On the evening of November 9th 2011, Turkish Cultural Center Boston(TCCB) and the Massachusetts office of Peace Islands Institute organized the at the Four Seasons Hotel Boston.
Alongside a total of more than 140 distinguished guests from the bussiness world, academia, and politics; Congressman Ziyaeddin Akbulut(member of the Turkish parliament
representing the province of Tekirdag)
, Murat Lutem (Consul general of Turkey to Boston and the former foreign-policy advisor to the President of Turkey), Beatriz Almeida
de Stein (Consul general of Ecuador), and Nobuyuki Watanabe (Deputy Consul General of Japan in Boston) attended the event.
The evening began with a reception where guests had an opportunity for networking, followed by the words of welcome by TCCB. Subsequent to a brief video presentation about the mission and activities of TCCB, Hasan T. Arslan, Assistant Professor of Criminal Justice at the Western New England University, delivered the keynote address. Prior to the dinner, Birol Ozturk, Ph.D., the deputy director of the Peace Islands Institute (Massachusetts), stepped to the podium to elaborate on their new initiative. Dr. Ozturk left the guest with a video presentation about Fethullah Gulen, the honorary president of the Peace Islands Institute who is the recipient of EWI 2011 Peace Building Award bestowed by the EastWest Institute.
After the dinner, individuals who have been of significant service to the community were recognized at the annual award ceremony. This year's awardees were: Harold P. Naughton, Jr. (Massachusetts State Representative) for "Community Service", Jonathan Laurence, Ph.D. (Associate Professor of Political Science, Boston College) for "Distinguished Academician", and Nuh Gedik, Ph.D. (Assistant Professor of Physics, Massachusetts Institute of Technology) for "Successful Turkish-American".
The evening culminated with testimonials by a delegation of Rhode Island School of Design (RISD) who have been to Turkey on a trip organized by Turkish Cultural Center. Ken Takashi Horii and Leslie Hirst, both professors at RISD, joined Joanne Stryker (Dean of Foundation Studies and Professor of Foundation Studies at RISD) in emphasizing the overwhelming friendliness and hospitality they encountered during their visit.
At the 4th Annual Friendship Dinner, the guests were immersed in Turkish culture through food, stories and warm conversation with the many Turkish citizens who attended the event.
