The Yunus Emre Institute (YEE), in its mission to promote and spread the Turkish language and culture worldwide, taught Turkish to approximately 91,000 people in 68 countries through 92 offices in 2024.
In 2024, YEE continued its mission to promote and spread the Turkish language and culture worldwide with determination.
This year, with the opening of 4 new cultural centers in 4 countries and expanding its activities, YEE continued its cultural diplomacy efforts with 92 cultural centers in 68 countries across six regions. Throughout 2024, YEE provided Turkish language training to nearly 40,000 students through face-to-face and online Turkish courses.
YEE also aimed to teach Turkish to children, and under the “My Preference is Turkish Project,” worked to introduce Turkish as an elective or mandatory foreign language in schools across different countries.
Through this project, the Institute ensured that around 41,000 students learned Turkish in 2024. Additionally, the “Turkology Project” supported departments of Turkology that train Turkish language experts in different climates, enabling them to spread Turkish across the globe.
The Institute also ensured that approximately 10,000 students learned Turkish in 2024 under the “Turkology Project.”
In 2024, YEE organized more than 1,000 cultural events in different parts of the world.
With panels, exhibitions, theater performances, concerts and other cultural activities, YEE introduced Turkish culture to a broad audience and contributed to the acceptance of Turkish cultural richness as a universal value.
At the end of 2024, YEE opened its first cultural center in Bishkek, the capital of Kyrgyzstan, and its second in Islamabad, the capital of Pakistan.
The Institute also combined the enchanting melodies of Anatolia with the universal language of jazz through the “Breezes of Anatolia Turkish Jazz Music Tour,” which brought together art lovers in 11 cities across six Balkan countries.
YEE President Abdurrahman Aliy also made statements regarding the Institute’s activities.
Since starting his position, Aliy has pointed out that YEE has worked tirelessly to fulfill its core mission of spreading the Turkish language and culture. He stated, “All of our activities, both in our domestic and foreign centers, are of great importance in terms of the efforts made.”
Aliy emphasized that since the opening of the first cultural center in Sarajevo, Bosnia and Herzegovina, in 2009, the Institute has been sharing Türkiye’s cultural heritage across a vast region for 15 years. He added, “We are witnessing firsthand that the number of people who are friends of Türkiye is increasing every day as a result of sharing this heritage. The inclusion of Turkish in the curricula of various countries through our ‘Turkology’ and ‘My Preference is Turkish’ projects and the strong interest shown by young people in these courses are concrete indicators of the friendships we have established.”
Additionally, Aliy highlighted the importance of many works carried out in cultural fields such as architecture, theater, cinema and literature at the Institute’s foreign cultural centers, which have been well-received by different segments of societies. He noted that this reflects the broad reach of cultural interaction.
Aliy also mentioned that this interaction was evident in activities held in Türkiye in 2024, saying, “The cultural events we organized this year within the scope of the Turkish-Hungarian Culture Year and the 100th anniversary of diplomatic relations between Türkiye and Japan have been followed with great interest by our people.”
He added that this year, the Institute hosted the European Language Examination Developers Association’s event in Istanbul, which is of great importance in the field of language testing and assessment. “Academics from leading universities such as Oxford and Georgetown attended this event, and after the event, many participants specifically praised Turkish hospitality and requested that this cooperation be strengthened through other activities, reflecting a different aspect of the bond we have built.”
Aliy also expressed pride in opening the first Turkish cultural center in Bishkek, Kyrgyzstan, and noted that requests for the Institute’s expansion in other parts of the world showcase its significant role in cultural diplomacy.
Aliy emphasized that YEE’s goals for 2025 are to touch more hearts with Yunus Emre’s inclusive perspective and to further increase the number of people who know the Turkish language and culture and are friends of Türkiye.