A Fine Arts High School by Akçansa in Çanakkale
The opening of the Fine Arts High School, presented to young individuals in Çanakkale, by Akçansa was performed with the participation of Mr. Mehmet Göçmen, the CEO of Sabancı Holding, Mr. Dr. Bernd Scheifele, the CEO of Heidelberg Cement, Mr. Dr. Tamer Saka, the President of the Cement Group of Sabancı Holding and Chairman of the Board of Directors of Akçansa, Mr. Hakan Gürdal, Board Member of Heidelberg Cement, Mr. Umut Zenar, the General Director of Akçansa, Mr. Orhan Tavlı, the Governor or Çanakkale, urban administrators, teachers and students. Founded to prepare students for the faculties of fine arts and conservatories in accordance with their interests, wishes and skills, the Akçansa Fine Arts High School was put into service as an educational institution with a capacity for 200 students and is equipped with the most advanced equipment and devices. Making a speech at the opening ceremony, Mr. Mehmet Göçmen stated that there were more than 25 million students in Turkey and continued his speech as follows, “Our young population is the assurance of our future and the most powerful driving force for us. Therefore, we in Sabancı Holding are working in line with our vision of ‘Sabancı of the New Generation’. The average of age of the employees of Sabancı Holding is 32. Sabancı Holding pays 8 percent of the tax collected in Turkey. It constitutes 10 percent of the İstanbul Exchange. For this reason, we have to create a suitable working environment for the younger generation. In this sense, we attach great importance to our contributions to education. Fine arts are important both for the growth of a country and its cultural transformation. Thus, I thank the executives of Akçansa who took this initiative here for their services. This work of art has been put into service for this city. It is entrusted to all of us now. It is the youth’s turn to talk. They will set a higher standard with this opportunity provided to them. Very successful artists will come up amongst them. We invest in our country what we earn from it. 97 percent of our existence is within the boundaries of the Republic of Turkey. We will continue our investments hereinafter.”
Mr. Dr. Bernd Scheifele, the CEO of Heidelberg Cement, which has a fifty percent partnership with Sabancı Holding in Akçansa, and is one of the leading cement manufacturer groups in the world noted, “We are pleased to have a factory in the city representing the very strong and deep-rooted relationships between Germany and Turkey in terms of the Gallipoli Peninsula. As a company with operations in the cement and heavy material industries, we carry out activities in 65 countries in the world. Our top priority is to offer the best quality cement and services, together with various opportunities to customers. Our operational principle is ‘Think Globally and Act Locally’. For this reason, we have been maintaining our long years of relationship with Sabancı Holding and Akçansa respectfully and admiringly.” Emphasising that Akçansa was very successful in analysing local needs in accordance with its social responsibility approach and implementing the projects addressed to the right point, Mr. Dr. Scheifele wished the students of Akçansa Fine Arts High School great success.
Highlighting that Akçansa, which was selected as “the favourite company” in its industry for the last 17 years, provided a source to the Turkish economy with its employment, production and export activities, Mr. Dr. Tamer Saka, the President of the Cement Group of Sabancı Holding and Chairman of the Board of Directors of Akçansa continued, “Akçansa has been providing the opportunity of employment for Çanakkale and its residents since 1974 and is achieving economic mobility in the surrounding cities and regions. We are selling products manufactured in Turkey all over the world and, in turn, we are ensuring a substantial foreign currency inflow to our country and contributing to the current deficit. Furthermore, we are involved in the project of the Çanakkale 1915 Bridge, as one of the important solution partners. Akçansa spends the resources resulting from its industrial and commercial activities for creating value in such areas as culture, art, education and the environment within the framework of social responsibility. We attach great importance to supporting the youth, who are the bright future of our country. We are proud of putting Akçansa Fine Arts High School into the service of Çanakkale as the most tangible example of this understanding.”
Please visit https://youtu.be/uhBM2XQxUnY to watch the introduction film of Akçansa Fine Arts High School in Çanakkale.