The special event 'Hand in Hand for a Better World' has been held as part of the 9th Turkish Summer School, organized by Yunus Emre Institute.

1,000 students from 118 countries came together at Cemal Reşit Rey Hall during the event which was attended by Yunus Emre Institute President Prof. Dr. Şeref Ateş, İstanbul Şehir University Rector Prof. Dr. Peyami Çelikcan and Yunus Emre Institute Science Board Member Prof. Dr. Musa Yıldız.

The program was kicked off as summer school students, Keremet and Mahmud, read lines from Evliya Çelebi and Yunus Emre. Having discovered the Turkish culture by visiting various cities in Turkey, the students adroitly sang the folk songs from our folk poets.

The cultural ambassadors who came to Anatolia by following the traces of the Turkish language and the Turkish culture translated their own cultural and individual differences to Istanbul's skyline on a piece of artwork called "Hand in Hand for a Better World," specially prepared for the 9th Turkish Summer School.  This work of art, painted on a fabric canvas with the hands of the participants in the company of painter Şafak Tavkul, was put on display.

"To win over each individual is as precious as to win over the world"

The president of the Institute, Prof. Dr. Şeref Ateş, delivered a keynote speech at the event, stressing that the Turkish Summer School is one of the most outstanding elements of the cultural diplomacy activities conducted by the Institute to contribute to the country's recognition.

Ateş noted that the summer school, an unprecedented project in the world, was launched simultaneously and in equal quality in different cities across Turkey with the participation of 1,000 people from 118 countries and in cooperation with 32 universities. Underlining that they included the youth from every part of the world regardless of their religious, linguistic or radical differences, Prof. Dr. Ateş addressed the youth as follows:

"Dear young people, you have received training for a month and come to realize that young people from diverse countries can come together and interact and exchange things with each other. In this program, these interactions and exchanges can occur in Turkish. Every living creature in this world has resources to survive as long as resources are not wasted through conflicts, wars, arrogance or vanity. We treat every individual as a human being with dignity and we believe that to win over each individual is as precious as to win over the world.

We have invited you in order to beautify our world and make an impact. The sole purpose of Yunus Emre Institute is to ensure that all world cultures are represented equally and fairly in full bloom. I would like to thank you, young people, for coming to Turkey from 118 countries and participating in the training actively, believing in the idea of holding hand in hand for the peace in the world."

Following his keynote speech, Institute President Prof. Dr. Şeref Ateş presented a plaque to Osman Savaş, the Head of the Support Services Department of Istanbul Metropolitan Municipality, for their support during the summer school program.

Then, Yusuf Güney gave a concert. Güney sang along the folk song "Gesi Bağları," sung by Derya, a student from the University of Kirkuk, and exhibited great performance with his songs for the students.

The event was added as another happy memory to the minds of the students of the Turkish Summer School.