Finland Tatar Youth Summer School Commenced

The “Finland Tatar Youth Summer School” program, organized by the Presidency for Turks Abroad and Related Communities (YTB), has officially started. As part of the program, 10 Finland Tatar youth aged between 17 and 21, who received Turkish language education for nine months under the Finland Islamic Congregation, gathered in Istanbul.

​The program aims to enable young people to improve their Turkish language competencies, strengthen their cultural ties with Türkiye, and get to know Turkish culture closely. The participant group, consisting of three female and seven male students, has the opportunity to practice the language and participate in cultural activities for two weeks.

​Within the scope of the program, while an activity-based and practical Turkish language training program is prepared for the youth, various workshops and cultural events are also carried out. Thanks to activities such as paper marbling (Ebru) art, geometric patterns in Islamic art, Turkish cuisine, traditional archery, Turkish cinema nights, and the screening and workshop of the Hacivat and Karagöz shadow play, participants obtain the opportunity to experience different aspects of Turkish culture.

​In addition, informative activities on Turkish architecture, Turkish music, traditional handicrafts, Ottoman history, and the period of the War of Independence are organized at the summer school. Thus, it is aimed for the youth to get to know the common history and cultural heritage more closely.

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Cultural excursions to Bursa, İznik, and Eskişehir were also carried out as part of the Istanbul-based program. During these visits, participants found the opportunity to see historical and cultural sites on-site and closely get to know Türkiye’s rich heritage of civilization.

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The Finland Tatar Youth Summer School organized by YTB contributes to the strengthening of the mother tongue skills of Tatar youth in Finland, while also supporting the transmission of cultural and historical ties with Türkiye to future generations.