Interviews from International Children’s Day

Merve İşeri ve Alizee Bodson, 18 Nisan’da Nathan Philips Square’de gerçekleştirdiğimiz İnternational Children’s Day etkinliğinde konuşmacı olarak katılan politikacılar ve ayrıca Miss Teeneage Toronto olarak seçilen ve etkinliğe katılara halkla ilişkiler çalışmasında bulunan Alessia ile birer kısa söyleşi gerçekleştirdiler. Sizlerle aşağıda paylaşiyoruz:

Michael Thompson – City Councilor, Chair of Toronto’s Economic Development and Culture Committee

“I’m very pleased to be here today at the International Children and Youth Day sponsored and promoted the Turkish community in Toronto. I think this is my third or fourth time and every year I come it’s getting bigger and better. Many more volunteers and many more people are coming and participating and I think it’s absolutely terrific.”

Monte Kwinter  – Member of Provincial Parliament for the Ridings of  York -Centre

“I’ve been to Turkey several times over the years and I’ve developed a real affinity to it. I gathered experiences of being up in a hot air balloon in Cappadocia, going on the Bosphorus, visiting other places and this event is really special because it gives the general community a chance to see some of the culture of the Turkish community. The Turkish community is a vibrant community in Canada, Ontario. This 23rd of April anniversary is something very special and I want to congratulate all of the organizers for it and to tell them that, this is the fourth year that they’ve done it here, I’m sure it will be done many more times after that.”

Bob Delaney – Member of Provincial Parliament for the Ridings of Mississauga Streetsville

“My connection with Turkish community goes back most of my life, one of the early loves of my life was a gorgeous lady from Istanbul and her biggest mistake was not taking me when I was available. J One of the observations I’ve made here, in this the 21st century, this is about finding things that unite us and then going forward and it’s less about finding history that divide us and going backward. So one of the contributions that the Ontario Turkish Community has made has been to focus on the development of its youth and on the contributions that the Turkish community can make to Ontario and to Canada I’ve had the privilege of working with the council general to deepen our treatise to recognize the many things that the province of Ontario with a vibrant and dynamic culture and an economy has Turkey, which stands as the gateway between Europe and Asia. We look forward to doing a lot more with Turkey in the future and we are absolutely delighted by the warm reception that we get from our Turkish neighbors and friends today.”

David Shiner – City Councilor, Chair of the Planning and Growth Management Committee 

I think it’s a wonderful event. First of all, of course, the city council could make sure that the sun was shining for you so today you didn’t have to go inside like last year because we knew about this event and we organized that. I mean that’s the greatest part we could provide you J but seeing all the people out here, particularly the children and the youth that are out entertaining and having fun of the square… It’s just exhilarating. It’s wonderful to see so many people here, enjoying themselves and enjoying the their heritage and their culture.

Ken Lister – School Board Trustee for the Toronto district school board, representing Don Valley East 

“This is a fantastic celebration, I am so pleased to be invited to the International Children and Youth Day. You’ve got great huge crowd here, perfect weather, I can feel laughter and smiles from all the children that are performing. It’s so great to see children from so many different cultures and heritage, performing and celebrating together. That’s what life is in Canada.”

Alessia – Miss Teenage Toronto 2015
(She will be competing in the National Miss Teenage Canada – a week long competition that will be held in August)
“My name is Alessia, I’m 18 years old and I’m Miss Teenage Toronto 2015. I am very excited to be here today at International Children’s and Youth Day. I am very excited to get involved in this event and within the greater Toronto community and really celebrate the diversity and a bunch of different cultures that we have present here in Toronto, which is one of my favorite parts of the city.”

Interviews  made by:

Alizee Bodson is currently completing her final year in her undergraduate studies at the University of Toronto in Diaspora and Transnational Studies and Near and Middle Eastern Civilizations. She is specializing on forced migration and Turkish asylum policy. 

Zeynep Merve İşeri is counting down for her graduation from the University of Toronto. She majored in Book and Media Studies and minored in French Studies and Spanish.