Winners of “I Experience Turkey” and “I Compete in Turkish” Receive their Prizes

The closing ceremony of the contests “I Experience Turkey” and “I Compete in Turkish” which were organized as a part of Yunus Emre Institute’s Turkish Summer School program took place on August 25, 2016 in İstanbul.

In his speech, Yunus Emre Institute’s Director of Turkish Education Kerim Sarıgül thanked all his colleagues and students coming from many different countries for their participation in their 7th Turkish Summer School program.

Sarıgül noted that he now regarded all Turkish language students as the citizens of Turkey, and said:

“You are now both Cairenes and Istanbulites. You are both from Tbilisi and Sakarya. You are now a part of Turkey. You express your gratitude to us for many reasons, but in fact we are the ones who should be thanking you. The program was very tiring at times, but you came to Turkey with great expectations and we hope that you will come again. If we can achieve this, we will be happy. We aim to bring 2,023 students to Turkey in 2023. And we will achieve this.”

They Worked Their Magic on the Social Media through “I Experience Turkey” Contest

540 international students, all guests of the Turkish Summer School program, showed their talents on the social media by sharing photos, videos, and text messages under the hashtag #TürkiyeyiYaşıyorum (#IExperienceTurkey).

The competition was organized online through Yunus Emre Insitute’s Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram accounts and aimed to encourage the Institute’s Summer School students to: share their experiences in Turkish culture, art, history and language; promote the natural, historical, and cultural beauties of Turkey; contribute to the visual arts and literature; and raise awareness about the activities of the Institute by drawing from its cultural diversity.

Everything the students have experienced in and about Turkey from gastronomy to cultural heritage, from historical structures and Turkish arts and handcrafts to Turkey’s beauties or social activities such as trainings, site visits, fairs, festivals, and competitions organized by the Turkish Summer School, set the theme of the competition.

During the closing ceremony on 25 August, of the 540 international students those who won the competition in the categories of photography, video, and text were announced. The winners were the Egyptian Nora Ahmed in photography, Austrian El Haj-Moustafa Mouhamad in video, and Jordanian Beşair Razmeh in text.

Finale Excitement for “I Compete in Turkish” Competition

Another exciting moment of the evening was the finale of the I Compete in Turkish competition, organized by the Radio Channel “The Sound of Turkish”. Students who competed in the Culture Nights held in Samsun, Denizli, İzmir, Çanakkale, Bursa, Sakarya, Kocaeli and Edirne and who gave the highest number of correct answers to questions on Turkish culture, art, history, literature, and grammar had worked a lot to be able to join the Finale at Sultanahmet Square at the heart of İstanbul.

The winner of “I Compete in Turkish” was announced in the finale of the Turkish Summer School program. Peter Farkas from Hungary, Fatemeh Rafiei from Iran, Mohammad Barakat from Palestine, Mohammad Yasir from India and Elnara Mamedoya from Georgia competed for the top spot in the “I Compete in Turkish” finale which consisted of questions on the history of İstanbul. Mohammad Barakat from Palestine won the contest with 8 correct answers out of 10. Having received a big applause from everybody, Mohammad said that he had spent a wonderful month in Turkey which he would never forget. He had made many new friends from many different countries and Turkey was now his home. “I Compete in Turkish” closed as all finalists received their prizes and the Institute’s Director of Turkish Education Kerim Sarıgül handed the top prize to Mohammad Barakat.