Turkish Olympiads Cultural Festival attended by 3 million visitors in İzmir

Children from 140 nations displayed items from their countries in booths at the fairground and talked about their countries with visitors. (Photo: Today's Zaman, Mehmet Yaman)
Children from 140 nations displayed items from their countries in booths at the fairground and talked about their countries with visitors. (Photo: Today's Zaman, Mehmet Yaman)


Date posted: May 28, 2013

Nearly 3 million people attended the Cultural Festival of the 11th International Turkish Olympiads, an event celebrating the Turkish language that will bring together 2,000 students from 140 countries this year.

The event, which began on Friday, was held by the Turkish Education Association (TÜRKÇEDER) and attracted considerable interest from both visitors from İzmir and other provinces. The three-day event was held at İzmir’s Kültürpark. Children from 140 countries displayed items from their countries in booths at the fairground and talked about their countries and traditions in Turkish with visitors, most of whom were surprised by the students’ Turkish abilities. Moreover, many activities were held at the Kültürpark, such as concerts and theater performances, as part of the event. Visitors enjoyed seeing different kinds of traditional clothes and musical instruments, tasting traditional meals and having their photos taken with the foreign students.

İzmir Mayor Aziz Kocaoğlu also attended the cultural festival. Kocaoğlu spent time with students from several African countries and also talked with Minister Delegate for Social Dialogue Doina Adriana Pană and Chief Consul Leresa Nokolas at the Romanian booth. The mayor stated that they are very happy to have the students in İzmir. The coordinator of the cultural festival, Aydın Panayır, told reporters that the event had attracted more people than he expected and extended his thanks to the İzmir Municipality and the Izmir Fair Organization (İZFAŞ) for hosting the event. Panayır stated that Turkish Olympiads will continue until June 16 in several parts of the country.

The closing ceremony of the event took place at the Atatürk Open-air Amphitheater with a large crowd in attendance. Children participating in the Olympiads sang Turkish songs during the ceremony.

The 11th International Turkish Olympiads began in İstanbul on Wednesday. The event began with a news conference held at Atatürk Olympic Stadium attended by the Turkish deputy parliamentary speaker and International Turkish Language Olympiads Organizing Committee Chairman Mehmet Sağlam, Turkish Education Association (TÜRKÇEDER) President Ali Ursavaş, Professor Şükrü Haluk Akalın, Fatih University Rector Şerif Ali Tekalan, deputy general manager of Bank Asya, the main sponsor of Turkish Olympiads, Murat Aydoğan, Turkish Olympiads General Arts Director Cemil Özen and some of the students.

Sağlam noted that the international students will take part in performances, including singing and poetry recitals, across 55 Turkish provinces this year. He also said approximately 15,000 students around the world have prepared for the Turkish Olympiads.

Each year, thousands of students around the world work towards attending the Olympiads, but only the finalists who win at national competitions are invited to the international competition in Turkey. The competition will see gold medals given to the top 10 individuals, silver medals to the top 10 percent of competitors and bronze medals given to the top 30 percent of competitors.

Last year’s Turkish Olympiads were attended by students from 135 countries. Students from the Dominican Republic, Libya, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Rwanda and Brunei are also attending the event for the first time this year.

Source: Today’s Zaman, May 27, 2013


Related News

I am concerned: Erdoğan and elections

Current developments are disturbing. It does not take an oracle to guess that when the elections get even closer, the country will move further towards insanity if Erdoğan does not change his stance on a number of issues and cease his ferocious rhetorical tactic of designating every critic a traitor. Hrant Dink was assassinated as a result of such a campaign of hate.

Final declaration of the 33rd Abant Platform: “Turkey direction”

Participants in the 33rd Abant Platform, which ended on Sunday in the northwestern town of Akçakoca, agreed that Turkey has lost its direction in both its domestic and foreign policy, saying the way to rectify this is to restore its commitment to the accession process into the European Union and the rule of law at home.

First “Families Meeting” series concludes with a spectacular night

The first series of “Families Meeting” project, intended to bring together the members of diverse cultures, faiths and ethnicities and let them get to know each other, by Intercultural Dialogue Platform (KADIP) in cooperation with Foundation of Solidarity (DIDADER), came to an end with a final gathering at Syriac Catholic Church. Following the president of […]

Is There ‘The Cemaat’ Under Every Stone?

Ilıcak reaches her conclusions based on fact, using interviews, official documents, interviews and other hard evidence to make her point. Her book is a valuable source of information, especially for those who have only read texts from Fethullah Gulen’s opponents. In understanding an issue, it’s imperative to hear both sides of the story.

In Greece, Turks tell of lives full of fear in Recep Erdogan’s Turkey

Dominika Spyratou of the Greek NGO SolidarityNow, which provides assistance to refugees, says that more than 1,000 Turkish citizens came to Greece seeking asylum after the July 2016 failed coup, while almost 300 Turkish families are now in Thessaloniki.

Six heads of organized crime unit dismissed as hundreds relocated in new police purges [just after an operation against al-Qaeda]

The new relocations come as two heads of anti-terror units who conducted an operation against al-Qaeda and raids against a local branch of the Humanitarian Relief Foundation (İHH) charity were dismissed on Jan. 14.

Latest News

Fethullah Gulen – man of education, peace and dialogue – passes away

Fethullah Gülen’s Condolence Message for South African Human Rights Defender Archbishop Desmond Tutu

Hizmet Movement Declares Core Values with Unified Voice

Ankara systematically tortures supporters of Gülen movement, Kurds, Turkey Tribunal rapporteurs say

Erdogan possessed by Pharaoh, Herod, Hitler spirits?

Devious Use of International Organizations to Persecute Dissidents Abroad: The Erdogan Case

A “Controlled Coup”: Erdogan’s Contribution to the Autocrats’ Playbook

Why is Turkey’s Erdogan persecuting the Gulen movement?

Purge-victim man sent back to prison over Gulen links despite stage 4 cancer diagnosis

In Case You Missed It

Gulen blasts ‘despicable’ 2016 Turkey coup bid, subsequent ‘witch hunt’

Nigerian instability not a current threat for Turkish community

Turkish opposition: Enquiry against Gülen politically motivated

Gülen movement acted ‘courageously’ when gov’t-involved graft revealed, Altan says

Ongoing political raids against schools and businesses are unconstitutional

Hizmet rejects claims it is linked to graft probe, says democracy is antidote to chaos

Journalists and Writers Foundation (GYV) bridging Eastern, Western worlds

Copyright 2025 Hizmet News