The Light Millennium and the College of Arts and Letters at the Stevens Institute of Technology will jointly present an international conference on the Millennium Development Goals of the United Nations and their relation to ideals advanced by Mustafa Kemal Atatürk (1881-1938), founder and the first president of Republic of Turkey. The conference is entitled “Pioneer of the Millennium Development Goals: Atatürk” (UN-MDGS & ATATÜRK), and, co-organized The Light Millennium, directed by Bircan Ünver., and the College of Arts and Letters at Stevens. The two-day UN-MDGS & ATATÜRK conference is scheduled on the campus of Stevens Insitute of Technology in Hoboken on Friday, April 19, and Saturday, April 20, 2013.
The United Nations' 2000 Millennium Development Goals (MDGS) include the eradication of extreme poverty and hunger, the attainment of universal primary education, the promotion of gender equality and the empowerment of women, the reduction of child mortality, the improvement of maternal health, the combating of HIV/AIDS, malaria and other diseases, the attainment of environmental sustainability, and the development of a global partnership for the development of international peace.
The conference’s High Level Inaugural Panel on Friday evening is dedicated to Millennium Development Goal #8, “Global Partnerships and International Peace.” The keynote speaker, Stephen Kinzer, author of “Crescent & Star: Turkey Between in Two Worlds,” and professor of International Relations at Boston University, will present the following titled paper, “Changing the World: From Ataturk's 'Six Arrows' to the Eight 'Millennium Development Goals” during the Inaugural Panel of the Conference on Friday, April 19.
Scheduled speakers for the H.L. Inaugural Panel on that evening include H.E. Mr. Halit Çevik, Ambassador (Opening Remarks), Permanent Representative of Turkey to the United Nations; H.E. Ms. Byrganym Aitimova, Ambassador and Permanent Representative of Kazakhstan to the United Nations; H.E. Mr. Pajo Avirovikj, Ambassador, Permanent Representative of the Republic of Macedonia to the United Nations; H.E. Mr. Carlos E. Garcia Gonzales, Ambassador, Permanent Representative of El Salvador to the United Nations; and Mr. Philippe Kridelka, Director, United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization - UNESCO Office in New York, and permanent representative to the United Nations.
Welcoming Remarks at the High Level Inaugural Panel will be made by Dr. Nariman Farvardin, President of Stevens Institute of Technology, and Lisa A. Dolling, Dean of the College of Arts and Letters and Associate professor of Philosophy. Please see the details of the Inaugural Panel by clicking on this.
Selected Papers will be presented in the second day of the conference (please see for the full schedule by clicking on the date Saturday, April 20), which will be dedicated to “Empowerment of Women and Gender Equality, and Universal Education.” Scholars and authors will include from various universities, organizations, and countries.
Speakers scheduled for the 20th include Sally Shatila Kader, Co-Founder and President of the United States Federation for Middle East Peace; Hüdai Yavalar, founding president, and Mirat Yavalar, Founding Member and Treasurer, Atatürk Society of America; Augustine G. Johnson, Executive Director, LCA-Global Initiative of Liberia; Dr. Hamid Akin Unver, Kadir Has University, Prof. Christopher Vassilllopulos, Connecticut State University, Prof. Dr. E. Nezih Orhon and Gozde Efe, Anatolian University, Eskisehir; Judy Ayyildiz, author, W.D.C., Dr. Sebahattin Devecioglu, Firat University, Elazig; Seden Anlar, student, Maltepe University.
Prof. Mehmet Ozay, Carleton University, Canada; Prof. Sevinç Özer, Çanakkale University; and Robert M. Weir, author in Michigan, will be joining to the conference via SKYPE.
Overall, the second day of the conference will present numerous distinguished historians and scholars from universities in the United States and abroad. The program will be moderated by David Cuthell, Adjunct Associate Professor, Columbia University, and Dr. Gül Çelkan, Middle Georgia State College, Atlanta. Both moderators will also present their own papers.
