Turkish Cooperation and Coordination Agency (TİKA) renovated the tents of 230 Dukha Turk families, who are living in Taiga regions of Mongolia and living off of reindeer raising, for the harsh winter conditions and provided materials such as raincoats, boots, first aid materials and medication for reindeer.
The Dukha Turks live as one of the smallest ethnic groups in the world, living in the Taiga forests located on the northern border of Mongolia near the Tsagaannuur, Khövsgöl nearly 1100 km from the capital Ulaanbaatar, nomadically by living off of reindeer raising.
Some of the Dukhas live in Tsagaannuur rather than Taiga in winter. The families raising reindeer continue to live in Taiga. Dukhas migrate to higher mountainsides than taigas in summer as the reindeer live in cold climates.
TİKA, upon the request of the Dukha Turks living in harsh climate conditions, renovated all the worn tents. TİKA also provided raincoats, boots, first aid kits, inflatable boats to cross the rivers, binoculars for 230 families and medication for nearly 3000 reindeer.
A Dukha Turk, Tsetsegee Borşil, said: "As we are living off of reindeer raising, we are encountering many hardships while conserving our lifestyle and cultural heritage. TİKA avidiously listened to our needs and helped our community pricelessly. I am grateful for the Turkish people's support for us living in the Taiga region. I am expressing our dearest gratitude towards them."
Byandalai Badam said, "Be it winter or summer for the whole year, we are living in tents acting as a home for us. We thank TİKA kindly for providing us with tent canvases, in one sense, new houses for us. In return for TİKA's support, we are determined to raise as many reindeer as possible.
In previous years, TİKA had founded a tent camping facility within the Dukha Turks Research Center in the center of Tsagaannuur to conserve the cultural heritage of Dukha Turks and Dukhas living in the district to earn income by hosting researchers and tourists within the center. Also, TİKA had provided reindeer for breeding from South Siberia to increase the number of reindeer, which are the mainstay of Dukha Turks, and to prevent genetic disorders due to the lack of reindeer.
Within the Winnie Madikizela Mandela Jewelry Training Project, put into practice by Turkish Cooperation and Coordination Agency, 10 South African women received jewelry-making training.
TİKA completed the Winnie Madikizela Mandela Jewelry Training organized in Mbizana municipality of Eastern Cape province in the Republic of South Africa.
10 women received jewelry-making training in the OR Tambo Cultural Precinct in Mbizana, the center of the anti-apartheid movement, within the project.
Main equipment, such as leather sewing kits, equipment used in leather embroidery, laser cut and engraving machines, jewelry-making sets, earring sets, and soft and hard leathers, were provided to the women who completed the training successfully to support their start on production.
Mbizana Mayor, T.D. Mafumbatha attended the certificate ceremony and thanked TİKA for their contribution to the local community improvement projects. In his speech, TİKA's Coordinator in Pretoria, Abdulkadir Abukan, informed the audience about TİKA's activities in the Republic of South Africa and emphasized the importance of their comprehensive projects aiming to create a positive change.
Another person to attend the ceremony was the successful designer and artisan Thuthula Nyameka Madikizela living in Mbizana. Madikizela was one of the attendants of a training program organized by TİKA previously, and now she is a teacher in her field.
Thuthula thanked the generous people of Türkiye, expressed her gratitude to TİKA and said: "We did not just make Jewelry together, but at the same time, we knitted the threads of our hope towards future by strengthening the togetherness of our community with the support of Türkiye."
Putting women's entrepreneurship training projects into practice in South Africa since 2021, TİKA provided skill and competence-improving projects for nearly 100 trainees from Johannesburg to Pretoria, from Durban to neighboring countries.
With the support of Turkish Cooperation and Coordination Agency (TİKA), water drilling for wildlife protection and animals to access clean water, 3 water pools for animals and a hand washing station for visitors were built in Bijilo National Park.
