April 13, 2025
The fourth edition of the Antalya Diplomacy Forum, in which Turkish Maarif Foundation participated with the High-Level Session titled “Building the Future in a Fragmented World: The Transformative Power of Education”, began with the presence of President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan.
President Erdoğan expressed his satisfaction that the Forum is attracting more and more attention in the international arena and said: ‘We are pleased with the intense interest in the Forum, which has taken its place among the leading events in the field of foreign policy and international relations in the world. Today, we hereby declare to the world once again that we prefer dialogue instead of conflicts, common sense instead of polarization, and global conscience instead of power competition.’
Emphasising that they are sending a message of peace and friendship to the world from Antalya, Erdoğan stated that Antalya will be the centre of global diplomacy for three days. Emphasising in his speech that the international system is unable to respond to the needs of the age, President Erdoğan said: ‘While humanity is making new technological moves one after another, the international system is unable to exhibit the same success in terms of keeping up with the age. At a time when we are dealing with problems that concern the whole humanity, we witness that the international community is unfortunately insufficient in developing fairer and more conscientious policies.’
Underlining that Türkiye is an important actor that can offer solutions to these problems with its historical and cultural richness, Erdoğan said:
‘Türkiye is one of the countries that can give this message to the world most easily due to its experience, historical, humanitarian, cultural richness and depth.’
Turkish Maarif Foundation took part in the Forum with the High Level Session ‘Building the Future in a Fragmented World: The Transformative Power of Education’ at the Forum.
On the second day of the Forum, under the auspices of Emine Erdoğan, a high-level session titled ‘Building the Future in a Fragmented World: The Transformative Power of Education’ was organised. In addition to Emine Erdoğan, Minister of National Education Prof. Dr. Yusuf Tekin, President of Turkish Maarif Foundation Mahmut M. Özdil, Chief Minister of Punjab Province of Pakistan Maryam Nawaz Sharif and international experts attended the session.
Speaking at the opening of the session, Emine Erdoğan drew attention to the transformative power of education and said: ‘If you provide quality education to generations, you change the destiny of societies and, on a larger scale, the world. There is a saying in Anatolia: ‘If the bee does not leave the hive, it cannot make honey’. Turkish Maarif Foundation takes Türkiye's fair, embracing and peaceful approach with it wherever it reaches.’ Referring to the place and role of Turkish Maarif Foundation in international education, Emine Erdoğan said: ‘Science offers its honey, which nourishes the soul, mind and conscience, to all humanity without discrimination, so that the world can be a place where everyone can breathe in peace. On this occasion, I would like to take this opportunity to thank the executives, country representatives, employees at all levels and teachers who work devotedly in the field of our Turkish Maarif Foundation.’
Speaking at the panel organised within the scope of the programme, Minister of National Education Prof. Dr. Yusuf Tekin gave messages about Türkiye's global education vision. Referring to the Turkish Century Education Model, Tekin said: ‘Within the framework of the vision drawn by our President, we believed that we should start a goodness movement in order to make peace dominant in the world. For this, we thought that the humanitarian values that we have always missed in our education programmes should be reintroduced into the programmes and we acted accordingly.’ Prof. Jeffrey Sachs, President of the UN Sustainable Development Solutions Network, and Pia Rebello Britto, UNICEF Global Director of Education and Adolescent Development, drew attention to the global education crisis. While Sachs emphasised that the real investment is in children's education, not in technology companies, Britto stated that millions of children in the world are deprived of basic education. Both experts stated that investment in education is the key to economic and social development. It was pointed out that digitalisation will enable fair and inclusive access to education when used correctly.
Turkish Maarif Foundation President Özdil: ‘Our education model is context-sensitive and need-based’
Mahmut M. Özdil, President of Turkish Maarif Foundation, explained the Foundation's approach and basic principles in the field of international education in his speech. Özdil emphasised that what makes Maarif Schools different is a model that is sensitive to local contexts and needs-based. ‘What really makes Maarif Schools different is their context-sensitive and needs-based approach. Instead of applying a one-size-fits-all model, we focus on shaping education according to the real needs of local communities.’ Özdil underlined that they adopt an inclusive approach that respects diversity.
In his speech, Özdil pointed out that the cultural richness of the countries in which Maarif Schools operate increases the strength of Maarif Schools and said, ‘We believe that we will become stronger to the extent that we can include the colours, textures, accumulations and traditions of the countries in which we operate in our activities.’ Stating that diversity is not a threat but a richness, Özdil said that the main problem is not diversity but the unequal and unfair attitudes developed against this diversity. ‘Inequality and injustice arise not from our differences, but from the way we approach these differences.’ With these words, Özdil revealed the Foundation's vision of egalitarian and justice-centred education.
The programme ended with a family photo with the speakers and panelists.
