We held a Sertab Erener concert, one of the strongest voices of Türkiye who brought Eurovision championship to our country, on May 9, 2018, at Şehitkamil Congress and Cultural Center.
Before the concert that was heavily attended by protocol members and education volunteer music lovers, Empathy Social Responsibility and Education Association Chairwoman Hale Konukoğlu gave her opening speech.
Konukoğlu said: “Since the day we were founded, we have adopted the principle of hosting firsts and raising awareness in our city with the visionary personality of our association in every event we have held. Based on this foresight, we found the courage to lay the foundations of our first school by organizing a winter auction for the first time in Gaziantep in 2010. Right after that, we organized a jazz night in the city for the first time. In 2013, we organized a shopping festival for the first time in the city. By bringing together many brands from our city and from other regions with the people of Gaziantep, we both revived the city’s economy and made good achievements for the association. When the activities carried out were so elaborate and ambitious, success was inevitable. Thus and so, our first school Şehitkamil Empathy Primary School opened in the 2013-2014 academic year. We didn’t stop, we didn’t feel exhausted, we kept going. Because for Empathy, success is a journey, not a destination. While continuing our education scholarship support for the children of martyrs, we signed a protocol with the governorship for our second school. In this process, we hosted Bilkent and Çukurova Symphony Orchestras in Gaziantep for the first time and brought them together with classical music lovers. And we are excited to bring yet another first to Gaziantep and host our beloved Eurovision champion Sertab Erener tonight. As Empathy, we made a promise to the future to prove what can be done by raising awareness in Gaziantep and to leave lasting works with a sense of responsibility. As Sertab said, we tried to work for Gaziantep as much as we could by saying “You’ve got to, you have to, you have no other choice”. We tried to be women who succeeded, not difficult women. I would like to express my gratitude to all friends who did not leave us alone on this journey we embarked on 9 years ago. As an association, we planted a seed of hope in the soil and dreamed of giving life water and making it grow and green. The folks of Gaziantep took care of this sapling with us and now it has turned into a huge forest. I hope you will all enjoy every minute of this night feeling peaceful and happy for the support you have given to education.”
Konukoğlu thanked the concert sponsor Turkish Economy Bank, Gaziantep Şehitkamil Municipality, esteemed members of the protocol and all education volunteers for their cooperation.
After the magnificent concert with Sertab Erener’s powerful interpretation and beautiful songs, Chairwoman Hale Konukoğlu presented Sertab Erener with gifts of local copper work and scarves in memory of the night and Turkish Economy Bank Southeastern Anatolia Regional Director Şinasi Albayram with a plaque of appreciation.
