"Italy Day 2009"

"Italy Day 2009"

Italy Day, organized by Bahçeşehir University, the Embassy of Italy and the Italian Cultural Institute, took place at Bahçeşehir University's Beşiktaş Campus on 1 October.

The Italy Day 2009 event was hosted by our university in cooperation with the Embassy of Italy, with the participation of well-known Italian companies operating in Türkiye. As part of the events, following the opening speech by Bahçeşehir University President Prof. Dr. Deniz Ülke Arıboğan, a conference was held with the participation of Italian Ambassador Carlo Marsili; Mustafa V. Koç, Chairman of the Board of Koç Holding and Chairman of the TÜSİAD High Advisory Council; Dr. Roberto Luongo, President of the Italian Chamber of Commerce; and Bahçeşehir University faculty member Assist. Prof. Dr. İpek Altınbaşak. Detailed video footage of the Italy Day events will also soon be available at http://video.bahcesehir.edu.tr .

Bahçeşehir University, which carries out many different activities on intercultural dialogue, this time brought Italian culture to its campus together with the Embassy of Italy and the Italian Cultural Institute, taking an important step toward strengthening Turkish-Italian relations.

On Italy Day, held with various events at Bahçeşehir University's Beşiktaş Campus on 1 October 2009, many elements of Italian culture met visitors. From booths set up by Italian brands to exhibitions, and from concerts to film screenings, more events than could fit in a single day met visitors on Italy Day. The most interesting event of the day was a two-hour series of conferences under the main heading of Türkiye-Italy relations.

At the conference, opened with a speech by Bahçeşehir University President Prof. Dr. Deniz Ülke Arıboğan, the first to take the floor was Italian Ambassador Carlo Marsili . In his speech titled "Yes to a European Türkiye", Marsili emphasized the value Türkiye would add to the European Union if it became a member, and reaffirmed Italy's continued support for Türkiye in its EU membership process.

Taking the floor after Marsili, Mustafa V. Koç, Chairman of the Board of Koç Holding A.Ş., began his speech by thanking the Ambassador. Describing the Ambassador's speech as "a great relief to our hearts", Koç continued: "I hope Europeans who oppose Türkiye will take a message from this speech." Speaking on "The Koç Group's Relations with Italian Companies", Koç stated that Türkiye-Italy relations were inherited from the Ottoman era, have continued for 600 years and have gained momentum especially in the last 150 years. Koç continued: "As of the end of 2008, Italy is Türkiye's 4th largest trading partner with a business volume of 12.6 billion dollars. The trade volume increases by 7 percent every year. This relationship is largely industry-based. Italy mostly sells machinery and equipment to our country, while Türkiye mostly exports land vehicles to Italy. Many Italian companies have investments in Türkiye." Stating that this development in commercial relations is also reflected in political relations, Koç said: "Italy is one of the countries that best understands what Türkiye's EU membership would bring to the EU. In this context, Italy being one of our greatest supporters on the EU path is met with great sympathy by the Turkish people. As the Koç Group, we are also proud of these developments."

Stating that they have worked with companies in foreign countries for 80 years but that Italy holds a very special place for them, Koç went on to talk about their partnerships with FIAT and UniCredit.

Stating that, as a result of mutual harmony, TOFAŞ today operates as FIAT's second largest R&D center and contributes to the realization of very important projects in the international arena, Koç said of their cooperation with UniCredit: "With the vision that made UniCredit the third largest banking group in Europe and the Koç Group's goal of leadership in the sectors in which it operates, we aim to raise Yapı Kredi Bank to the position of undisputed leader of the banking sector in our country, and we are moving forward with confident steps in this direction. If Yapı Kredi Bank has further strengthened its place among the leading banks in the sector today, UniCredit's confidence in the strength of Türkiye and the Koç Group undoubtedly has a very large share in this."

Concluding his remarks by emphasizing the importance of relations with Italy, Koç said: "These partnerships show us that groups coming from different languages, cultures and geographies but sharing the same vision can achieve even greater success. They draw on each other's strengths while compensating for each other's weaknesses. As a result of our belief in these partnerships and in the development of Türkiye-Italy relations, we have been awarded the Order of Merit of the Italian Republic for three generations. I sincerely believe that the friendship and relations of these two friendly and allied Mediterranean countries will continue to grow in the years ahead. We all have responsibilities in achieving this goal. However, I believe that, while the great added value our long-standing friendly and commercial relations with Italy have created for both countries is the most important support for our belief in this path, the successful partnerships we maintain will also serve as a model and inspiration for many more companies."

Following Mustafa Koç, Dr. Roberto Luongo, Director of the Italian Trade Center, gave a speech titled "Economic and Commercial Relations between Italy and Türkiye", and Assist. Prof. Dr. İpek Altınbaşak from Bahçeşehir University gave a speech titled "Türkiye's Image in Italy".
                            
The events, which began with the booths opening at 10:00 on 1 October, ended with an "Opera Arias Recital" at 19:30. The artists performing in the recital were Soprano Ayşen Zülfikar, Tenor Caner Akın and Pianist Mº Paolo Villa.
 

From the start of the Italy Day events until the end of the day, many different booths and exhibitions also took place at Bahçeşehir University.
 

These booths included Fiat and Alfa Romeo; lighting systems such as iGuzzini, distributed by Tepta, Castellani & Smith, Prandina and Terzani; and designs by Emporio Armani, Gucci and Loro Piana, represented by Arena Giyim. Another booth was a pasta tasting booth, pasta being one of the first things that comes to mind when Italy is mentioned. In addition to these booths, the Italian Cultural Institute took part in Italy Day with a booth informing participants about master's programs and scholarships in Italy. Bahçeşehir University Faculty of Architecture and Design also took part in the day with an Italy summer school exhibition and interactive presentation. Along with the booths, the exhibition "A Touch of Italy", consisting of Italy-themed photographs by Fiorenzo Senese, was also opened to visitors.