Students at a rural school in South Sudan no longer have to sit on rocks to attend classes thanks to a donation of 150 desks and chairs from the Turkish Cooperation and Coordination Agency (TIKA) delivered on Tuesday.

TIKA coordinator in the African country, Abdullah Sari, said the agency had provided 150 desks and chairs to help the learners lacking classroom furniture at the Global Nursery and Primary School in the countryside of the capital, Juba.

At the handover event, Sari said: “I am happy to be here and cooperating with Global Nursery and Primary School. I am also thankful to the Turkish ambassador for supporting the project, and I’m hoping for the best in the future in supporting more children.”

Turkish Ambassador to South Sudan Erdem Mutaf also spoke at the event, emphasizing the importance of education.

“The Turkish Embassy’s priority is child care, education and women’s empowerment. We have been supporting various schools and will continue to do so. The delivery of desks is an example of our educational support project, which we hope to increase step-by-step in the period ahead, as we are trying to create a conducive environment for the schools,” he said.

He stressed that education for children is crucial for the future. “When you support women and children, you support society. This project is vital to us and we will do our best to accomplish more.”

The headteacher of the school, William Wol, said most of the students who are enrolled in the school are children of martyrs, and they are in dire need of support.

He expressed his gratitude by saying: “We greatly appreciate the donation of the Turkish government and its people. It has not been easy for us to acquire the necessary educational supplies for the students.

“Since the opening of the school, we have not had any necessary school supplies. The children used stones as chairs, which were too hot for them to sit on, causing concentration problems in most students. We now have desks and chairs and I appreciate the support of the Turkish government and TIKA in providing these necessary classroom furniture and supplies.”

He said that 396 children will benefit from the donation of the Turkish state-run aid agency.

Rita Kiden Benjamin, one of the students, said that it was difficult for the schools to provide them with chairs, so they were sitting on the stones, and others were sitting on the floor.

“I appreciate the efforts of the Turkish government for providing us with these chairs and desks and it has not been easy for us not to have them. We spent years sitting on stones, and finally, we were rescued by the Turkish people, who are good human beings,” she expressed.

Source: Daily Sabah

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In response to the prevailing strong southwester, Governor Mahmut Demirtaş declared the closure of all primary and secondary schools across multiple districts in northwestern Bursa on Wednesday, Nov. 29.

The affected districts include Osmangazi, Nilüfer, Yıldırım, Gürsu and Kestel. This decision was made due to the adverse weather patterns that have intensified since last night.

Demirtaş also emphasized that pregnant women employed in public institutions, personnel with disabilities and individuals with chronic diseases will be granted administrative leave as a precautionary measure.

The impact of the powerful southwester was evident as a 250-year-old tree succumbed to the conditions, breaking off from its roots and collapsing onto a road in the Osmangazi district. The fall of this century-old tree damaged the iron railings of a nearby workplace.

Responding promptly to the incident, authorities dispatched police and fire brigade teams to the area. The teams took necessary precautions and swiftly reopened the road for traffic flow.

Residents are urged to remain cautious and alert in light of the ongoing weather conditions, and authorities continue to monitor the situation closely for any further incidents or disruptions caused by the adverse weather in the region.

Source: Daily Sabah

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Türkiye’s Student Assessment, Selection and Placement Center (ÖSYM) has announced plans to incorporate artificial intelligence in optimizing its exam processes, particularly in generating questions.

Professor Bayram Ali Ersoy, president of ÖSYM, spoke to Anadolu Agency (AA) about the initiative, stating: “We have welcomed AI experts into our team and established a new advisory board dedicated to this field. This advisory board is now actively engaged in shaping ÖSYM’s future policies.”

Ersoy revealed that the ÖSYM team includes AI professors and desires various governmental units to interact with AI applications. He emphasized that the primary goal is to coordinate with all institutions that are stakeholders, such as the Meteorology Department, Highways Authority and municipalities.

The ÖSYM president explained that meetings will be held with relevant institutions regarding conditions that may impact exams. This coordination will enable the organization to conduct exams in healthier environments.

