“Medal of TÜRKSOY” Awarded to TİKA’s President, Serkan Kayalar by TÜRKSOY

The “Medal of TÜRKSOY” was awarded to TİKA’s President, Serkan Kayalar by TÜRKSOY Secretary General, Sultan Raev. This medal has been given as a token of gratitude to individuals and institutions that provide outstanding service to the Turkic world in the fields of science, education, culture and art, by the International Organization of Turkic Culture (TÜRKSOY) since 2013.

The “Medal of TÜRKSOY” was awarded to TİKA’s President, Serkan Kayalar, by TÜRKSOY Secretary General Sultan Raev at the ceremony held at TÜRKSOY headquarters in Ankara. This medal has been given as a token of gratitude to individuals and institutions that provide outstanding service to the Turkic world in the fields of culture, art and science since 2013 by TÜRKSOY, which has been working to strengthen sincere unity and brotherhood among the Turkic people, transfer the common Turkic culture to future generations and introduce it to the world since its establishment.

During his speech at the ceremony, Secretary General Sultan Raev said, “Last year, we celebrated the 30^th anniversary of TÜRKSOY, which was established in 1993 to develop the spirit of unity among the Turkic people. Over the past 30 years, we have implemented various successful projects with the aim of reinforcing the unity among the Turkic people and introducing the Turkic culture to the world together with TİKA, the distinguished institution of Türkiye, our founding member. We have attached great importance to collaborating and carrying out joint projects in the countries and regions where the Turkic people reside, especially in our member countries. We are proud to introduce the culture and art of the Turkic World to a wider area, from the Altai Mountains to the Balkans, together with TİKA.”

“We are proud of our brotherhood, our rich civilization, our achievements, and we invite every person to share this gladness with us.”

Raev also said, “The seed planted 30 years ago has grown, flourished and developed. TÜRKSOY and TİKA, which are almost of the same age, are now among the well-known institutions around the world. TİKA is one of the first organizations which come to mind when Türkiye’s geography of heart and the needy regions are mentioned. TİKA is also the seeing eye, helping hand, and compassionate heart of the Turkish people abroad!”

During his speech, TİKA’s President Serkan Kayalar said, “The journey of our TİKA is very similar to TÜRKSOY. Established in 1992, our Agency has been sharing our country’s experience and knowledge in the field of development cooperation with nearly 150 friendly countries, starting from Central Asia. As one of the first cooperation organizations of the Turkic World, TÜRKSOY has been carrying out very valuable activities to transfer Turkish culture to the next generations and introduce it to the world since its establishment. It has been strengthening the bonds and the brotherhood between the Turkic people.”

“TİKA has carried out more than 4 thousand projects and activities in the member and observer countries of the Organization of Turkic States, and has implemented almost 6 thousand projects and activities directed towards the Turkic World.”

TİKA’s President Kayalar said, “The Central Asian Turkic Republics and the wider Turkic World have always been central to our activities. We established our first offices in the Turkic World. We have been carrying out joint projects with the Organization of Turkic States, the Turkic Culture and Heritage Foundation, the Turkic Academy, and the Parliamentary Assembly of Turkic States in order to transform the bonds of brotherhood of the Turkic World into a strong cooperation. We have fostered a more productive cooperation with TÜRKSOY in recent years, aimed at preserving both tangible and intangible Turkish Cultural Heritage.”

Following the speeches, the “Medal of TÜRKSOY” was awarded by TÜRKSOY Secretary Genereal Sultan Raev to TİKA’s President Serkan Kayalar as a sign of his contributions to the Turkic World in the fields of science, education, culture and art.

The ceremony concluded with the presentation of gifts and a photograph taken as a remembrance of the day.