The
Soliya Connect Program is a
cross-cultural education program that directly connects university
students in the
Ten students from Dr.
Çelik’s course
participated in the Connect Program in the Fall 2007. They were- to a
person-
thoughtful and articulate. They consistently took leadership in their
online
discussion groups, pushing the conversation to a deeper level.
Turkey’s
unique position at the cross-roads of “West” and “East”
allowed the students to be particularly effective in helping translate
comments
made by Easterners to those in the West, and vice versa.
While
participating in the Connect
Program students had the opportunity to write a proposal for a
collaborative action project which aims to improve the relationship
between the
“West” and the “Arab & Muslim World”. Soliya
selected a number of these projects to present to the United Nations
Alliance
of Civilizations (AoC) Youth Solidarity Fund. Projects selected by the
Youth
Solidarity Fund have the potential to receive grants of up to $20,000
in support
of their project. A
project
co-authored by a Sabanci student has been selected as one of the
projects that
Soliya will present to the AoC. It’s a very competitive process, and
there are no guarantees that the project will be selected by the UN,
but even
being selected by Soliya is a tribute to the quality of the idea and
our belief
in the students’ ability to implement an impactful program.