The Turkish Summer School program Yunus Emre Institutes organises in Turkey every year has taken place between July 25 and August 28 this year.

Turkish Summer School program, which, in principal, is a follow-up of the Turkish language training given in abroad and which aims to complement the learning process with activities that would allow hundreds of Turkish language students learn Turkey and its language better, is supported by Turkish courses, site visits and other organisations as well as social events and introductory meetings to promote Turkish culture and art.

Turkish Summer School program was first started with the participation of students learning Turkish at Yunus Emre Institutes and the Turkology department of universities in abroad.

In this organisation that uses just Turkish as the language for communication, students got the chance to not only continue with their Turkish language training but also see the prominent historical and tourist sites of the cities they visit.

Turkish Summer School program is delivered with the contribution of various Turkish universities operating in many different cities in Turkey under the coordination of the Yunus Emre Institute. Our guests divided into groups attended various training programs at different universities in Turkey for about 45 days. During this time, they also got the chance to learn Turkish at its origin and know Turkey and Turkish culture better by visiting their host cities and the nearby historical sites and tourist attractions.

2016 Turkish Summer School organised for 540 students from 46 countries will be delivered by 20 universities in 16 different cities in Turkey.

Showed their talents on the social media by sharing photos, videos, and text messages under the hashtag #TürkiyeyiYaşıyorum (#IExperienceTurkey). 

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