Turkey's first lady to get humanitarian service award

By Ilkay Guder

ANKARA

Turkey's First Lady Emine Erdogan will be given a humanitarian service award in London on Sept. 11 by the Global Donors Forum.

The forum is being organized by the Chicago-based World Congress of Muslim Philanthropists as the first meeting of the forum was held in Istanbul in 2008.

The Humanitarian Service Recognition Award acknowledge's the first lady's philanthropic efforts for the needy, especially the Rohingya that drew the attention of international public opinion.

Emine Erdogan first went to Myanmar in 2012 despite threats to her life and drew international attention to the persecution of Rohingya; she had pioneered aid campaigns for the Muslim minority people.

On Sep. 7 last year, the first lady and Turkey's Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu visited refugee camps in southeastern Bangladesh where Rohingya Muslims took shelter after fleeing Myanmar's Rakhine State.

They handed out humanitarian aid to Rohingya Muslim refugees at a camp in Cox's Bazar district near the Myanmar border.

Emine Erdogan also wrote an article for CNN International on the Rohingya issue on Sept. 19 last year under the title "The world cannot ignore the plight of Rohingya Muslims", highlighting the issue before the international audience.

She also outlined Turkey’s efforts related to refugees and humanitarian aid at a meeting on the theme ‘Solidarity with Refugees: Humanitarian Approaches to Mediterranean, Africa and Myanmar,’ hosted by Turkey’s Permanent Mission to the United Nations in New York.

Furthermore, the first lady wrote and sent letters to spouses of world leaders on the Rohingya issue.

She had also showed humanitarian sensitiveness over the 2009 attack on Palestinians in the Gaza Strip.

She had organized an international summit in Istanbul under the title "Women for Peace in Palestine" where many spouses of leaders were invited to the summit calling for an end to the attacks in Gaza.

Emine Erdogan has also done a lot of philanthropic work in Turkey in fields such as education and health, and has also made efforts for the disabled community. She has also taken several initiatives for refugees.

Global Donors Forum, the biennial convening of the World Congress of Muslim Philanthropists, mobilizes financial and intellectual resources to create socio-economic value beyond racial, religious and political divides, according to the official website of the forum.

The 8th Global Donors Forum will be held in London between Sept. 10 and Sept. 12.

At the three-day event, topics such as human dignity, resistance against radicalization, social solidarity and faith based donation will be discussed at locations such as the British Museum, Mansion House and House of Lords.

The Forum brings together distinguished philanthropists, grantmakers, social investors, government and business leaders, and experts from across the world to offer pragmatic insight and constructive responses to pressing global challenges.

The forum envisions a peaceful, equitable, and sustainable world, generously endowed by ethical, inclusive, and effective philanthropy.