Taking the Next Step: Fearless, Graceful, Together

What an inspiring conference. We networked, we learned, we succeeded. We united vision, purpose and energy in o­ne magnificent location. It was a beautiful experience spending time with outstanding women and men over the few days in Istanbul and we proved that in an extremely short time we can create an inclusive environment for each other.

We wish to thank all present for making it so amazing. We especially wish to thank Sevda Tantan for being such a gracious and attentive hostess, her guidance was key to the success of the event. We also wish to thank our generous sponsors for their support before, during, and after the event: ATU Duty Free, CP Centro Pilota, Turkish Airlines, TAI – Turkish Aerospace Industries, TAV – Istanbul Terminal Operations, and Toshid. Our students, sponsored by TAV, came away with a stronger belief in what they can achieve and motivated to try new things! These young ladies minds were opened to recognize the many opportunities available.

We all discovered what an exciting city is Istanbul! All our senses were engaged, especially taste and sight! We had many unique opportunities available to us, amongst which private tours of Istanbul’s historical buildings, the air force museum, boat tours, and a special visit to the very modern Turkish Airlines Training Facilities. Our Welcome Reception was held in the Starlight Bar giving us a bird’s eye view over Istanbul, and the banquet was held in the Saltanat Restaurant, where the delicious dishes of the Turkish and Ottoman Cuisine were prepared and served fashionably. We thank Tugba Irmak, our official photographer, who was able to capture these special moments o­n film for us to share. (visit the AWE gallery and AWE facebook page).

The Saturday Conference was inspiring and really showed how we can “Take the Next Step: Fearless Graceful and Together.” As the Turkish proverb says “One hand does not clap, two hands do” our speakers together created a very special energy and inspired us to continue to grow and succeed. Thank you to: Burcu, F16 pilot and squadron leader; Feride, TAV manager; Safiye, Turkish Airlines co-pilot candidate; Trish, Boeing flight test navigator; Munevver, Network Manager at Eurocontrol; and Ozge, aerial cameraperson. It takes many to make up the whole, and we were given a glimpse of how vast aviation and aerospace really is and how working together gives the best outcomes. Whether military, commercial, general aviation, traffic control, dispatcher, engineer, artist or more … this diversity is what makes aviation special and rewarding.

Souvenir Program    Turkish Women in Aviation History Video  UTED (Turkish Technic's magazine) Aviation For Women Magazine

As o­ne participant put it ‘The Future is in the Skies’ and ‘The affect of what we do is felt by many.’

We look forward to returning to Istanbul.

Teşekkürler Ederim Istanbul!