Ersoy outlined the benefits of this coordination, stating: “By instantly transferring studies to our system, we will optimize examination processes even further. In cases of negative situations, we will avoid selecting schools in affected regions and instead place candidates in locations outside those areas. Thus, with a system based on artificial intelligence, candidate access to examination centers will be optimized. This will improve our processes and lead to savings in various aspects.”

Ersoy further discussed ÖSYM’s ongoing efforts to generate questions using AI, a project that was initiated previously. The organization aims to complete this project within its current term and envisions conducting exam evaluations with the assistance of AI.

He emphasized the importance of balancing the role of machines and humans, stating, “AI should not imply neglecting the human factor. In this sense, we will carefully maintain a balance between machines and humans.”

Source: Daily Sabah

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The organization that oversees the Catholic Church’s English-language translations for the Mass and other liturgies of the Roman Rite has a new leader as of Nov. 1.

The bishops of the International Commission on English in the Liturgy have appointed Father Andrew Menke as ICEL’s executive director for a five-year term.

The decision, approved at the ICEL bishops’ July 17-21 meeting in Washington, was announced July 21.

Father Menke is succeeding Msgr. Andrew Wadsworth, who has held the post since 2009. Msgr. Wadsworth remains a consultant to ICEL as well as director of the St. Gregory Institute for the Study of Liturgical Latin, a collaborative project between ICEL and the department of Greek and Latin at The Catholic University of America in Washington.

A priest of the Diocese of Lincoln, Nebraska, Father Menke was the former executive director of the Secretariat of Divine Worship at the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops, or USCCB, from 2017 until July 1. He holds both a licentiate and doctorate in sacred liturgy from the Pontifical Liturgical Institute at Sant’Anselmo in Rome. From 2010-2015, he was an official for the Vatican’s Congregation (now Dicastery) for Divine Worship and the Discipline of the Sacraments.

Father Dennis Gill, director of the Archdiocese of Philadelphia’s Office for Divine Worship, told OSV News in an email he was “very happy” about Father Menke’s appointment, pointing to Father Menke’s “knowledge, experience and pastoral sense.”

ICEL ensures that each of the Latin liturgical books, along with individual liturgical texts, are translated into English according to the Holy See’s directives. The commission was formed in Rome in 1963 by bishops from English-speaking countries attending the Second Vatican Council.

In its constitution on the sacred liturgy, “Sacrosanctum Concilium,” the council allowed for the celebration of Mass in the vernacular, while specifying that translations from Latin for liturgical use must be “competent territorial bodies of bishops” that have been legitimately established.

ICEL is comprised of member representatives of 11 bishops’ conferences hailing from Australia, Canada, England and Wales, India, Ireland, New Zealand, Pakistan, the Philippines, Scotland, Southern Africa and the U.S. One bishop is elected by each of the respective conferences to serve on ICEL.

Archbishop Leonard T. Blair of Hartford, Connecticut, serves as the USCCB’s ICEL representative.

In 2003, the Congregation for Divine Worship and the Discipline of the Sacraments formally established ICEL as a mixed commission in accordance with “Liturgiam Authenticam,” the 2001 Vatican instruction on the use of the vernacular in the liturgy.

While it does not publish liturgical texts, ICEL translations are made available to member bishops’ conferences who authorize publication.

The issue of translations and their authorized use received renewed attention during the COVID-19 pandemic, when parishes shifted to livestreamed liturgies and the use of digital worship aids.

Except for the Scriptural readings, the texts of the Mass in English are copyrighted by ICEL, which also charges royalty fees to compensate scholars and develop liturgical materials.

While a parish’s purchase of lectionaries and missalettes typically covers permissions requirements, the shift to online and recorded liturgies raised previously unconsidered issues regarding permissions, copyright and reprints of worship aids.

In a May 2020 interview with CatholicPhilly.com, Msgr. Wadsworth said ICEL would need to consider such issues in the coming years, as members “never thought of situations where people would need access (to worship aids) outside of church.”

Source: Uca News

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