The Award Ceremony for the 4th Silent Scream Letter Competition organized by the Elderly Rights and Mental Health Association took place on the evening of September 15th at the Cyprus Turkish Chamber of Industry.

The Award Ceremony for the 4th Silent Cry Letter Competition organized by the Elderly Rights and Mental Health Association was held at the Cyprus Turkish Chamber of Industry on September 15, 2023, with a significant turnout.

In this year’s competition, which featured impactful letters from 21 participants aged 16 to 85, Tansel Şık’s letter was awarded the first prize, Gülsade Baybuğa Soykök’s letter received the second prize, and Ayşe Sönmez Boran’s letter was honored with the third prize. The award ceremony, which brought emotional moments to the participants, saw the presentation of awards and plaques to the winners, and the top three letters were read out in order. It was particularly noteworthy that the winner of the first prize was a 16-year-old school student who read her own letter.

Prof. Dr. Hatice Jenkins, the Chairperson of the Association’s Board of Directors, expressed her gratitude to everyone who supported the Silent Scream Letter Competition, especially its sponsors Albank and Asbank, as well as the Cyprus Turkish Chamber of Industry, who hosted the event. She stated, “The purpose of the Silent Scream Letter Competition is to give voice to silent screams, to address social issues arising from the lack of a social welfare state understanding, and to create awareness in this field.”

In their speeches, the sponsors supporting the Silent Scream Letter Competition, Şükrü Can, the General Manager of Albank, and Çağatay Karip, the General Manager of Asbank, emphasized the importance of social responsibility projects.

The event ended with the screening of a film adaptation of a letter titled My Mother, which was written by last year’s first prize winner, Hidayet Uyanık. Made by Mehmet Ekin Vaiz, the short film can be watched at the following link: