President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan attended the TÜGVA Summer Schools Final Program held by the Turkey Youth Foundation (TÜGVA) at Rams Istanbul Stadium. In his speech, he said in summary: LIKE A FLOWER GARDEN We are together once again at the Turkey Youth Foundation Summer Schools Final, organized under the theme 'Let Our Summer School Be Colorful'.
In beautiful Istanbul, where the Seven Hills smile in brotherhood, blue winds blow over the Bosphorus, and the spirit of conquest is etched into hearts; we are together in this beautiful atmosphere that resembles a colorful flower garden. The pioneers of a great and powerful Türkiye, the TEKNOFEST generation, mashallah, are once again shaking the earth and sky.
I wholeheartedly thank the esteemed executives, members, volunteers, and all my brothers and sisters of the Turkey Youth Foundation who contributed to the preparation of this wonderful program. From here, I send my greetings to all the youth in our heartfelt geography and different parts of the world who are following us, praying for us, and whose hearts beat with ours even though they are far away.
I sincerely greet all our children in Gaza, the West Bank, and Lebanon who are struggling to hold on to life under Israel's brutal attacks; your Palestinian and Lebanese brothers and sisters. I say, may our Lord be their friend and helper; and I hereby declare that the hearts of their brothers and sisters in Türkiye beat together with them.
A BEAUTY BEYOND WORDS Our TÜGVA continues to accomplish works that make our chest swell with pride, with its executives, members, and professional and volunteer instructors. Remember: 'How great is that divine essence; a faithless, rusty heart is a burden in the chest.'
TÜGVA makes every effort heart and soul to raise a youth that clings tightly to national and spiritual values, is aware of its potential, conscious, dignified, knowledgeable, and self-confident. This year, TÜGVA touched the lives of our youth by reaching more than 700,000 participants in its summer schools, setting a new record.
Our Turkey Youth Foundation became the country's largest youth movement by touching the lives of over 1.5 million young people just this year. During the six-week TÜGVA summer schools, approximately 460,000 of our students completed Quran education. Some 232,000 students received tajweed training. More than 387,000 young people attended Ottoman language classes.
Hundreds of thousands of our children participated in educational, sports, cultural, and artistic activities rich in content. Most importantly, they came to understand the rich heritage inherited from the past. YOU WILL SHAPE TÜRKİYE Youth is the main artery of this nation. Just as the artery carries the blood pumped by the heart to the entire body, youth carries society's energy, ideals, and goals from the past to the future.
Thanks to this artery, the past, present, and future meet on the same line. Those who strive to prevent our youth from understanding their ancestors who cut continents like silk fabric, and from encountering history and civilization, cannot stomach TÜGVA for this very reason. These are the reasons why the apple of our eye organizations like TÜGVA become targets of a vocal minority.
THOSE DAYS ARE NOW BEHIND US The reason they throw fits of anger instead of feeling proud when they look at you is the magnificent sight before us. Whatever they do, they cannot block the path of this youth before me. They cannot tear this country's youth from their spiritual roots and faith values. They can no longer use the pure children of this nation as tools for their dirty games and schemes, as they did many times in the past.
Those days are now behind us. Those dark days are gone forever, left in the old Türkiye. We will never leave our youth, our beloved children, alone. We will never abandon our children who will take on Türkiye's bright future. You are a visionary generation that will leave Türkiye's mark on the 21st century. You will be strong, resolute, and self-confident. You will not bow your necks to others.
No matter the circumstances, you will not give up on yourselves. To do that, you will be knowledgeable, visionary, and courageous. You will not let go of justice, conscience, compassion, and wisdom. I ask all of you to think big and dream big. I want you to aim for the stars and advance towards your goals tirelessly and undeterred.
I wholeheartedly believe that each of you will bring honor to Türkiye in the future and become the standard-bearer of the Turkish Century. WE WILL WORK WITH ALL OUR MIGHT As the President of Türkiye, I am thrilled for our country's future when I look at you. I am proud of each and every one of you, and I have great confidence in you. The late Prof. Dr. Ali Fuat Başgil, who said, 'A person is human not by intelligence and knowledge, but only by will,'
Ali Fuat Başgil expressed the path to success through will and hard work with these words: 'One often sees people with little or no knowledge who have succeeded. But not a single example can be shown of a person with weak will who has succeeded and risen high. The most moral and humane expression of will, discipline, and the struggle against the self is working itself.'
DO NOT FORGET PALESTINE 'Do not forget that prayers are being made for Palestine right now. Do not forget that the hearts of Asian and African children beat with you. Do not forget that you have millions of brothers and sisters in the Turkish Islamic world who share the same horizon and the same ideals. As the late Abdurrahim Karakoç said: 'Be the light that tears through dirty darkness. Be the rain that falls on thirsty hearts. Do not become mud by looking at those who splash mud.'
Be the halal dough carrying the leaven of truth.' THEY WANT TO BLOCK TÜGVA'S PATH President Erdoğan said, 'Our TÜGVA, which works tooth and nail for our youth, is worthy of this vital task. Those who are eager to find fault with everything beneficial for Türkiye want to block TÜGVA's path precisely for this reason.'
'Those who try to hinder every work that will lead our nation to its centuries-old dreams target TÜGVA for this very reason,' he said. WE WILL CONTINUE RUNNING AND WORKING TÜGVA Chairman İbrahim Beşinci said, 'We are raising a youth who are not trying to be someone else but succeeding in being themselves. We are raising a youth who are strengthened by their faith and elevated by their values. God is our witness.'
We will reach everywhere darkness falls and the sun rises. Whether it is the mountain peak or the middle of the plain, we will gather at the same table. We will not give up on a single child, a single individual, a single soul of this homeland. Like blood flowing in the veins, we will keep running and working without stopping, tiring, or slowing down, even for a moment.
GIANT BANNERS UNFURLED IN THE STANDS During the enthusiastic evening, giant posters were displayed in the stands of RAMS Park, featuring Fatih Sultan Mehmed, Yavuz Sultan Selim, Sultan Abdülhamid II, and also Erdoğan with TÜGVA youth. A film prepared specially for the Summer Schools Final was shown. Then, while TÜGVA Chairman İbrahim Beşinci was speaking, an activity video describing the foundation's work was screened.
During the event where students from the summer schools recited poems, a giant banner reading 'A Youth Is Coming Always with the Same Spirit' was unfurled in the stands. A MEANINGFUL GIFT FOR ERDOĞAN At the end of the program, TÜGVA Chairman Beşinci presented President Erdoğan with a glass artwork depicting the Palestine support march held on Galata Bridge.
Afterward, President Erdoğan presented graduation certificates to the students who completed the Summer Schools. The program, where some students kissed Erdoğan's hand, ended with a commemorative photo and then concerts and stage performances by Maher Zain, Arslanbek Sultanbekov, Fadıl Aydın, and Celal Karatüre.
