Turkish Women’s Initiative (TWI) board members Ayca Altintig and Sema Basol were prominent participants at the Assembly of Turkish American Associations (ATAA) conference on April 28, 2023 in Washington DC.
TWI’s contribution was organizing and presenting a panel discussion on the topic of women’s enlightenment and advancement. Panelists were Turkish women speaking about their organizations’ contributions to the lives of women from around the world.
TWI co-founder, Sema Basol spoke about TWI’s Sparks Program in Turkiye and its success in promoting women’s leadership. She pointed out that although half of current Turkish university students are women, the percentage of women leaders in both public and private sectors remains much below the levels of developed countries. The Sparks Program is working to change that.
As evidence of the Sparks Program’s role in bringing change, Sparks graduates joined the panel from Turkiye via Zoom. They shared their experiences as Sparks participants, attesting to its role in their growth as young women leaders.
TWI president Ayca Altintig spoke about the success of Turkish women in the USA. She noted that, in fact, it is women who make up the majority of the leadership positions in Turkish-American community organizations.
Ayca also spoke about TWI’s new program Sparks USA a leadership program for international women university students. The pilot program, which began in January at Alliant University and continues through June, helps participants acclimate to the US culture and workplace. The third panelist, Dr. Selin Yildiz Nielsen, spoke about “Glocally Connected,” a U.S. non-profit organization that promotes community building for refugee populations.