November 05, 2025
The fourth International Symposium on Turkish Language Teaching and Turkology in the Balkans, organized under the leadership of Turkish Maarif Foundation in cooperation with various institutions and universities, has begun in Konya this year. Hosted by the Konya Metropolitan Municipality, the symposium aims to share the academic accumulation in the field of Turkish teaching and Turkology in the Balkans with the public. The first symposium was held in 2022 at the University of New York Tirana in Albania, followed by events at Istanbul University in 2023 and the International University of Sarajevo in Bosnia and Herzegovina in 2024. This annual international event aims to bring new momentum to Turkish and Turkology studies in the region.
The symposium was attended by President of Turkish Maarif Foundation Mahmut M. Özdil, Konya Metropolitan Municipality Deputy Mayor Mustafa Uzbaş, TMF Board of Trustees and Board Members, Rector of the University of New York Tirana Prof. Dr. Ali Güneş, Rector of Necmettin Erbakan University Prof. Dr. Cem Zorlu, as well as academics and volunteers of the Turkish language. Through presentations, panels, workshops, and consultation meetings, experts, researchers, and educators in the field come together. The papers presented at the symposium will later be published as a book and made available to interested readers.
“Turkish Finds Life in Different Geographies Through Migration”
The opening session began with the reading of a telegram sent by the Speaker of the Turkish Grand National Assembly, Numan Kurtulmuş. Rector of the University of New York Tirana, Ali Güneş, discussed the phenomenon of migration and the development of the symposium, emphasizing its contribution to strengthening relations between the Balkans and Türkiye and its opportunity to address current issues in the region. He also noted that migration has been a continuous phenomenon throughout human history. Rector of Necmettin Erbakan University, Prof. Dr. Cem Zorlu, highlighted the relationship between language, culture, and civilization, emphasizing the importance of Turkish as a common cultural language.
President of Turkish Maarif Foundation, Mahmut M. Özdil, emphasized the special importance of the Balkans for the Foundation. He noted that Turkish has found life in various geographies throughout history and today, and highlighted the richness that migrants have brought to Turkish language. President Özdil stated: “The journey of the Turks, and therefore of the Turkish language, which began in Central Asia and continued in Anatolia, also finds life in different geographies. While discussions about migration and language often focus on the difficulties migrants face—such as maintaining their mother tongue or adapting to new environments—our experience with Turkish shows that the relationship between migration and language is not limited to challenges. Migrants add great richness to Turkish. Different sounds, tones, and rhythms enrich our language rather than deteriorate it.”
Konya Metropolitan Municipality Deputy Mayor Mustafa Uzbaş also stated that interest in the Turkish language and culture is increasing worldwide and emphasized that the historical and cultural ties in the Balkans make this interest even more meaningful.
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