Message from Ibrahim Dogus

It is my pleasure to celebrate with you First Anniversary and Community Achievement awards of the Centre for Turkey Studies (CTS) in the UK, registered as Centre for Turkey Studies and Development (CTSD). Since its launch in 2011, the CTS has organised regular public policy forums in the Parliament, roundtables with London-based think tanks and networking dinners and gatherings across London. All events had mainly two key objectives: to serve as a Turkey-focused public policy forum for the British public and its communities originating from Turkey, and to create a dialogue between experts from Turkey and the UK with the aim to build bridges between the two countries and their peoples.

“We believe that the CTS will grow in its ambition and professionalism as London’s first policy forum and think tank focused exclusively on Turkey and its communities based in Britain.”

The inspirational contributions of our guest speakers from across Turkey’s political spectrum have indeed enriched our understanding of the political debate in Turkey. The interest in Turkey’s politics, its people and economic and political potential is just remarkable. Especially after having received such great interest in Turkey from the public – the full Committee Rooms at the Houses of Parliament speak for themselves – we have decided to continue our efforts and plan many more such events in the future. We believe that the CTS will grow in its ambition and professionalism as London’s first policy forum and think tank focused exclusively on Turkey and its communities based in Britain.

This work would not have been possible without your support. I am therefore extremely grateful for all the voluntary support, time and advice you have given to the CTS. It is this engaged spirit of our communities that has led us to announce the First CTS Community Achievement Award in 2012. It is for this reason that we would like to recognise the outstanding  chievements and hard work of individuals, businesses and community organisations originating from Turkey. The winners of the CTS Community Achievement Award have been chosen out of a list of hundreds of nominees which stand out for their outstanding contributions in areas such as health, arts and culture, sports, media, business, politics, non-profit community services and more.

Thank you once again for your continuous support and I hope that you are enjoying the evening.

Best wishes,

Ibrahim Dogus,

Founder and Director, Centre for Turkey Studies