Mahinur Özdemir Göktaş, Minister of Family and Social Services, Visits Yunus Emre Institute in Dakar

Mahinur Özdemir Göktaş, Minister of Family and Social Services of the Republic of Türkiye, visited the Yunus Emre Institute in the capital Dakar as part of her official visit to Senegal.

Minister Mahinur Özdemir Göktaş visited the pottery workshop organized in collaboration between the Yunus Emre Institute in Dakar and the AVISE Association, which supports orphaned children.

Minister Mahinur Özdemir Göktaş participated in creating a baobab tree sculpture, one of Africa’s symbols, with children at the pottery workshop aimed at supporting the integration of orphaned children into social life.

At the conclusion of the workshop, Minister Göktaş conversed with the children in French, signed the Institute’s guest book, and penned her thoughts. Drawing attention to the significance of the Yunus Emre Institute in Türkiye-Senegal relations, Göktaş wrote the following statements in the guest book:

“To introduce Turkish culture and language to the world, Yunus Emre's invitation ‘Come, let us all be friends’ resonates across various regions. The existence and activities of our Dakar Cultural Center play a crucial role in strengthening our ties with Senegal. With these sentiments and thoughts, I extend my gratitude to the managers and staff of our cultural center for their dedicated service, and I wish them continued success in all their endeavors.”

Minister Mahinur Özdemir Göktaş, during her meeting with nearly thirty Senegalese orphan children, received information from Merve Işık Efe, Coordinator of the Yunus Emre Institute in Dakar, about the Institute’s Turkish language teaching initiatives in Senegal, cultural exchange programs, and activities organized for Senegalese women and children.

The visit concluded with a group photo.