The Perfect Holiday Gift!

Have you been wondering what to get a friend or business associate for New Year's? What about a Nationalities Council of Indiana calendar for 2011!

It's filled with photos of the ethnic organizations that make up the council (and stage the annual International Festival in the Indiana State Fairgrounds).

If one of them represents your ethnic heritage, great! If not, it's a reminder of the world in Indiana!

Groups featured are:
January: Barangay Club of Indiana (Filipino)
February: ATA-IN (Turkish)
March: Italian Heritage Society of Indiana
April: Indiana Partners of the Americas (Rio Grande do Sul, Brazil)
May: Estonian Society of Indianapolis
June: American Indian Center of Indiana (Native American)
July: Society for the Promotion of Persian Culture (Iranian)
August: Indiana State Association of Middle Eastern Teachers and Dancers
September: Indianapolis Latvian Community Center
October: Circle City Lodge of Sons of Norway
November: Czech and Slovak Society of Indiana
December: Taiwanese American Association of Indianapolis

(Yes, there are more than 30 other groups -- those selected for the 2011 calendar were drawn in a lottery!)

There are a few calendars left for holiday giving! Just send a check for $12 (payable to the Nationalities Council of Indiana) to NCI, PO Box 1623, Indianapolis, IN 46206, and we'll wing one out to you -- or to whomever you'd prefer it be delivered! If you enclose a gift card, we'll send that on as well.

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The Challenge of Muslim Fundamentalism

Dr. Bassam Tibi (pictured) will discuss "The Challenge of Fundamentalism: Political Islam and the New World Disorder" during a noon luncheon 23 February in the offices of Ice Miller LLP, One Indiana Square, Indianapolis.

Dr. Tibi is professor of international relations at the University of Göttingen, Germany, and professor at Cornell University. His most recent book is Political Ismal, World Politics and Europe (Routledge, 2008. Born in Damascus, Syria, he moved to Germany in 1962.

The event is hosted by the Indianapolis Jewish Community Relations Council, the Indianapolis Eric M. Warburg Chapter of the American Council on Germany in cooperation with the Department of Turkish Studies at Indiana University in Bloomington.

For more information and to make a reservation, contact Sven Schumacher, honorary consul of Germany in Indianapolis.

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"The Edge of Heaven" at Notre Dame

The Edge of Heaven, a 2008 film directed by Fatih Akin, screens at 6:30 and 9:30 p.m. both today (15 August) and tomorrow (16 August) in the Browning Cinema on the Campus of the University of Notre Dame in South Bend. Tickets are $6 ($5 for Notre dame faculty/staff, $4 seniors and $3 students).

The film, in Turkish, German, and English languages with English subtitles is not rated; it runs 122 minutes.

Awards: Winner – Best Screenplay Award, Cannes Film Festival 2007; Winner – Best Screenplay Award, European Film Awards 2007; Winner – Best Picture, Best Director, Best Screenplay, Best Editing 2008 German Film Awards (LOLA). You can see the trailer here.

Summary: Nejat initially disapproves of his widower father Ali`s choice of prostitute Yeter for a live-in girlfriend. But the young professor warms to her when he learns that most of her hard-earned money is sent home to Turkey for her daughter’s university studies. After Yeter`s accidental death, Nejat travels to Istanbul to search for Yeter`s daughter Ayten. Political activist Ayten has fled the Turkish police and is already in Germany. She is befriended by a young woman, Lotte, who invites rebellious Ayten to stay in her home, much to the displeasure of her conservative mother, Susanne. When Ayten is arrested and her asylum plea denied, she is deported and imprisoned in Turkey. Passionate Lotte abandons everything to help Ayten. A tragic event brings Susanne to Istanbul to help fulfill her daughter`s mission.

Turkish Consul General Speaks in Indy

Kenan Ipek, Consul General of Turkey, will discuss "Turkish Foreign Policy: Orientations, Priorities and Issues" during a presentation from 3-4:30 p.m. tomorrow (27 March) in Room 405 of the Campus Center at Indiana University-Purdue University of Indianapolis, 420 University Boulevard, Indianapolis.

The event is cosponsored by American Turkish Association of Indiana, Turkish Students Association of IUPUI and the Department of Political Science at IUPUI.