TURKOFAMERICA & TOA Consulting Group Reward Friends of Turkey

Nominations for yourself, and/or your own or another person are welcome.
The winners will be announced at our Annual Awards Dinner at the Harvard Club on Wendesday 30th May 2018.
Deadline for Nominations:
5pm on Wednesday February 28th, 2018.


The Distinguished Friends of Turkey Awards
May 30th, 2018
Harvard Club
New York

CRETERIA
The Distinguished Friends of Turkey Awards honors individuals whose has helped to foster Turkish-American relations in business, politics, art, media, literature‎, education, entertainment, government, public service and science fields.

Nomination and Selection Process

The deadline for nominations is Feb. 28, 2018.

APPLICATION CRITERIA
Any individual may suggest him/herself and/or someone he/she knows as a candidate for the category he/she sees fit.

1- The candidate can be nominated for one category.
2- Spouses, children, parents, and siblings of those who are involved in the organization may not be considered as candidates.
3- The nominated candidate needs to submit his/her name, last name, address, e-mail address, and phone number, indicate the categor(ies) he/she is applying for, and provide one picture via e-mail to This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. in order to be announced on www.turkofamerica.com
4- It is recommended that the candidates send in the following documents in order to increase their chances of being selected.
a. Resume
b. References
c. Awards, plaques, and certificates received
d. Publications
e. Organizations he/she is a member in
f. News and articles about him/her
5- Documents to be taken under consideration can be sent to the following address:
TURKOFAMERICA Magazine
104W 40th Street, Suite 523
New York, NY 10018
You may contact us at +1 (646) 475 8452 for further information.
6- The candidates are obligated to provide any additional documents and/or information if they are contacted by the Awards Selection Committee officials.
7- It is prohibited for the candidates to contact the jury members and attempt to influence them.  This will be considered a reason for disqualification.

Nominations are reviewed by the awards subcommittee.

EVALUATION PERIOD
Receiving of the Applications: Individual and institutional candidates submit their documents and information to the awards committee.
Pre-elimination: The individuals and institutions that apply to the The Distinguished Friends of Turkey Awards are pre-eliminated.  During the pre-elimination process, those who do not submit all required documents and information and do not follow the awards guidelines are eliminated.  The criterion here is that it is required for the candidates to submit sufficient information and documents in order to go in front of the jury.
2nd stage evaluation: This stage involves those candidates who pass the first elimination.  After the pre-elimination, the candidates are scored, from 1 to 100.  Those who receive a score of 65 and above are considered to have passed this 2nd stage.
Final evaluation: All candidates that pass the 2nd stage are announced via the website.    
Awards ceremony: The winners are determined by the jury committee chairs.  

EVALUATION CRITERIA
RECOGNITION
The candidate individual’s or institution’s recognition, respectability, prestige, and influence, within their sector, in the USA are essential for those applying to the The Distinguished Friends of Turkey Awards.  Recognition is not considered just as popularity but rather as individual or institutional eminence.  

CONTRIBUTION
The candidate’s contribution to Turkish-American relations are taken into consideration.  

INNOVATION
One of the factors that rise as a main criterion for the selection of the candidate is whether he/she has created, or helped to create, innovative solutions that give place to change in the society and are for the good of two countries.

EXPERIENCE
The experience of the candidate within his/her own field and sector is considered as one of the success criteria.

SOCIAL RESPONSIBILITY
The sensitivity that the individual and institutional candidates has shown, under the principles of social responsibility, to the societies they are a part of are considered as one of the criteria for the selection.

VOLUME
The volume of produced work of the individuals and the institutions are one of the essences of success.  Productivity always creates a difference and productive individuals or institutions are always one step ahead.

PUBLICATION
This includes the written or visual broadcasting about the individual or the institution.  Books, articles, news, and/or interviews are taken into consideration.

SPECIFIC ROLE
The specific role of the candidate in his/her society is one of the significant factors in his/her selection.  The specific role is a characteristic that makes the candidate unique and different that the others.

CULTURAL/SOCIO-ECONOMIC INFLUENCE
The cultural and socio-economic influence that the candidate has on society is one of the factors to be taken into account.  The number of employees a company has or an exhibition, symposium, or a concert that an organization coordinates are evaluated as an indication of success.

BENEFIT TO SOCIETY
The utility and benefit that the candidate provides to the Turkish-American community, one of the ethnic groups in the USA, are considered as part of the criteria of success.

