Yunus Emre Institute President Prof. Dr. Şeref Ateş has attended the program "Avrasya Gündemi" (Eurasian Agenda) as a guest at TRT Avaz TV Channel.

Prof. Dr. Şeref Ateş answered Aslı Çetin's questions and described the Institute's past and ongoing activities during the live-broadcast program.  

Touching on teaching Turkish as a global language as one of the primary activities of the Institute, Institute President Ateş said: "As language is the product of thought, when you learn a language, you also learn the philosophy of that language. At 57 cultural centers which have been established since 2009, teaching Turkish is one of the four pillars of our Institute. Apart from our cultural centers, the Turkish Teaching Portal is serving more than 200,000 people who want to learn Turkish remotely," he said.

Talking about the Applied Cultural Diplomacy Training Program, organized by the Institute's Cultural Diplomacy Academy, Prof. Dr. Ateş indicated that they have undertaken more than 1,000 cultural and artistic events in one year. "The Cultural Diplomacy Academy will provide theoretical and practical training using Turkey's experience and know-how. Our goal with this practical training is to conduct activities that are geared toward the current mindset and people and merge our ability for empathy with art," he said.

Institute President Prof. Dr. Ateş also provided information on the Institute's activities targeting the asylum seekers who are victims of war and terrorism. "Yunus Emre Institute opens Turkish classrooms at the schools attended primarily by Syrian children and provides them with training materials, training of trainers, etc. We are working to make Turkish a language of peace and love," he said.