Izmir high school takes top prize in Europe Quiz

Izmir’s 60.Yıl Anatolian High School became the champion of the Europe Quiz 2009, the knowledge competition which mobilised more than a thousand high schools across Turkey. In the competition, Kilim Social Sciences High School from Kayseri took the second prize while Halkalı Vocational School of Commerce from Istanbul became the third winner.

The champion and the runner-ups received their awards from the Turkish Minister of National Education, Ms Nimet Çubukçu, and Ambassador Marc Pierini, the Head of the Delegation of the European Commission to Turkey, at a special ceremony held on 30 June 2009.

“The 16 city champions have made it here today following the competitions among 1027 schools and 4108 students across Turkey. You have set an example not only for your school but also your districts and cities,” Ambassador Marc Pierini said in his opening speech.

Minister Çubukçu said the EU accession process was the most important project of Turkey and that the Ministry had a highly fruitful cooperation with the Delegation of the European Commission to Turkey in encouraging students to learn more about the EU.

“We are so happy to be the champions. We were the first runner-up in last year’s competition and were determined to be the winner this year. We will continue to work hard to give the same performance in the coming years,” said Ömer Aslan, the head teacher of the winning school following the award ceremony.

In the nation-wide contest, high school teams from 16 cities tested their knowledge on the European Union, its history, institutions, geography, culture and on Turkey-EU relations as well as EU policy and programmes on topics such as human rights, innovation and environment.

The Europe Quiz has been organised jointly by the Ministry of National Education, the Delegation of the European Commission to Turkey and the EU Information Network. The network consists of information offices in Adana, Ankara, Antalya, Bursa, Denizli, Diyarbakır, Edirne, Gaziantep, Istanbul, Izmir, Kayseri, Konya, Mersin, Samsun, Şanlıurfa, Trabzon and Van.

For further information, please contact Ms. Zeynep Akgül, Public Information Officer, the EU Information Centre in Istanbul, zeynep.akgul@ecotec.com - Tel: (0212) 244 89 29.

For the list of Winners and Prizes please click here.

For the list of Finalist Schools please click here.