NOTIFICATION
After the juror meeting, TURKOFAMERICA notifies the nominator who submitted the winning candidate. A letter is sent to the recipient. Letters are also sent to the nominators of unsuccessful candidates.

AWARD PRESENTATION
The Distinguished Friend of Turkey Award are presented at in March 16th, 2018 at Harvard Club in New York City.

JUROR
Ali Çınar, President of Turkish Heritage Organization
Ahmet Köse, CEO, BAU Global
Barbaros Tapan, Dogan Media Group Los Angeles Representative, Golden Globe Juror 
Celal Seçilmiş, Executive Board Member, Former Chairman of the America Region Committee, World Turkish Business Council
Faruk Şen, Prof Dr. President of Turkish-European Foundation for Education and Science
Halil Mutlu, Co-Chairman of Turkish American National Steering Committee
Haluk Ünal, Prof., President and Chairman of the Board, Turkish American Scientist & Scholars Association
Kenan Çağlar, President of American Turkish Associations Assemble
Lincoln McCurdy, President of Turkish Coalition of America
Lydia Borland, President, LB International Solutions LLC
Mehmet Kırdar, Chairman of Turkish Philanthropy Funds
Mustafa Tuncer, President of MÜSİAD USA
Razi Canikligil, Hurriyet Turkish Newspaper New York & U.N. Correspondent
Uğur Terzioğlu, Founder President of American Turkish Business Development Council

SELECTION COMMITTEE
Cemil Özyurt, Co-founder and Editor-in-Chief of TURKOFAMERICA Magazine
Demet Cabbar, Financial Officer, Development Finance, World Bank. Former President, ATA-DC  
Janset Batıbay, Executive Director of American Turkish Society
Jimmy Cüneyt Gürkan, COO of TOA Consulting Group LLC
Mustafa Oğuz Aykaç, TurkofAmerica Magazine Boston Representative
Neslihan Kaptanoğlu, US Representative The Turkish Union of Chambers and Commodity Exchanges (TOBB)
Şenay Ataselim, COO and CFO of Turkish Philanthropy Funds (TPF).
Yenal Küçüker, Executive Director of Turkish Heritage Organization
Ali Günertem, Member of TURKOFAMERICA Magazine Advising Committee,
Oya Bain, Activist, Independent Civic & Social Organization Professional

CATEGORIES
¥ The Distinguished Friend of Turkey in Activism
¥ The Distinguished Friend of Turkey in Politics, Appointed Official
¥ The Distinguished Friend of Turkey in Archeology
¥ The Distinguished Friend of Turkey in Art
¥ The Distinguished Friend of Turkey in Business
¥ The Distinguished Friend of Turkey in Charity
¥ The Distinguished Friend of Turkey in Economy
¥ The Distinguished Friend of Turkey in Education 
¥ The Distinguished Friend of Turkey in Politics, Elected Official
¥ The Distinguished Young Friend of Turkey in Entertainment
¥ The Distinguished Friend of Turkey in Entrepreneur World
¥ The Distinguished Friend of Turkey in Ethnic Community
¥ The Distinguished Friend of Turkey in Finance
¥ The Distinguished Friend of Turkey in History
¥ The Distinguished Friend of Turkey as an Institute
¥ The Distinguished Friend of Turkey in Law
¥ The Distinguished Friend of Turkey in Literature
¥ The Distinguished Friend of Turkey in Media
¥ The Distinguished Friend of Turkey in Medical
¥ The Distinguished Friend of Turkey in Military
¥ The Distinguished Friend of Turkey in Music
¥ The Distinguished Friend of Turkey in Policy Institute
¥ The Distinguished Friend of Turkey in Professional Life
¥ The Distinguished Friend of Turkey in Public Service
¥ The Distinguished Friend of Turkey in Real Estate
¥ The Distinguished Friend of Turkey in Society
¥ The Distinguished Friend of Turkey in Show Business
¥ The Distinguished Friend of Turkey in Technology
¥ The Distinguished Friend of Turkey in Tourism
¥ Jury’s special award


ORGANIZATION CALENDER
Applications: January 15th, 2018 – February 27th, 2018
Juror Elections: February 21st – February 28th, 2018
Announcement: May 30th, 2018

Tickets

Table for 10 $2,000.00 USD Table for 5 $1,000.00 USD Single ticket $200.00 USD