A Journey from Pen to Heart Across Türkiye

Abdullah Eren, Turkish Language and Literature Association (TDED) President Ekrem Erdem, and international students attended the award ceremony.

In his speech, Minister of National Education Yusuf Tekin stated that correctly and properly learning one's mother tongue is a fundamental element of education.

"Our children cannot understand questions correctly. They miss the placement of commas, they cannot fully grasp concepts. This affects all subjects. The academic success of a child whose mother tongue does not develop is also limited," said Tekin. "A child who speaks with 100 words in their native language is expected to speak with 500 words in a foreign language. This is against nature," he added.

 

Noting that they prioritized Turkish education since the day he started his duty, Tekin shared, "We abolished test evaluations in schools. We increased the passing grade to 70 in Turkish and literature courses. Additionally, we conduct evaluations based on four basic skills."

Highlighting the need to internalize the values of Turkish and Turkish culture in the curriculum, Tekin stated that they included concepts like "Blue Homeland" in the curriculum and removed concepts containing imperial elements.

Tekin reported that instead of "Central Asia," they use the term "Turkestan," and regarding the events of 1915, they use the legal term "settlement law" instead of "deportation."

Tekin pointed out that the issue of language has been placed at the center of ideological discussions in Türkiye and noted: "Look, we don't have an agenda. We don't have a special perspective on this topic. As a brother and a friend who emerged from among this nation, I want to pass on the values of this country to future generations, but unfortunately, in Türkiye, especially Turkish, or rather the issue of language, has been overly discussed on an ideological ground and subjected to political separations."

 

Speaking at the program, YTB President Abdullah Eren said that currently, 15,000 international students have been hosted in Türkiye from 185 countries since 2011, totaling more than 45,000 international students. Eren stated, "Currently, there are 8 million international students in the world. The USA continues its leadership with over 1 million students, but Türkiye, as in many different fields in the last 20 years, has achieved a tremendous leap in international student mobility."

Referring to YTB's activities, Eren emphasized that for about 8 years, they have organized international student academies in 15 cities and underscored their leadership in magazines published by international students and Turks abroad.

Eren highlighted the significance of Turkish in shaping the imaginary world with concepts, stressing the importance of international students engaging with the Turkish language by saying, "We say 'The world is bigger than five,' 'Türkiye is bigger than Türkiye.' These seem like slogans when spoken, but behind them lies a world vision spanning centuries that we can truly call ancient."

Ramazan Sahib Divani, an Iranian doctoral student in the Journalism Department at Ankara University Social Sciences Institute, who won the first prize in the competition with his essay titled "The Sketch of the Turkish Spirit," mentioned in his speech that while living in Türkiye, he was impressed by the benevolence and patriotism of the Turkish people.