Atlanta, GA January 29, 2008 - Students from 6th to 12th grades will share the dinner tables with city and state administrators at the award ceremony in James H. “Sloppy” Floyd Building. These students are the winners of Istanbul Center’s Annual Art and Essay Contest entitled “Respect for Human Dignity”.
440 students from 45 schools in 12 Metro Atlanta counties have participated in Istanbul Center’s Annual Art&Essay Contest-2007. The contest aims to promote awareness, understanding, and positive interaction among different cultures and communities.
GSU College of Education, KSU College of the Arts, Georgia Humanities Council, Boys and Girls Club of Metro Atlanta, and Youth Art Connection were the co-sponsors of the contest. Besides winning students, parents, teachers, principals, and university professors will be at the award ceremony.
Gift cards in the amount ranging from $100 to $200 will be given to winner students and their teachers. Honorable Mention winners will receive Six Flags tickets and Outstanding Student winners will get a pass to Georgia Aquarium.
“We tried to reach every school in Metro Atlanta to give the youth an opportunity to express their ideas and reflect their artistic abilities on Human Dignity. Respect for Human Dignity is one of the crucial topics that we should promote and disseminate among the future generations of our society. There are many awards in order to honor and encourage as many students as possible” says Omer Ozbek, coordinator of the contest and Associate Director of Istanbul Center.
1st place winner among middle schools Madi Nunley, a 6th grader from Piney Grove Middle School, writes “When I feel the supple, delicate, diminutive pedal of a flower I know it makes me think of dignity. When I feel it I imagine what they’ve been through. Maybe it has been perched gracefully on the grave of a cherished one, at an abandoned graveyard, and where many tears were shed. Or maybe it has been desiccated of pollen by a buzzing fiend.”
“Respecting human dignity may not always be the simple action to carry out, but it is how the world-wide community will learn to give out what they wish to receive.” writes Jessica Brown from Durham Middle School on her award winning essay.
The Dinner and Award Ceremony entitled Meet the Future Leaders of Georgia will be on Tuesday January 29, 2008 at 6:00 pm at James H. “Sloppy” Floyd Building West Tower, 20th Floor, Floyd Room 2 Martin Luther King, Jr. Drive Atlanta, GA 30334
Detailed information about the contest is available on the web at www.istanbulcenter.org/contest. For further information, please contact: Omer Ozbek, Associate Director, Istanbul Center Phone: 678-990-1717 Email: info@istanbulcenter.org
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About Istanbul Center:
Istanbul Center is a non profit organization promoting better understanding and closer relations among the communities in Atlanta and the Southeastern United States. Since its inception Istanbul Center has served the society through many successful activities that are varied in size and scope. There have been 4 major areas the center has focused on which are education, culture, dialogue and humanitarian work. The center provides learning opportunities for K12 students on a variety of subjects such as language, science and art classes during school periods as well as summer times through summer schools and camps. The center also organizes seminars and lectures for adults through partnership with departments and student organizations in universities.
Istanbul Center Headquarters 1349 W Peachtree St NE Suite 1010 Atlanta, GA 30309 Phone: 678-990-1717 Fax: 877-900-1717 Web: www.istanbulcenter.org
