Spotlight on Turkey, the nationwide educational program of the Turkish Cultural Foundation in cooperation with the World Affairs Councils of America (WACA) has been launched for 2013. This year's program will be realized in partnership with 14 local WACA chapters around the country. The participating councils are located in the following areas: Dallas/Fort Worth (TX), Minnesota, Montana, Santa Fe (NM), Seattle (WA), Vermont, Jacksonville (FL), Connecticut, Peoria (IL), Washington, DC, New Hampshire, South Dakota, Denver, Hawaii. The 3-part program will include 14 teacher workshops on Turkey, two TCF - sponsored and organized Teacher Study Tours to Turkey in the summer of 2013 and public programming on Turkey organized by the 14 councils in fall 2013. Now in its seventh year, the program has reached nearly 3,200 educators through the teacher workshops and thousands of Americans were introduced to Turkey through cultural programs. Thus far, TCF's Teacher Study Tours have taken 425 American educators to Turkey.

TCF will join thousands of social sciences teachers and administrators on November 16-18 at the 92nd National Council for Social Studies Conference (NCSS) in Seattle, WA. TCF will be participating in the conference both as an exhibitor and a presenter to educate attendees about its mission and educational programs, particularly the Spotlight on Turkey program and TCF Teacher Study Tours. The TCF presentation will include the screening of Broad Horizons, a documentary on the TCF Study Tours. TCF will be represented at the conference by Seattle teachers who participated in the study tours and members of the members of the Turkish American community.

TCF is now accepting applications for its 2013 Fellowship in Turkish Art and Culture. The TCF Fellowship Program's mission is to advance academic research and increase publications on Turkish culture and art. Since the inception of the TCF Fellowship Program in 2008, the Fellowship has been awarded to 52 scholars worldwide, covering a wide spectrum of topics related to Turkish culture and art. For more information on how to apply, please visit the TCF website. Applications are due by December 14, 2012.

Dr. Nurhan Atasoy, TCF Senior Scholar in Residence, will be one of six featured authors and sign her new books at the Smithsonian Institute Arthur M.Sackler Gallery’s 25^th Anniversary celebration’s Asian Art and Culture Book Fair on December 1, 2012 in Washington, DC. The event is open to the public.  Dr. Atasoy will also give a lecture at the Textile Museum in Washington, DC on November 28, titled “In the Sultan’s Gardens: Ottoman Gardens and the Decorative Arts.” The lecture takes place as part of the Textile Museum’s educational series, which accompanies the ongoing exhibition on Ottoman art at the Museum.  Both events are co-sponsored by TCF, under the TCF Lecture Series in Turkish Culture and Art program.

The TCF Lecture Series in Turkish Culture and Art, organized by the TCF Istanbul office, hosted a presentation by Prof.Dr.Gulru Necipoglu, Aga Khan Professor of Islamic Art at Harvard University, on November 7. Speaking to a capacity audience, Dr.Necipoglu’s lecture focused on the work of the great Ottoman imperial architect Sinan (Mimar Sinan Caginda Mimari Kultur ve Adap Kavrami). Dr.Necipoglu is author of “The Age of Sinan: Architectural Culture in the Ottoman Empire,” which is due to be published in Turkish by Bilgi University.

The second November lecture will feature Dr. Beata Biedronska-Slota, former curator of the National Museum in Cracow, who will speak on “Turkish Art in Poland.”

Meanwhile, the TCF Culinary Arts Center - YESAM began its Fall lectures on October 18 with a presentation on the cuisine of Kayseri by Nedim Atilla. This month, Mr.Atilla will speak at YESAM on November 27 about the antioxidant qualities of fall vegetables.

The TCF exhibition of works by contemporary Turkish artists at the SOFA Chicago art fair concluded on November 4. This year's featured artists were  Cetin Ates, Adnan Dogan, Ipek Kotan, Zeynep Torun, Ahmet Yazici and Belgin Yucelen. The TCF display at SOFA Chicago was curated with Armaggan Art & Design Gallery.

A TCF grant will support the organization of the 5^th Annual Nazim Hikmet Poetry Competition and Festival, organized by the American Turkish Association of North Carolina. TCF has underwritten this event since its inception. The Festival will be held on April 14, 2013 at the Page Walker Arts & History Center in Cary, NC and celebrate the life and poetry of Nazim Hikmet, regarded widely as the greatest Turkish contemporary poet. The 5^th Annual Nazim Hikmet Poetry Competition precedes the festival and is now accepting submissions. Finalists will be invited to read their poetry at the Festival alongside other noted poets. Poetry submissions are accepted until February 1, 2013.

TCF has awarded a major grant to Dr.Ozge Ozgur to support the translation into modern Turkish and publication of a book by Ioannis Kalfoglu, titled “The Historical Geography of Asia Minor.” Published in Istanbul originally in 1899, the book was written in Turkish with Greek alphabet intended for the Greek Orthodox Turcophone, Karamanli, audience.