...

Mehmet Dede, who is the general secretary of Light Millennium, shared his experiences with the guests. In particular, Mr. Dede's participation with the LM is a great example in terms of encouraging others and LM's open door approach. Because while M. Dede was studying at the New York University, he was searching about Erol Akyavas on the Internet, he had obtained a link about Erol Akyavas at Light Millennium's web site (http://lightmillennium.org). In the beginning of 2001, he was preparing a presentation on Erol Akyavas for his art class in school. Thus he needed some materials related with the artist. He contacted the LM, received a quick reply, and met with Bircan, who provided him the artist's catalogue, slides, video documentary for his presentation. M. Dede's school presentation was also his first work which was published in the LM's Spring 2001 issue. He also wrote on Arif Mardin, Ilhan Mimaroglu and in the current issue, on Omer Faruk Tekbilek. When the Light Millennium was officially incorporated on July 2001, Mr. Dede was invited to join the LM as a board member. He preferred to be the general secretary of the organization. Since then M. Dede has been one of the most active, productive, and helpful members of the Light Millennium.

What we need is "precision guided social reforms" that will find the needy wherever they are and bring humanistic environments to surround them. Peace cannot and will not be achieved just by military superiority (e.g. Israel and The Palestinians). We have absolutely no choice but to deal with other emerging problems stated above, and put scientific methods, as well as financial backing, in their service. Otherwise the disparity between military and other technologies and humane social systems (we know "the trickle down" does not work, or does not work fast enough), We are afraid, will periodically result in abrupt, and undesirable attacks on the civilized world.

We hope the Light Millennium will remain as a platform of ideas that plays an important role in the development of these " precision guided, need oriented humane social systems." We invite all of our readers and participants to contribute in this effort.

I want to read you something from the New York Times editorial page which I think is very relevant to what is done at LM especially in these war days: "Words of War" by Azar Nafisi:

These days I am often asked what I did in Tehran as bombs fell during the Iran-Iraq war.  My interlocutors are invariably surprised, if not shocked, when I tell tem I read James, Eliot, Plath and great Persian poets like Rumi and Hafez. Yet it is precisely during such times, when our lives are transformed by violence, that we need works of imagination to confirm our faith in humanity, to find hope amid the rubble of a hopeless world. Memoirs from concentration camps, and the gulag attest to this. I keep returning to the words of Leon Staff, a Polish poet who lived in the Warsaw ghetto:  "Even more than bread we now need poetry, in a time when it seems that it is not needed at all.

So I ask all of you to join Bircan and her team in keeping LM alive, financially and otherwise."

1) Buket Sahin is setting up the Power Point presentation
2) Right after Bircan Unver's presentation of the Light Millennium.

 

Buket Sahin prepared the Power Point presentation, and also contributed to the 3rd Anniversary with her article, “Yasar Kemal on Peace!." Bircan Unver made the Power Point presentation based on the LM Internet publications, LMTV and LM Activities as a compress summary of the last 3 years productions, and highlighted overall LM’s aim as to encourage intellectual productivity in order to publish those in LM’s multi-platforms, and aiming to create a conscious of our time via making available all the published articles and visual works on the Light Millennium’s archive for all people.

We thank to all the Light Millennium's friends who joined us and shared our excitements for the 3rd Anniversary. Thank you for supporting and being part of the Light Millennium.

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On The Light Millennium:

Note: Light Millennium's 3rd Anniversary event fully made possible by Beyhan Karahan & Associates. We greatly thank Beyhan Karahan & Associates.