With this project put into practice by TİKA, a water drilling for access to clean and reliable water, water pools for monkeys, birds and other animals to drink water and a hand washing station for visitors were provided.
The Republic of Türkiye’s Ambassador to Banjul, Tolga Bermek; Environment, Climate Change, and Natural Resources Minister, Rohey John Manyang; Park Manager, Soleyman Jobe; TİKA’s Coordinator in Banjul, Şule Bayar; ministry officials, Gambia Radio and Television Services members and media institutions attended the ceremony.
Environment, Climate Change, and Natural Resources Minister Rohey John Manyang thanked Türkiye for the project in her speech.
The Republic of Türkiye’s Ambassador to Banjul, Tolga Bermek, stated that particular attention should be given to national parks and emphasized that these are not just national treasures but also a heritage for all humanity. Bermek mentioned that with the additional water pools placed in different parts of the park by TİKA, monkeys, birds and other wild animals will be able to access water throughout the eight-month-long drought.
Banjul Program Coordinator Şule Bayar stated the importance given to environmental projects by TİKA and expressed her appreciation for being able to put a project which is serving the "protecting the biodiversity and ecosystems" aim among the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals into practice.
The project is expected to play an important role in supporting the ecotourism in Monkey Park Gambia via strengthening ecotourism, contributing to wildlife, and increasing tourism revenues.
In cooperation with Turkish Cooperation and Coordination Agency (TİKA) and TRT and in order to increase the professional capacity of the members of the press from friendly countries, the third of the training for the staff of Türkmeneli Televizyonu in Iraq was completed.
With the one-week training held in TRT Arabia channel, 6 journalists from Iraq Türkmeneli TV received the applied training on "Being a Reporter, Editor and Speaker".
54 staff members of Türkmeneli TV had attended the "Visual Media Informatics Applications, Camerawork, Journalism, and New Media Journalism" training held within the "Türkmeneli TV Media Training Program" organized in 2022 in Iraq-Kirkuk with the cooperation of TRT and TİKA.
14 journalists from Türkmeneli TV attended the last applied training.
Giving a speech at the closing ceremony of the training, the Director of TRT Arabia, İbrahim Kılıç stated that they will continue to share the broadcasting experience to the world with the cooperation of TİKA and TRT.
The General Manager of Türkmeneli TV, Hanefi Uzunçam, thanked both organizations for the training and emphasized that this training directly contributed to the professional competence of the staff.
He stated that the training will continue in the future.
Turkish Cooperation and Coordination Agency (TİKA) visited the Srebrenica Memorial Center in Potočari with convoys from Croatia for the 28th anniversary of the Srebrenica Massacre.
Organised in cooperation with the Council of the Bosniak National Minority of the City of Zagreb for the 300 high school and university students who attended the convoy to become conscious of the geography of the land and enabling them to get a new point of view by learning the history in its place and listening to the historical events from the witnesses, the "Never Forget Convoy" was held between 13-14 October 2023.
Türkiye’s Ambassador to Zagreb, Yavuz Selim Kıran; Ambassador of Bosnia and Herzegovina to Zagreb, Elma Kovacevic Bajtal; the President of the Council of the Bosniak National Minority of the City of Zagreb, Armin Hodzic and the Director of Center of Halal Quality Certification in Croatia, Mufti Aziz Hasanovic attended the farewell ceremony held in Zahreb Mosque courtyard.
Being the second largest minority in Croatia due to their population, Bosniaks are trying to create social awareness of their history and culture and to make themselves heard by various organizations. As the primary official agency of the Bosnians in the Republic of Croatia, the Council of the Bosniak National Minority of the City of Zagreb emphasizes concepts such as respecting civil rights and diversity, tolerating and the continuity of communication and cooperation in their activities. The fact that many of the minorities around were stricken with similar griefs as Bosniaks increases the participation in the events and helps all sides to find common ground.
Turkish Cooperation and Coordination Agency (TİKA) and İyilik Sağlık Foundation provided healthcare services in Pakistan between 24-30 September 2023.
