Children to Celebrate April 23rd
April 23, 1920 was the inaugural day of the Turkish National Assembly and was declared a national holiday for children by Atatürk. It is the first and only holiday in the world honoring children.
During the week of April 23rd, the “Railway Lines Support Project” (Demiryolu Hattı Destek Projesi), a branch of the Bilkent University Social Awareness Projects, will be held in Niğde, Ulukışla, at the Hüsniye Village Primary School. Thirty five volunteers will take part, and stay in a train procured by TCDD (Turkish State Railways) over the 3 days.
Also, on April 23rd, the Bilkent Youth Symphony Orchestra, under the baton of conductor Gürer Aykal, will perform a special National Independence and Children’s Day Concert.
Friday, April 23 at 8 p.m.
Bilkent Concert Hall
National Independence and Children’s Day Concert
Bilkent Youth Symphony Orchestra
Conductor: Gürer Aykal
Bilkent Music Preparatory
School Soloists
L. v. Beethoven | Symphony No.2
in D major Op. 36
Bilkent Faculty of Law Receives its 3rd Award from Vienna
For the third year in a row, the Bilkent University Faculty of Law received acclaim for one of its students, Derya Durlu, who won Honorable Mention as the best individual oralist in the 17th Willem C. Vis International Commercial Arbitration Moot Court Competition held in Vienna, Austria, between March 26 and April 1, 2010.
Coached by Prof. Dr. Bilgin Tiryakioğlu from the Faculty of Law, a distinguished expert of private international law issues, five law students - Nil Acar, Aysu Aliefendioğlu, Elif Berktaş, Derya Durlu and Müge Yılmaz - undertook the task of drafting legal memoranda and orally arguing a fictitious commercial dispute, both as Claimant and Respondent, beginning from early October 2009.
This year, more than 2,000 participants from 252 law schools in 62 countries took part in the Vis Moot in Vienna, with only 523 students eligible to be qualified for the Martin Domke Award for Best Individual Oralist.
Derya Durlu was in the top ten percentile of these students, which included students from Harvard University, King's College London and the University of Hamburg, all who excelled in persuading an Arbitral Tribunal. Durlu demonstrated excellence in legal reasoning, creativity and rhetoric in arguing legal issues.
The team from Bilkent University was lauded by arbitrators for the outstanding performance of each of its members in the general rounds.
Law students from only six universities in Turkey took part in this year's moot, and Bilkent University was the only one among them to have received this award consecutively for the past three years.
This was the 17th year of the Willem C. Vis International Commercial Arbitration Moot. Participants from around the globe argue a hypothetical case involving international commercial disputes before a fictitious Arbitral Tribunal. Each year, law students from over 50 countries draft legal memoranda and finally plead the case orally in Vienna in late March, arguing some of the most current legal problems pertaining to the uniform interpretation of the Convention on the International Sale of Goods (CISG) and the jurisdiction of an arbitral panel as a dispute resolution mechanism.
Graduation Ball Coming Up!
 The 2010 Graduation Ball will be held on June 3 and 4 at the Bilkent Hotel's Sakarya Ballroom at 8 p.m., and will feature a live concert by Turkish pop singer Altay.
Thursday, June 3:
FEASS, FBA, FMPA, FS, LAW
Friday, June 4:
FADA, FE, FHL, SAL, VSCTOM, BUSEL, SATM-VSTHS
The ticket price is 130 TL. per person until May 17, and
140 TL. beginning May 17.
Tickets will be available at the Alumni Center in the Student Council Building from April 19.
For further information, please contact the Alumni Center at ext. 2236.
Fun in the Sun at Spring Fest 2010!
Spring Fest is coming to campus to celebrate the end of the semester and welcome the summer holiday. From April 29 to May 1 activities will be held for students on the grass field between the Faculty of Music and Performing Arts, Bilkent ODEON, and the Faculty of Economics, Administrative and Social Sciences. Each day, there will be parties, concerts, performances, exhibitions, movies and other activities for you to enjoy.
Please see the full list of activities and locations:
www.bilkent.edu.tr/baharsenligi or www.bilkent.edu.tr/springfest
Notes: 1. “Mobile toilets” will be available at the Spring Fest Area during the 3-day period.
2. Pitching tents on the grass will not be allowed because of security and health issues.
3. Pets will not be allowed on the Spring Fest Area.
Bilkent News Interactive is
best viewed by 800x600 resolution.
You can send comments, questions, etc. about Bilkent News Interactive by clicking this
link.
|
“Turkey and Estonia - Past, Present and Future” Discussed by the President of the Republic of Estonia
President Toomas Hendrik Ilves of Estonia visited Bilkent on April 16, delivering a speech on the ties between Estonia and Turkey.
Bilkent students, faculty, and members of the press crowded the ICC Conference Room. His Excellency President Ilves' speech promoted friendly relations between Turkey and Estonia, emphasizing the ties that have bound these countries over the years.
"There are just a few political and cultural connections in the history of our peoples, but they form a sufficiently significant and substantial underpinning for our present and future relations," he said.
 President Ilves illustrated how Turkey and Estonia clearly share a common background and similar values, pointing out that these similarities create a strong bond between the two countries.
Important security issues were also discussed. President Ilves spoke about how so many countries in the European Union are also in NATO, an organization where Turkey plays a vital strategical role. It only makes sense for Turkey to be accepted into the EU to contribute in similar ways.
Estonia "supports Turkey in its own aspirations to become a member of the European Union," said President Ilves. Estonia feels that it is because of the rules of democracy, and the culture that Turkey holds that is so different from the rest of the EU, that creates obstacles against Turkey's acceptance.
The Northern Cyprus and Armenia issues also came to the fore. Ilves said these issues need to gain attention from the world's powerful nations to be resolved. Ilves also stated that Estonia needs to become a more dynamic country in Europe to be a solution for the "split brain" approach.
Bilkent University students had many questions, some of which included how psychology influences President Ilves' politics, the relationship between Estonia and Russia, Cyprus' problem and what Estonia could do, issues on security and electricity, and finally NATO.
"Although we cannot see into the future," President Ilves concluded, "the past and present give us an idea of what could lie ahead."
President Ilves was a researcher at Columbia University, in New York where he graduated. He also worked at the Open Education Center in Englewood, New Jersey. He has also served as Ambassador to Estonia to the United States, Canada and Mexico between 1993 and 1996. From 1996 to 1998 he was appointed the Minister of Foreign Affairs of Estonia. Between 2002 and 2004, Ilves was a Member of the Parliament of Estonia, until 2006 when he became a Member of the European Parliament.
İrem Esen (MAN/III)
esenirem@ug.bilkent.edu.tr
Also in this issue:
|
