201020112012

ABOUT US PII MISSION

STAFF & BOARD MEMBERS & ADVISORY BOARD

LETTERS OF SUPPORT

DIVERSITY ART & ESSAY CONTEST

2010 WINNING ARTS AND ESSAYS

2011 WINNING ARTS AND ESSAYS

2012 WINNING ARTS AND ESSAYS

CEREMONY PHOTOS

SPONSORS

SPECIAL SPONSOR

CONTACT

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ABOUT US M I S S I O N

he Peace Islands Institute (PII) aspires to bring together different view points and voices with the spirit of mutual respect and acceptance in order to develop original and alternative perspectives on vital issues that our society is facing, generate solutions to these issues, support successful practices, and as such promote education, friendship, and harmony, hence be an island of peace for all peoples in the society with different ethnical, cultural and religious backgrounds.T

BOARD MEMBERS

Staff

Administration

Zafer Akin, President

Lisa Tobias, VP and Secretary

Prof. Heon Kim, Treasurer

Dr. Servet Tatli, Member

Dr. Osman Kilic, Board Member

Ercan Tozan, Exec. Dir. for NJ

Melikhan Turkileri, Exec. Assistant

Adem Baskaya, Religion Instructor, NJ

Vedat Bayraktar, Religion Instructor, NJ

Ramazan Aygun, Religion Instructor

Dilek Oztoprak, MA, Outreach Coordinator for North NJ

Nuray Yurt, Ph.D., Outreach Coordinator for Central NJ

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LETTERS OF SUPPORT

New Jersey Governor Chris Christy

New Jersey Congressman Bill Pascrell Jr.

Cheif Academic Officer of New Jersey Tracy Severns, Ed. D

New Jersey General Assembly

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ART & ESSAY

To contribute to the improvement of diversity, pluralism and

multiculturalism in society, PII organizes the DIVERSITY ART & ESSAY

CONTEST to instill some of these values among the youth of our state

and to give them a forum with various platforms in which they can

express their understanding and analysis of these values.

The contests objective is to make our future leaders aware

of social problems at an early age and to think globally. The Contest

is geared towards having students in middle and high schools think

about and express their own perspectives on issues of diversity as well

as be involved in solving social problems in our community and the

wider world.

Since its inception in 2010 PIIs Art & Essay contest for grades

6-12 has reached a prominent number of submissions each year. The

board later decided to limit the submissions 5 per teacher per grade,

we are exceeding over 800 submissions from various schools in NJ.

Participating students are awarded prizes totaling more than $10,000.

PII encourages all middle school and high school students

from the state of NJ to participate in the Art and Essay Contest be-

cause it:

Helps young minds define problems related to stable peace and

social harmony, discuss them, and offer possible solutions from

their own perspectives.

Contributes to achieving a positive impact on society by building

social skills.

Helps students improve research and writing skills that are so es-

sential prior to college years

Spreads common values of mutual understanding in order to

contribute to world peace.

Focuses on coexistence trhough dialogue in this age of global-

ization.

Reminds our future leaders the importance of love, tolerance,

compassion and forgiving.

Has the name Diversity Art and Essay Contest. Diversity is our

wealth. Diversity without dialogue causes hostility; dialogue

without diversity brings distortion.

Diversity Art and Essay Contest has a different theme each

year. According to the needs of society and current issues, we work

together with our partners and advisory board to determine the best

theme to make our future leaders work in.

Our past themes were:

2010 - New Jersey Celebrates Diversity

2011 - Who is My Neighbor?

2012 - Poverty: Time to act together

CONTESTA R T & E S S A Y

II helps to make New Jersey a stronger and more prosperous place by advancing the causes of peace, cross-cultural tolerance and human dignity. PII believes that establishment of dialog environments is a means to appreciate diverse opinions and eliminate the stereotypes often assigned to others. In this respect the Art and Essay Contest is very instrumental in building bridges between New Jersey communities as well as other segments of the larger society.

