Within the scope of Kemankeş Project, realized by collaboration of Yunus Emre Institute  and Okçular Foundation, 40 athletes from 16 countries received Traditional Turkish Archery Training. Athletes trained by Okçular Foundation coaches and experts, received their certificates in a ceremony held on Monday, December 4^{th ,} attended by Yunus Emre Institute President Prof. Dr. Şeref Ateş, Chairman of Okçular Foundation Haydar Ali Yıldız and Okçular Foundation Member of Board of Trustees Bilal Erdoğan.

Yunus Emre Institute that continues its activities with the aim of introducing Turkey, Turkish language, literature, history, culture and art, and furthering the friendship and cultural ties between Turkey and other countries, and Okçular Foundation that makes efforts for ancestral sports, mainly archery to be embraced with their national, historical, sportive, artistic, cultural and educational aspects and adopted as a cultural awareness, realized the Kemankeş Project to introduce Turkish archery to the world.

As part of the project launched in 16 countries in its first year, athletes from Yunus Emre Institute centres in Germany, Bosnia-Herzegovina, Morocco, Palestine, Iran, Japan, Qatar, Kazakhstan, Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus, Lebanon, Malaysia, Egypt, Poland, Serbia, Sudan and Jordan, received traditional Turkish archery training in İstanbul Okçular Foundation. Following show competitions, the athletes who completed the training received their certificates from Yunus Emre Institute President Prof. Dr. Şeref Ateş, Chairman of Okçular Foundation Haydar Ali Yıldız, Okçular Foundation Member of Board of Trustees Bilal Erdoğan and former Minister Bülent Akarcalı. After the certificate ceremony, athletes who completed the training, shot arrows with Foundation Chairman Haydar Ali Yıldız and Founding Member of the Foundation Bilal Erdoğan, saying “O Lord”.

Archery Enthusiasts may receive Archery Training in Yunus Emre Institute Centres

The athletes to return to their countries after intensive training, will continue training in classes prepared at Yunus Emre Institute centres in their respective countries and train archery enthusiasts. The students to be trained within the context of “Traditional Turkish Archery” curriculum using sources and entirely hand-made archery materials, will have completed the second phase of the project. With the project, anyone interested in Turkish culture may receive training in archery classes at Yunus Emre Institute centres and make target practice.

Kemankeş Project to Continue

Yunus Emre Institute President Prof. Dr. Şeref Ateş made a speech at the certificate ceremony and stated that Yunus Emre Institute that introduces Turkey's accumulation and values to the world in 5 continents, 61 countries with 54 Institute centres and 79 contact points, aims to strengthen the friendship and cultural ties between countries through educational, cultural and sports activities planned to be carried out in various countries. Ateş marked that 550 individuals, 200 being women and 350 being men, applied for the training in Istanbul and 40 amateur and professional athletes were selected. He also announced that the most successful trainees will be eligible to attend Yunus Emre Institute “Turkish Summer School” program, and will get the chance to visit and learn about numerous historical, geographical and cultural destinations next to learning Turkish for one month. Ateş explained that athletes who will successfully complete Kemankeş Project, will compete individually and in teams in competitions to be organized by Okçular Foundation and Yunus Emre Institute .

Chairman of Okçular Foundation Haydar Ali Yıldız stated that the next stage of the project to be carried out in 16 countries will feature traditional Turkish Archery seminars, exhibitions and performances, and said, "As archery training continue in Yunus Emre Institute centres, we will initially reach 16 countries in order to be able to alter the trainings on site, and to make Turkish archery known and more popular among larger masses. In these countries, professors admired for their knowledge, and masters famous with their skills, will make seminars and performances. With the exhibitions, traditional Turkish archery will be introduced with its history and culture, in all its finesse.” Yıldız also noted that the last stage of the Kemankeş Project will be complete after the skills of trainees who attended the archery courses at Yunus Emre Institute centres, are exhibited in the major competition to be held in Istanbul in the summer of 2018.

Okçular Foundation Member of Board of Trustees Bilal Erdoğan said that archery was pivotal in the social life of Turks before Islam, and continued as follows: “Kemankeş Project, we launched in order to introduce to the world Turkish archery which is a  building stone of our cultural history, is one of the most comprehensive projects in this field. The Archers Foundation has an important mission: Ancestral sports, mainly archery will be embraced and internalized with its national, historical, sportive, artistic, cultural and educational aspects, and athletes from 16 countries completed the first.