Ankara
Awards ceremony for the fourth edition of ‘Jinnah Young Writers Award’ essay competition was held in Ankara on Monday. Due to COVID-19 restrictions, the event was held online. Deputy Minister for National Education of Turkey Mr. Reha Denemeç was the chief guest while participating students, school principals and provincial heads of the Department of Education also attended.
The Award, named after the Founder of Pakistan, Quaid-e-Azam Muhammad Ali Jinnah, is the initiative of the Pakistan Embassy, organized in collaboration with the Ministry of National Education of Turkey. The theme for this year’s competition was ‘Jinnah and Ataturk – two great leaders of the 20th century.’
Speaking on the occasion, Deputy Minister Reha Denemeç said that Pakistan and Turkey enjoy fraternal ties deeply rooted in history. He noted that Turkey will not forget the support given by the people of Pakistan during Turkish War of Independence, Çanakkale War, and the 15th July 2016 failed coup. He recalled that when Atatürk sought support from the Muslim world during war of independence, people from areas now forming Pakistan were mobilized through speeches by great poet and philosopher Allama Muhammad Iqbal. He emphasized that it is our duty to strengthen Turkey-Pakistan brotherhood that our ancestors established and nurtured by successive generations.
Ambassador Syrus Sajjad Qazi in his remarks said Jinnah Young Writers Award was one of the key initiatives of Pakistan’s public diplomacy activities in Turkey. He felicitated the participating students for their deep thinking, high quality information, and passion and perspective contained in the essays and termed their efforts as a valuable contribution to the Pakistan-Turkey relationship.—INP