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ART & ESSAY CONTEST WINNERS

2010- NJ CELEBRATES DIVERSITY

A R T E S S A Y

Middle School1. Daniel Hoyos, Grade 8, Robert Morris School #18

2. Resham Dhaduk, Grade 8 Franklin L. Williams Middle School 7

3. Kayley Santos, Grade 6, Aquinas Academy

Honorable Mentions

Bruno Duart Grade 7, Barkalow Middle School

Maxwell Kistner, Grade 7, Collingswood Middle School

Ingrid Noriega, Grade 7, Academy of Our Lady

Alexandra Mytnick, Grade 7, Long Branck Milddle School

Kyle Gray, Grade 8, Long Branch Middle School

High School1. Julie Kang, Grade 11, Bergen County Academies

2. Joseph Park, Grade 11, Boonton High School

3. Michele Chen, Grade 10, Lenape High School

Honorable Mentions

Tian Huang, Grade 11, Bergen COunty Academies

Michael Yuan, Grade 9, Millburn High School

Midoriko Grace Abe, Grade 11, Bergen County Academies

Ashley Wolff, Grade 11, Roxbury High School

Cassandra Brittin, Grade 10, AP Schalick High School

Middle School1. Kristin Potocki, Grade 6, Grice Middle School

2. Libby Keene, Grade 7, Bergen Arts and Science Charter School

3. Leonela Vega, Grade 8, Terence C. Reilly #7 Gifted and Talented School

Honorable Mentions

Rachel Martinez, Grade 7, Frelinghuysen Middle School

Lotta Meriluoto, Grade 6, Frelinghuysen Middle School

Luisa F. Goytia, Grade 8, Robert Morris School #18

Angus Fung, Grade 7, Bergen Arts and Science Charter School

Natalie Levine, Frelinghuysen Middle School

High School1. Frahana Chowdhury, Grade 11, Hawthorne High School

2. Iman Abdulrafiu, Grade 10, West Orange High School

3. Rhina Navarro, Grade 11, Hackensack H igh School

Honorable Mentions

Stephen M. Bloshuk, Grade 10, Morris County School of Technology

Kaitlin Brown, Grade 11, Hawthorne High School

Noa Yaakoba, Grade 11, Northern Valley Regional High School

Jules Mbu, Grade 10, West Orange High School

Kevin Cosenza, Grade 11, Hawthorne High School

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ART & ESSAY CONTEST WINNERS

2012 - POVERTY: T IME TO ACT TOGETHER

A R T E S S A Y

Middle School1. Lauren Park, Elisabeth Morrow School

2. Sabrina Binhashim, Winslow Township Middle School

3. Sujean Gahng, Montgomery Middle School

Honorable Mentions

Vivian Carpintero, Ironbound Catholic Academy

Jacob Long, Pittsgrove Township Middle School

Grace Petrosini, H.W. Mountz School

Paola Bodano Cabezas, West New York Middle School

Rachel Wui, Lewis F. Cole Middle School

High School1. Yve Lepkowski, Bergen County Academies

2. Auset Sudan, Rosa Parks High School

3. Germetria Clay, School: Henry Snyder High School

Honorable Mentions

Carrie Hindermyer, Hamilton High School West

Carlie Goode, Watchung Hills Regional High School

Aaron Precod, Hillside High School

Hatice Beyza Guc, Pioneer Academy of Science

Shannon Levin, Bergen County Academies

Middle School1. Katherine Wojciechowski, Clifton T. Barkalow Middle School

2. Campbell Hester, St. Michaels School

3. Maia Iyer, St. Rose of Lima Academy

Honorable Mentions

Andin Ncho, Winslow Middle School

Michael Reingold, Frelinghuysen Middle School

Marie Quintana, Carlstadt Public School

Abhigna Rao, Brooklawn Middle School

Meghan Timmons, Saint Vincent Martyr School

High School1. Jordana L. Rosenberg, Arthur P Schalick High School

2. Savannah Jackson, Morris Knolls High School

3. Mansi Desai, Absegami High School

Honorable Mentions

Shayma Embaby, Belleville High

Laura Garcia, Hackensack High School

Angus Fung, Englewood Academies

Xavier Samy-Stevens, Liberty High School

Ameena Soliman, Noor Ul-Iman School

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PARTNERS & SPONSORS

www.vakifbankusa.com

ADDRESSES

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