The certification ceremony for the Turkish Language Teaching Project, a collaboration between Ankara Yıldırım Beyazıt University, the Turkish Education Union, and the Turkmeneli Student and Youth Union, was held in Kirkuk, Iraq, on October 26, 2025.
At the ceremony hosted by the Turkmeneli Student and Youth Union General Presidency, 50 Turkish teachers participating in the project, run by our university's Language Education Application and Research Center (DİLMER), completed the "Training of Trainers Program for Teachers Teaching Turkish as a Foreign Language" and earned certificates. Additionally, 210 Turkmen students received C1 level Turkish proficiency certificates after successfully completing the Turkish Language Exemption Exam.
The program was attended by our university's Vice Rector Prof. Dr. Abdullah YILDIZ, our Secretary General Dr. Mümin ŞEN, and the DİLMER faculty members who implemented the project. Speaking on behalf of our university, Vice Rector Prof. Dr. Abdullah YILDIZ stated, “This project is not just a language teaching activity; it is the re-strengthening of our cultural memory, identity, and brotherhood. Keeping the Turkish language alive in Kirkuk is the strongest indicator of our shared history.”
Also present at the ceremony were project partners Talip Geylan, President of the Turkish Education Union (Türk Eğitim Sen), Cengiz Kocakaplan, Vice President of the Turkish Education Union, Mehmet Seman Ağaoğlu, President of the Turkmeneli Front, and Murat İmadeddin, President of the Turkmeneli Student and Youth Union.
Speeches emphasized that the project improves the quality of Turkish language instruction among Iraqi Turkmens, facilitates young people's access to educational opportunities in Turkey, and strengthens language awareness in Turkmeneli.
The ceremony concluded with the presentation of certificates and a commemorative group photo.
The program also included a courtesy visit to Mehmet Seman Ağaoğlu, President of the Turkmeneli Front, and Murat İmdadeddin, President of the Turkmeneli Student and Youth Union.
