"Turkish Summer School" organized by Yunus Emre Institute for the 8^th time this year, ended with a fantastic closing ceremony. 700 students from 57 countries who participated in the program that was hosted by 23 universities in 22 different cities in Turkey, blended their knowledge of Turkish with the ancient Anatolian culture during the 4 week program. At the closing ceremony held at the Presidential Compound, students said their farewells to Turkey in Turkish, the language of the power Yunus Emre.

Every year, in all five continents of the world Yunus Emre Institute has been introducing tens of thousands of people to Turkish. This year the Institute hosted young people from 57 countries in 22 cities in Turkey for its 8th "Turkish Summer School" program. The 4-week training program started on July 24 and the young people who got the chance to learn Turkish and know Turkey, its culture and traditions, said their farewells to Turkey in Yunus Emre's language, Turkish, at the Presidential Compound on August 15. Prime Minister Binali Yıldırım, Minister of Culture and Tourism Prof. Dr. Numan Kurtulmuş and President of the Yunus Emre Institute Prof. Dr. Şeref Ateş attended the closing ceremony where many other prominent guests such as Yunus Emre Foundation’s management team, ambassadors, mayors, foreign mission representatives, chairmen, heads of partnering institutions, governors and rectors, artists, writers, exchange students and managers of public institutions and organizations were also present.

Thank you message from President Erdoğan

President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, who was expected to attend the program but could not make due to a last minute change in his program, sent a message and said: "I hope the Turkish Summer School program organized by Yunus Emre Enstitüsü for the 8^thtime this year has been fruitful. I hope the students who have been in Turkey for nearly a month will leave our country carrying beautiful memories with them. I consider everyone who participated in this program a voluntary envoy for our country and nation. Learning a language, especially a foreign language, requires due diligence and effort. Learning a language is as difficult as preserving it. Our students need to use what they have learnt here and improve their Turkish skills. I commend the esteemed president and staff of the Institute for making such a valuable contribution, and I offer my gratitude to everyone involved.”

Prime Minister Yıldırım: Yunus Emre Institute creates voluntary envoys for Turkey

Prime Minister Binali Yıldırım stated that they had established Yunus Emre Institute to organise activities that would help promoting Turkish culture, language and art in the world and noted that Institute was carrying out these activities in 60 countries all around the world, teaching tens of thousands of students the Turkish language and reaching almost 20 thousand students through distance learning. Pointing out that in today’s world diplomacy was not a task carried out just by official contacts between countries, PM Yıldırım said the young people had a major role in diplomacy. PM Yıldırım explained that the young people were going to become voluntary envoys for Turkey in their home countries because during the program, they had the chance to visit many cities in eastern and western Turkey, see their natural beauties and meet their people.”

A Meaningful gift from Somalian Students

Following Prime Minister Yıldırım's speech, Somalian students presented a gift to the President of Yunus Emre Institute Prof. Dr. Şeref Ateş. Their gift was called "loh", a writing board students in Somalia use instead of notebooks due to poverty, which featured the quote “Do not be sad for Allah is with us” from the 40^th verse of the Quran, Tevbe Surah.

Minister Kurtulmuş: "You have learned a language of heart"

The Minister of Culture and Tourism Numan Kurtulmuş thanked the young people who participated in the program and said Yunus Emre Institute was carrying out very important activities for Turkish to become a widespread language. Kurtulmuş expressed that he was deeply moved by the letter written by the Palestinian Mohammed Natse and added: "You have travelled in Turkey for a month and learned Turkish as a language of the heart. We would like to say thank you to both you and the Yunus Emre Institute. We see each of you as young individuals who will accomplish great things in the next 20 years. I will keep the letter my brother Muhammad sent me till the end of my life. A large part of Muhammad's dreams are also the desires of 80 million people who live in this country. We all dream about Palestine and the Middle East living in peace as they did in the past."

Prof. Ateş: "There is a room for every nation in the shade of this tree"

Yunus Emre Insitute’s President Prof. Dr. Şeref Ateş explained that the Instiute was delivering services at 135 centres in 60 countries and said: "the common thread that has brought us together with hundreds of young people who participated this program in Turkey is our language, Turkish. We see Turkish as a tree with strong and deep roots, and with tall branches reaching the sky. There is room for every nation in the shade of this tree. We are the legacy of a civilization that regarded diversities of this world as a richness. We believe that different cultures, different civilizations are all means of getting together, meeting, and bonding.

“Yunus Emre Institute was set up in 2009 and has reached 60 countries with centres and liaison offices on all five continents of the world. They help the voice of the deep-rooted, ancient Anatolian culture heard all around the world. But we are not content with that, and we will never be. We will make Yunus Emre Institute a global brand with your support and patronage. Today, the young people have shared their dreams with us. With this responsibility in mind, we will work diligently for a future where the reality will go even beyond our dreams.”

Turkish letters written to future were touching

The program started after the screening of a promotional film on Yunus Emre Institute and Turkish Summer School program. Students from Azerbaijan, Albania and Palestine read their letters themed "Letters to the Future 2017" explaining how they imagined the world of 20 years later. The letter Palestinian Muhammad Natha wrote about his dreams concerning the future moved the audience. Ema Pavlakyte from Lithuania, who took the stage with Yavuz Bingöl in the program where local folk dances were performed, sang the folk song "Burası Muş'tur". Later, Yavuz Bingöl made a solo performance with his baglama, performing the folk songs Sarı Gelin, Kara Tren, Yaylalar and Turnam. Many students in the hall accompanied the songs.

Countries that participated in the program 2017 Turkish Summer School

Countries that participated in 2017 Turkish Summer School are; Jordan (Amman), Netherlands (Amsterdam) Kazakhstan (Astana), Azerbaijan (Baku), Serbia (Belgrade), Lebanon (Beirut), Hungary (Budapest), Romania (Bucharest), Algeria, Qatar (Doha), Bosnia-Herzegovina (Sarajevo), (Fojnica) (Mostar), Sudan (Khartoum), Kosovo (Pec), (Pristina), (Prizren), Egypt (Alexandria), (Cairo) Albania (Tirana), (Shkoder) South Africa (Johannesburg), Afghanistan (Kabul), Ukraine (Kiev), Moldova (Komrat), Germany (Cologne), Romania (Constanta), Malaysia (Kuala Lumpur), Palestine (Jerusalem), Republic of Cyprus (Nicosia), United Kingdom (London) , Manas (Kirgizia), USA (Maryland), Somalia (Mogadishu), Pakistan, France (Paris), Montenegro (Podgorica), Morocco (Rabat), Italy (Rome), Senegal, Seoul (South Korea), Iran (Tehran), Georgia (Tbilisi), Japan (Tokyo), Tunisia, Macedonia (Skopje), Poland (Warsaw), Austria (Vienna), Croatia (Zagreb).

Universities that hosted 2017 Turkish Summer School: Ege University, Hacettepe University, Atatürk University, Giresun University, Afyon Kocatepe University, On Sekiz Mart University, Sakarya University, Gazi University, Osmangazi University, Adnan Menderes University, Dumlupınar University, Abant İzzet Baysal Üniversitesi , Süleyman Demirel University, Cumhuriyet University, Recep Tayyip Erdoğan University, Nevşehir Hacı Bektaş Veli University, Selçuk University, Karamanoğlu Mehmet Bey University, Istanbul University, Balikesir University, Ankara University, On Dokuz Mayıs University, Karabük University