81 Stars from 81 Provinces 2011 Introduced
18.05.2011
The ceremony for the 81 Stars from 81 Provinces Project, under the aegis of First Lady Hayrünnisa Gül, who delivered an address during the ceremony, where the stars of 2011 were also introduced, took place at the Çankaya Presidential Palace.
Reception
Emre Aydın's Performance
During her speech, the First Lady recalled the recent ceremony for another project under her aegis, Education Enables Campaign, held with the participation of the First Ladies from Turkey’s friend countries, arguing that the 81 Stars from 81 Provinces Project is another significant campaign pertinent to education for the youth.
“A NATION’S GREATEST TREASURE IS ITS EDUCATED HUMAN RESOURCES”
Drawing attention to the huge proportion of the dynamic youth in the population of the country, 55 % of which is the youth indeed, the First Lady said this is a great advantage for Turkey, stating: “The greatest treasure of a nation is its educated human resources. The quality man power that can generate knowledge is the very foundation stone for our economic, social and cultural development.”
TURNING THE YOUTH INTO A QUALITY LABOR FORCE THROUGH EDUCATION
As a country, which has displayed stability in all areas and taken its place among the rising countries in the world, Turkey should seize this potential and turn its youth into a quality labor force through education, declared Mrs. Gül, reiterating that the state has considerably boosted the budget allocated to education in recent years, conducting a number of important projects regarding this issue. The schooling rate, through these projects, has dramatically increased, she said.
THE COOPERATION BETWEEN THE STATE AND CITIZENS IN EDUCATION
The First Lady, referring to the difficulty for a state to provide its 20 million students with all the modern standards on its own resources, further underscored the importance of the cooperation between the state and the citizens in education.
“WE ARE A HUGE FAMILY WITH 162 CHILDREN”
First Lady Hayrünnisa Gül, maintaining that she as a mother as well is trying to do her best in terms of promoting the significance of education, noted as follows: “We have launched the 81 Stars from 81 Provinces with this approach. I have taken the succesful students in their education and sports under my aegis. I as their stand-in mother support these students and try to stand by them when they face any problem. We are a huge family with 162 children.” The First Lady further shared her pride in the very achievements of such students as Özge and Nafiz, who entered medical school; Fatih, getting the opportunity to study at the mechatronics department at one of Germany’s biggest universities; Begüm and Şükran, studying mathematics; Zehra, who is a student in a department of English Teaching; Neslihan, studying map engineering; Nur, the European U21 Taekwondo Champion; Ferdi, ranking Turkish champion in heavy lifting; Birce, figure skating champion in Turkey; Ümit, karate champion in the country and many other successful students under her patronage.
Mrs. Gül further named and congratulated some accomplished names of the stars of 2011: Ceren, world gymnastics champion; Emel, the Balkan champion in athletics; Simge, European champion in badminton and Erhan, winning the silver medal in the world taekwondo championship. The First Lady later promised to continue lend her support for such successful students and promulgated the youth to be their future, calling on the youth: “You are entrusted with our future. You will raise our country to the level of the most modern world. We count on you all and you should bank on yourselves. Aim for the sky. There is nothing in the world that you cannot get by working diligently and resolutely. Read much, question much and research much. Only through these can you really understand our history, culture, identity and all the values that make us who we are.” She also urged them to act responsibly and sensitively as well as ethically.
The First Lady, at the end of her speech, extended her thanks to the National Education Ministry, governors, the relevant agencies and institutions and everyone who have contributed to the project.
President Gül also received the celebrities attending the ceremony as part of the 81 Stars from 81 Provinces Project.