The medical team, consisting of 9 Turkish people who went to Pakistan, made 2434 health screenings in total.
After these screenings, the needed treatments and free medications were provided, and patients who needed to be transferred to another health unit were transferred.
This healthcare project contributed to the community's access to healthcare services. Along with these screenings, treatment and medication support, comprehensive health support was provided for those in need.
Turkish Cooperation and Coordination Agency (TİKA) provided the Gypsy Folk Dances Ensemble in Montenegro with costumes.
Established this year and being active within the Montenegro Gypsy Council, the Gypsy Folk Dances Ensemble consists of 16 people and aims to preserve their cultural inheritance.
Not being able to perform their folk dances for long years due to not having the costumes, the Gypsy Folk Dances Ensemble found an opportunity to give performances in national and international organizations with the costumes TİKA provided and aims to hand down their almost forgotten cultural inheritance to the next generations and introduce it to the world.
Turkish Cooperation and Coordination Agency (TİKA) provided humanitarian aid to 2 thousand families who were affected by the earthquake disaster in Afghanistan.
The earthquakes that happened in the rural areas of Herat, which is in the west of Afghanistan caused a great disaster for the region.
The earthquakes took place on September 7, 2023, and had intensities of 6.5 and 6.3. They caused the houses made of wet clay to collapse and the lives to be lost.
Within the scope of the aiding activities, food parcels were given to 2 thousand families who survived the earthquake.
Humanitarian aid provided by TİKA was delivered to 20 villages that were affected by the disaster the most, among which were Turkmen sites as well. The villages were determined with the coordination of Herat Provincial Governorship and the Republic of Türkiye’s Consulate General in Herat.
Turkish Coordination and Cooperation Agency (TİKA), International Organization of Turkic Culture (TURKSOY), Embassy of Kyrgyzstan in Ankara, Ankara University Language and History-Geography Faculty (DTCF), and National Academy of Sciences of the Republic of Kyrgyzstan organized the “3rd Cengiz Aytmatov Days”.
“3rd Cengiz Aytmatov Days”, which is supported by TİKA, took place in Ankara University Language and History-Geography Faculty, started with the opening program on October 09, 2023.
During the opening program, Secretary-General of TURKSOY, Sultan Raev, Kyrgyzstan’s Ambassador to Ankara, Ruslan Kazakbayev, Rector of Ankara University, Prof. Dr. Necdet Ünüvar, Cengiz Aytmatov’s sister, Roza Aytmatova, and Prof.Dr. F. Sema Barutcu Özönder from Ankara University gave their speeches.
In his speech, Secretary-General of TURKSOY, Raev stated that Cengiz Aytmatov is a shared value for the Turkic world and emphasized that Aytmatov’s works draw attention worldwide with their universal themes. Raev stated that Cengiz Aytmatov was a diplomat as well as an author and emphasized that Aytmatov’s thoughts contributed to Kyrgyzstan’s gain of independence and her international recognition. After his speech, Raev presented a medal to Roza Aytmatova as a memoir.
“Aytmatov is the public memory of the Turkic world.”
In his speech, Kyrgyzstan’s Ambassador to Ankara, Kazakbayev stated that Aytmatov is “the public memory of the Turkic world” while also adding “We all have our own Aytmatov. For me, Aytmatov is the symbol and brand of Kyrgyz culture and literature, as well as the entire Turkic world’s language, and literature; before all else. Kazakbayev emphasized that according to UNESCO data, Aytmatov is among the most-read authors, right after Shakespeare and Tolstoy, his works contain a “deep philosophy”. Kazakbayev emphasized that Aytmatov is very well-liked in Türkiye, adding that the name Aytmatov is honored in numerous fields in Türkiye.
