Contact:
Nurten Ural, President ATAA
Allison Block, Advocacy Director, ATAA
Tel: 202.483.9090
E-mail: president@ataa.org

Turkish Americans Gaining Power through Grassroots: DETROIT

DETROIT, MI, October 29, 2007 - As part of its Public Outreach Plan, ATAA yesterday held its third Grassroots Networking meeting in Detroit in cooperation with the local Turkish American association, TACAM. Attendees met at the TACAM Building in Wixom, MI, just outside Detroit. The event began with a presentation by President Nurten Ural and Advocacy Director Allison Block, followed by a “call to action” speech from Mr. Rifat Sivisoglu from Chicago, IL. After the presentations, the audience and ATAA representatives exchanged ideas for effective grassroots organizing in the area, from which a grassroots committee was established. The grassroots committee co-chairs will cooperate with ATAA to ensure the continuation of these efforts in the local area.

While in Detroit, ATAA representatives met with Congressman Charles Boustany (R-LA), Consul General for the Republic of Turkey Kenan Ipek, the Consular Corps of Detroit, Representatives of the Lebanese American Chamber of Commerce, Representatives from the International Visitors Council, and Representatives from the Iraqi Chaldean community.

About “Turkish Americans Gaining Power through Grassroots”:

This meeting is part of a series titled “Turkish Americans Gaining Power through Grassroots,” and is planned for more than 30 cities across the United States geared at activating the Turkish American community, as well as sharing information with the community on how to be more civically active citizens. The presentations by ATAA representatives last for about one and a half hours, and include presentations by ATAA President Nurten Ural, ATAA President-Elect Gunay Evinch, and ATAA Advocacy Director Allison Block. The program begins with a presentation by President Ural, sharing general information about ATAA, its strategic and public outreach plans, and new ideas for the Turkish American community. ATAA Advocacy Director Allison Block in her presentation goes into further detail about specific skill sets and methodologies for Turkish Americans to be more effective in communicating with different audiences. President-Elect Evinch closes out the seminar with an informative, detailed and fact-based presentation on issues that are currently confronting the Turkish American community. The presentation was followed by a Q&A session, where attendees can ask pertinent, timely and engaging questions. Often the audience is honored by the presence of Regional Turkish Consul Generals or Honorary Consul Generals.

More importantly, during these visits, ATAA staff assists in arranging meetings for constituents with their local representatives in Congress. Due to the fact that many members of the Turkish American community are new to such processes, ATAA makes the facilitation of this process one of its top priorities.

For a complete schedule please contact Allison Block, Advocacy Director, at the ATAA Headquarters at: 202.483.9090.