The conference will conclude with a concert by the celebrated musicians Dr. Aysegul Durakoglu, pianist, and Yigit Karatas, violinist. Prior to Durakoglu's performance, she will, too, present a paper titled, "Ataturk, Creating a Universal Language in Turkish Musical Culture." Please see the full day provisional program for April 20 and title of the papers by clicking on this.
The conference aims to contribute to the discussion of the Millennium Development Goals on the academic and global level as well as examine one of the most accomplished world leaders of the 20th century and founder of Turkey, Mustafa Kemal Ataturk's (1881-1938) visions, principles, and their implementation from the 1920s until his departure in 1938.
The conference's co-chairs are Bircan Ünver and Prof. Edward Foster.
The conference sponsors are Ataturk Society of America and ONE UN New York.
The conference will be held in the Burchard Auditorium, at the corner of 6th and River Streets, on the Stevens campus in Hoboken.
Registration, which is free, and required. For your RSVP, please simply send an email by April 17th with your full name along with your affiliation, and indicating that you will attend to Event@lightmillennium.org or ataturkconference@stevens.edu.
Please also indicate if your RSVP is for both days or not.
For further information, see http://www.lightmillennium.org/events/all.html - http://www.lightmillennium.org - http://www.stevens.edu/news/content/conference-pioneer-millennium-development-goals-atat%C3%BCrk.
FnFor more information, inquires or sponsorship opportunies, please call 917-554-5836 or 718-441-3816 (the Light Millennium) or 201-216-5399 (Prof. Edward Foster, College of Arts and Letters, Stevens Institute of Technology.)
PLEASE NOTE: The Conference will be videotaped for a series of programs for The Light Millennium TV – LMTV Series. They will be available through QPTV, MNN, on The Light Millennium’s web site and through Vimeo in Fall 2013.
DRIVING DIRECTIONS: www.stevens.edu/sit/maps/driving_directions.cfm
PATH Train at 33rd & 6th Ave./ 23rd & 6gh Ave., 14th & 6th Ave., 9th & 6th Ave., Christopher Street & 6th Ave.
Background information:
Atatürk regarded universal education and equal rights for girls and women as pillars of the society he wished to building in the 1920s. He established the Turkish parliament and constitution to advance his ideals. He created institutes in villages for poor children and universities where women would be encouraged to study. He adopted the Roman alphabet for the Turkish language and introduced western values, culture, and lifestyles. Atatürk advanced the notion of “Peace at home, peace in the world.” According to the executive board of UNESCO in 1979, “Atatürk set an outstanding example in promoting the spirit of mutual understanding between peoples, and lasting peace between the nations of the world.”
In the following paragraph, Secretary General of the United Nations Ban Ki Moon, urges achieving Millennium Development Goals by 2015:
"Eradicating extreme poverty continues to be one of the main challenges of our time, and is a major concern of the international community. Ending this scourge will require the combined efforts of all, governments, civil society organizations and the private sector, in the context of a stronger and more effective global partnership for development. The Millennium Development Goals set timebound targets, by which progress in reducing income poverty, hunger, disease, lack of adequate shelter and exclusion ‘while promoting gender equality, health, education and environmental sustainability’ can be measured. They also embody basic human rights’ the rights of each person on the planet to health, education, shelter and security. The Goals are ambitious but feasible and, together with the comprehensive United Nations development agenda, set the course for the world’s efforts to alleviate extreme poverty by 2015."
For further information, please e-mail to: EVENT@lightmillennium.org or visit EVENTS page http://www.lightmillennium.org/events/all.html - http://www.stevens.edu.
*Day One: INVITE - FRIDAY, APRIL 19, 2013
High-Level Inaugural Panel
Dedicated To: Millennium Development Goal #8, “Global Partnerships and International Peace.”
*Day Two: INVITE - SATURDAY, APRIL 20, 2013
Provisional PROGRAM
Dedicated To: “Empowerment of Women and Gender Equality, and Universal Education.”
PAPER Presentations and Live-Music Concert