In his message on the 3rd Cengiz Aytmatov Days, the Rector of Ankara University, Prof. Dr. Necdet Ünüvar said: “As the Language and History-Geography Faculty, we are proud to host the 3rd Cengiz Aytmatov Days. I express my thanks to Kyrgyzstan’s Ambassador to Ankara, distinguished Ruslan Kazakbayev, Secretary-General of TURKSOY, Sultan Raev, President of the National Academy of Sciences of the Republic of Kyrgyzstan, Prof. Dr. Kanat Abdrahmanov, and Cengiz Aytmatov’s precious sister, Roza Aytmatova for their participation.”
3rd Cengiz Aytmatov Days ended with a set of activities that took place on October 9-10, 2023.
About Cengiz Aytmatov
Cengiz Aytmatov, born on December 12, 1928 and passed away in May 2008, alongside his literary works, represented his country as the ambassador to Luxembourg, Belgium, and Netherlands, while also taking the position of Kyrgyz deputy of the EU, NATO, UNESCO, and the Benelux Union.
Turkish Cooperation and Coordination Agency (TİKA) provided agricultural equipment and tractors to 20 families who came back to their hometown after the war that took place during the 1990s.
Vrhbarje Village in Sokolac Municipality, which is in the east of Bosnia and Herzegovina, went through the tragedy of the many families who were forced to leave their hometown after the war that took place during the 1990s.
Today, the returning families face serious financial difficulties due to the changed sociological and economic structure.
20 families who came back to the Vrhbarje village, which did not have agricultural equipment, had to rent the tractors and other equipment necessary for production. However, due to the increase in the costs of goods needed for production and the difficulties faced in renting equipment before the October season, many arable fields had to be remained empty. This situation prevented the village’s population from increasing and more people from coming back.
Tractors and agricultural equipment provided within the scope of the project carried on by TİKA, enabled the farmer to practice agriculture on larger fields and have better living conditions.
In his speech about the project, the President of Vrba Protecting and Encouraging Organic Production Association, Mujo Zahiragiç said: “I would like to express my gratitude to the people of Türkiye and TİKA, who look out for us. With the projects that took place in Sokolac and Rogatica Municipalities during 2020, Vrhbarje village and approximately 15 Serbian and Bosnia and Herzegovinan villages got water supply networks. This project will enable us to stay in our land and support ourselves.”
Vrba Protecting and Encouraging Organic Production Association, which started to be active in 2014, is planning on running approximately 350 hectares of agricultural field to support the families who come back to their hometown after the war and encourage more people to do so.
Turkish Cooperation and Coordination Agency (TİKA), Islamic Development Bank (IsDB), TÜBİTAK Marmara Research Center (MAM), and Statistical, Economic and Social Research and Training Centre for Islamic Countries (SESRIC) cooperated to successfully complete the “Türkiye-Pakistan Development of Meteorology Department’s Earthquake Infrastructure Reverse Linkage Project”.
The goal of the project is to share the knowledge, skill, experience, and technology of Türkiye with the member countries of the Islamic Development Bank, and to increase the capacity of the Pakistan Meteorological Department in the fields of earthquake and seismological research, within the scope of the Reverse Linkage Program.
Within the scope of the project, TİKA supported the pieces of training given by TÜBİTAK MAM on processing and evaluating earthquake data, soil classification and data evaluation, and collecting and processing GPS data.
Within the scope of the last technical training program of the project, 17 Pakistani experts completed their training and got their certificate of participation.
Turkish Cooperation and Coordination Agency (TİKA) and Gendarmerie General Command cooperated to hold a “Course of Penalty Execution Security Services” for Republic of Maldives Ministry of Home Affairs staff.
Within the scope of the International Police/Security Training Cooperation Project, the pieces of training took place in Çanakkale Gendarmerie Training Center Commandry. 10 attendees from Maldives benefited from the pieces of training.
At the end of the training, the goal is to strengthen the relationship between the Gendarmerie forces of the countries that cooperate with Türkiye on the field of security, to coordinate gendarmerie training centers, and to enable the forces of the two countries to share the experiences they have mutually.
