ANKARA YILDIRIM BEYAZIT UNIVERSITY
UNİDES TURKISH-ARABIC CULTURE AND ARABIC DIALECTS WORKSHOP
Within the scope of the University Student Communities Cooperation and Support Program (ÜNİDES), which is carried out by the General Directorate of Youth Services of the Ministry of Youth and Sports of the Republic of Turkey and aims to increase the interaction of youth offices with university student communities and contribute to the development of young people, 2 national, and 4 local projects from our university have been awarded support under the “2nd Semester (ÜNİDES) Program.” In this context, our university's Middle East Studies Club (ODAK) has implemented the project titled “Turkish-Arabic Culture and Arabic Dialects Workshop Project” with NATIONAL-level support.
The workshop program, coordinated by Dr. Mehmet Sadık GÜR, Academic Advisor of the Middle East Studies Club and one of our faculty members from the Department of Arabic Translation and Interpretation, coordinated by Dr. Mehmet Sadık GÜR, Academic Advisor of the Middle East Studies Club and one of our department academics. Supported nationally by the Ministry of Youth and Sports, the workshop program began on Friday, February 21, and was completed over three days at our Esenboğa Campus and related excursion areas.
The first day of the workshop held at the AYBÜ Esenboğa Campus, C Block Meeting Hall, began with the opening session attended by the protocol, featuring presentations by Project Coordinator Ebru AY and Middle East Studies Club Academic Advisor Dr. Mehmet Sadık GÜR on the project's application stages, acceptance process, and implementation stages. AYBÜ Vice Rector Prof. Dr. Mustafa ORÇAN addressed the workshop participants, academics, and protocol, stating that it was particularly valuable for the "Turkish-Arab Culture and Arabic Dialects Workshop " was first addressed in our country by volunteer students at our university campus, and emphasized that they would continue to provide all kinds of administrative and academic support in this regard. In his speech, Prof. Dr. Hüseyin TUTAR, Dean of the Faculty of Humanities and Social Sciences at AYBÜ, they attach importance to project applications, encourage academics and students in this regard, and stated that entrepreneurship sometimes comes to the fore with one person's idea and contains seeds that can affect social dynamics. They expressed the points they emphasized in their speeches in Arabic, surprising the Arab guests and students with a surprise.
Renad NOFAL, Cultural Attaché at the Embassy of the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan in Ankara, stated in his remarks that they were greatly honored to be invited to and participate in the program, that they were ready for any kind of cooperation and support on such matters, and that they wished to carry out joint programs.
As part of the program, the introductory panel, “The Cultural History of the Arabic Language in the Context of Dialects,” was moderated by Dr. Kamil KARASU, Associate Professor and Vice Chair of the Department of Eastern Languages and Literatures at AYBU İTBF. Speakers included Dr. Mehmet Sadık GÜR, Dr. Özlem Züleyha KURAN, Lecturer Dr. Hana Hussein Aboargob, and Lecturer Ayşe Sıdıka ALKAN provided information about dialects and cultural context, and then discussed their expectations and methods for our students in the afternoon sessions.
On the second day of the program, Saturday, February 22, the first session featured a presentation on the Workshop Idea (Project Design and Implementation) by the Project Team, followed by a talk by Kazakh Erasmus students, interpreted by Tahir Charyev and Ayşe Yavuz. A discussion was held on the theoretical aspects of how career management should be conducted.
Esra AKÇAY and İnayet AKSOY BİNGÖL from the AYBU Career Center and Seyda TOPAL, District Sports Director of Çubuk, provided information on the theoretical aspects of careers. Following this, under the moderation of Dr. Mehmet Sadık GÜR, Ahmet TUTUK, Serhat SAİTOĞLU, Sündüs DİKÇE, doctoral student Tahir CHARYEV, and master's student Duygu BAKIR, who are currently studying at the academy, spoke about the current dynamics of career and language learning. The contribution of our graduates to the program added a special touch to the workshop.
This was followed by a country promotional video and a quiz. Students Mehmet Emin Geylan from Selçuk University, Mahire Hilal Adıyaman from Selçuk University, and Duha Dudu Karaca from Ankara Yıldırım Beyazıt University recited poetry. At the end of the second day, the students were presented with certificates of participation, followed by a Turkish and Arabic music recital.
On Sunday, February 23, 2025, following a visit to the Presidential National Library, a visit was made to the Bedir Complex building in Keçiören, which is a partner organization in the project, the ISILAY Foundation. After lunch, the late Lütfi DOĞAN, founder of the Foundation and former President of the Directorate of Religious Affairs, was introduced by the officials, while Dr. Mehmet Sadık GÜR presented İLAMER, the academic unit affiliated with the Foundation.
Then, the Hacı Bayram Veli Mosque in the historic Ulus district and the Grand National Assembly of Turkey Independence Museum and Republic Museum were visited, and our workshop tour program was completed with great enthusiasm and in a festive atmosphere.
The reports by Müberya Karaca, Ayşe Yavuz, and Duha Dudu Karaca, who served as rapporteurs for the project, will be published along with a dictionary of Arabic dialects, which will be prepared after review by our professors.
