The president of The Yunus Emre Institute (YEE), recognized as the most vital organization that promotes learning of the Turkish language worldwide, stated Sunday that they aim to expand their network to 100 centers around the world in 2023 and reach 1 million people in different geographies.

Şeref Ateş, who touched upon the institution’s work in 2022 in his interview with Anadolu Agency (AA), made remarks on their 2023 targets sharing that their goal for the year that marks the 100th anniversary of the republic is to "reach 1 million people, to teach them Turkish."

Ateş said that the institute received demands from all over the world, especially since the second half of 2022, as the effects of COVID-19 started to decline worldwide. Moreover, he noted that YEE was operating much more intensively with digital broadcasts in 2020-2021.

Emphasizing that the interest and demand are precious for the institute, he said that requests for opening YEE institutes were received not only from geographies close to Türkiye but also from distant locations such as Latin America and the Far East. These requests that came both in official contacts, in bilateral meetings, or through the Ministry of Foreign Affairs are "significant for the state of the Republic of Türkiye, but more importantly, they are of great value for Turkish culture," Ateş noted.

Ateş also gave an account of face-to-face activities, noting they increased in the second half of 2022 as they started to teach Turkish in their classrooms while continuing to teach Turkish remotely. He said that more than 250,000 people learned Turkish during this period.

He also explained that within the project named "My Choice is Turkish," which YEE realized for primary, secondary, and high school students in agreement with schools abroad, they ensured that Turkish was added to the list of elective courses.

"Yunus Emre Institutes continue to work all over the world for Türkiye to be seen, to be known, to be recognized and to increase its prestige all over the world," Ateş underscored, noting that they continue to work following Yunus Emre’s "Let’s get acquainted" philosophy.

Underlining that according to Yunus Emre and Turkish culture, people are at the top as "the humans, living things, and soul" is the most precious thing, he said that other characteristics that then define humans come underneath. "Then it is his ethnic structure, religious belonging, and personal characteristics. We tried to bring it forward for the benefit of the general public. That’s why our culture, arts, digital activities, and Turkish teaching linger behind this philosophy."

Stating that the institute constantly receives invitations from all geographies due to the inclusiveness of YEE’s philosophy, Ateş also noted that they have started to do projects in line with the characteristics of the digital age and that the "the Acquaintance" (or in Turkish "Tanışkan") project was developed based on Yunus Emre’s philosophy.

Ateş also noted that they have already translated Yunus Emre’s Divan poems into seven languages. He explained that Turkishness is not only an ethnic identity but "an umbrella and a protector."

"This institute, which was established 10 years ago, is now fulfilling its mission with more than 80 institutes on five continents", he said and maintained that the essential characteristic of Turks is they can act and organize quickly when it comes to a good deed.

'100 centers on 100th anniversary'

With the decision we set up last year, we said, ‘Let’s knit the whole world with cultural networks every year.’ So our motto is ‘To the knit the world with 100 cultural centers on the 100th anniversary.’

The presentation and spreading of this slogan are essential for YEE, Ateş explained. "To reach the goal, we have to move fast; thus, we are in contact with different universities worldwide. Right now, we have 85 centers. We hope to complete this goal by opening 15 centers this year, in the 100th year of the Turkish republic to obtain 100 cultural centers," Ateş added.

Eight cultural centers will be opened in January, while Ateş also shared the information that they plan to launch activities in Baghdad in February.

"With God’s will, we aim to widely spread the Turkish language as a language of communication, science and philosophy, both in the region and worldwide," Ateş concluded.