International Young Writers Meet in Istanbul

"The '3rd International Young Writers Meeting' and the 'YTB A World of Literature Awards Ceremony,' organized by the Presidency for Turks Abroad and Related Communities (YTB), were held in Istanbul."

“The ‘3rd International Young Writers Meeting’ was held at the Istanbul Rami Library by the Presidency for Turks Abroad and Related Communities (YTB) to strengthen the teams of the magazines Telve, Bağlar, and Her Boydan, which are prepared under its auspices, and to increase the interaction among their writers. Within the scope of the program, the winners of the ‘YTB A World of Literature Awards’ competition, organized by YTB with the participation of the Turkish diaspora, related communities, and international students, were also announced.”

 The program was attended by media and civil society representatives, academics, consuls general in Istanbul, writers from Turkey and young writers from 28 countries.

 “We Will Talk About the Effect of Literature to Make Gaza's Voice Heard”

“YTB President Abdullah Eren, speaking at the event, reminded that the International Young Writers Meeting was being held for the third time this year. Eren stated that last year, this gathering was held in Kahramanmaraş to show support for the earthquake-stricken region, while this year it was organized in Istanbul in memory of Gazan poets and writers. Stating that they will talk about the impact of literature in order to make Gaza's voice heard in the events that will last for 5 days, Eren said, ‘The International Young Writers Meeting, which we are holding for the third time this year, brings together young writers from our diaspora, related communities, and international students who come to our country from all around the world to study. This journey, which started with the aim of bringing together our European youth who think and write in Turkish and creating the literature of European Turks, has gradually evolved to include our kin communities in the Balkans and international students studying in our country through the Türkiye Scholarships who do not speak Turkish as their native language.’”

Pointing out that the whole world witnesses the exemplary stance of Gazans every day, Eren said, “We have to show sensitivity to tell their stories and make their voices heard in every work we do. All the young people here have been involved in YTB's work in different programs and and each of them is praiseworthy. Many of them are publishing books to the extent that they organize book signings today.  There is another difference this year. This year we will give A World of Literature Awards. I congratulate all my brothers and sisters who have already received awards. The heroes of this program are 84 young people from 24 countries.”

“Ecem Tuba Hızarcı from France spoke on behalf of Telve magazine, Behiya Arıkan from Bosnia and Herzegovina on behalf of Bağlar magazine, and Abdulvahab Mustafa from Azerbaijan on behalf of Her Boydan magazine.

Ertuğrul Sabuncu from Germany, Mehmed Arif from North Macedonia, and Ali Fahd from Nigeria presented poetry readings to the program participants.

As part of the speeches centered around YTB’s activities conducted under the motto ‘Think, Dream, Write in Turkish’ and the significance of Turkish on its journey to becoming a world language, writers Celal Fedai, Cemal Şakar, and Prof. Dr. Mustafa Kurt delivered their remarks.

Awards were presented to young writers who placed in five different categories in the ‘YTB A World of Literature Awards’ competition. The opening of the 3rd International Young Writers Meeting and the YTB A World of Literature Awards Ceremony concluded with a group photo.”