The 9th Turkish Summer School, organized by Yunus Emre Institute, has ended with the farewell dinner given at Pullman Hotel.

The dinner hosted by Institute President Prof. Dr. Şeref Ateş, and attended by the students in their traditional attire who had a memorable night by singing Turkish songs and exhibiting their performances.

Following the mini concert, those students who won the competition "Discover Turkey" by sharing their memories during their one-month stay in Turkey on their social media accounts were presented with their awards.

Raman Hladkikh, from Belarus, came the first in the video category. Sharing his joy with his friends, Hladkikh indicated that he loved Turkish language and Turkish culture very much and he would never forget the friendships he had made.

In the photography category, Albanian student Blina Jaupllari grabbed the medal with a successful photographic composition concerning the Galata Tower, one of the landmarks in Istanbul.

Gantuya Ariunsan, from Mongolia, was the winner in the text category for her description of her feelings she penned down while discovering Turkey. Before receiving her medal, Ariunsan shared her article with her friends, creating an emotional atmosphere.

The finalists of the Turkish Cinema Summer School, a first in Turkey, made its impression on the night. In the program held between July 30 and August 12, 2018, the students shot short films using their experience and observations about Istanbul and Turkey. 

Fatima Mouhammou, from Morocco, won the Yunus Emre Institute Best Promotional Video prize while Mohamad Eskandarani, from Lebanon, was given the Turkish Cinema Summer School Best Video prize.

The Best Short Film Screenplay prize for promoting Yunus Emre Institute went to Alesandro Marzullo, from Italy, and the Turkish Cinema Summer School Best Photo-Story prize was awarded to Amalia Popa, from Romania.

Institute President Prof. Dr. Şeref Ateş presented certificates to the teachers who meticulously guided students during the Turkish Summer School. 

Voluntary ambassadors return to their countries

The summer school took place between July 16 and August 12, 2018 with the participation of 1,000 students who were fans of the Turkish language from 118 countries and in cooperation with 32 universities from 29 countries. The participating students had a chance to learn the Turkish language and get to know about Turkey by living in the country and being exposed to the historical, geographic and cultural assets of various provinces in our country and improving their Turkish skills at favorite universities they visited.

Prospective Turkologists were hosted in cooperation with the Hacettepe University Turkish and Foreign Languages Research and Application Center (TÖMER) under the Turkology Cooperation Protocol signed between the Institute and 95 universities in 46 countries, and they were able to discover the Turkish culture, history and social life more closely and improve their Turkish skills.

As part of the Turkish Cinema Summer School, which was introduced this year and conducted by the Institute in collaboration with İstanbul Şehir University, undergraduate, graduate and doctoral students as well as the sector employees were hosted. The participants had access to rich courses from prominent filmmaking figures and academics and met directors and had an opportunity to know closely Turkey and the Turkish cinema through city trips and various activities.

The program also enabled world communities to get to know each other, and the students returned to their respective countries with unique memories concerning the Turkish culture and would act as ambassadors of Turkey in their countries.