― 5 июля 2021 г.

First event of TURKSOY on the African continent: Exhibition of Yunus Emre, the Pioneer of the Civilization of Love

Within the framework of the Year of Yunus Emre and Turkic Language declared by the President of the Republic of Turkey Recep Tayyip Erdoğan on the occasion of the 700th anniversary of the birthday of  Yunus Emre, an exhibition entitled  "Yunus Emre, the Pioneer of the Civilization of Love" was inaugurated in the National Museum of the Democratic Republic of Congo.

The exhibition which featured works of art made with the support of the Faculty of Fine Arts of the Anatolian University of Eskişehir and the Institute of Arts and Crafts  entered history as the first event to have been carried out by TURKSOY on the African continent.

The exhibition was inaugurated by the Minister of Culture Art and Heritage of the Democratic Republic of Congo Catherine Kathungu Furaha and the Secretary General of  TURKSOY Ambassador Kasseinov. The event gathered the Ambassador of the Republic of Turkey to Kinshasa H. E.  Mehmet Munis Dirik and the Coordinator of the Second Turkey Africa  Partnership Summit, Ambassador Can Incesu amongst others. The opening of the exhibition was preceded by the signature ceremony of the Cooperation Agreement between TURKSOY and the the Democratic Republic of Congo.

The Ambassador of the Republic of Turkey to Kinshasa  H. E.  Mehmet Munis Dirik who attended the event said the following words regarding the exhibition: “On behalf of the Embassy of the Republic of Turkey in Kinshasa  I must say that as a Turkish citizen, I was very moved by the way in which TURKSOY took its first step to extend the scope of its activities to Africa with this event in the Democratic Republic of Congo. I hope that we will be giving impetus to this initiative and further pursue our activities to foster the cooperation between TURKSOY and Africa in all fields.”

In the press conference she organized after the opening of the exhibition,  the Minister of Culture Art and Heritage of the DRC  Mrs. Catherine Kathungu Furaha said that she was very impressed by words of Yunus Emre and the concept of love in his spiritual philosophy. Minister Furaha further added that the cooperation established with TURKSOY will contribute to widening the scope of the promotion of both the culture of the Turkic World and of Africa while offering major opportunitites as to the exchange of experiences. Minister Furaha stressed that: “With this agreement, our artists will participate in activities carried out by  TURKSOY and come together with young people of the Turkic World, hence getting acquainted with their culture while introucing our culture to them. When I talked to my advisors before meeting with H. E. Kasseinov, the Secretary General of TURKSOY, the information they gave to me about the latter led me to think that TURKSOY is almost too extraordinary to be real. When I saw the event we have carried out today  and the gift especially prepared by Secretary General Kasseinov for us about our national hero Patrice Lumumba, I realized how mistaken this assumption of mine actually was. I assure you that I will be doing my very best to contribute to the deepening and strengthening of our mutual cooperation especially in the fields of education,  science and culture  even if we may be appointed to different functions  in the  future.

Kasanda Lusamba Serge from the Ministry who also said a few words about his impressions regarding the exhibition stressed that: “As you know, today is a big day. We have celebrated the 61st anniversary of our independence. Culture has the power to bring peoples closer together.  The Democratic Republic of Congo is a very big country  and this agreement signed by our Ministry and  TURKSOY will contribute to the promotion of our rich cultural heritage as well as to our rapprochement with the Turkic World. This rapprochement will bring not only the Turkic World and the DRC but also the Turkic World and Africa closer together. I would therefore like to express my gratitude to the Secretary Genersal of TURKSOY  Mr. Kasseinov.”

Within the framnework of his meetings in Africas TURKSOY Secretary General Kasseinov also met with officials in Kinshasa, the Capital of the Democratic Republic of Congo as well as in the city of Addis Ababa in Ethiopia where the Headquarters of the African Union are located. In these meetings, Secretary General Kasseinov and his counterparts exchanged views on the cooperation agreement to be signed in the near future by TURKSOY with the African Union as well as on projects to foster cultural interaction among countries of the African continent and the Turkic World.