On Thursday, April 30, 2026, the IUS Turkish Language and Literature, Teaching (TLT) study program organized the fifth session of the Turkology Talks series, featuring Dr. Mehmet Akif Yaman, Coordinator of the Yunus Emre Institute Sarajevo (YEE), as the keynote speaker.
Titled “The Role of the Yunus Emre Institute in Turkish Language Instruction within Bosnia and Herzegovina,” the session offered students and attendees a valuable overview of the Institute’s educational, cultural, and diplomatic role in the region. Through his presentation, Dr. Yaman highlighted the significance of the Yunus Emre Institute Sarajevo as the first Turkish Cultural Center established by the Institute outside Turkiye, underlining its special place in the development of Turkish language and culture abroad.
During the talk, Dr. Yaman pointed to the steady growth in the number of course participants, noting that the Sarajevo center serves a broad and diverse group of Bosnian citizens. He also gave special attention to the successful “My Choice is Turkish” (Tercihim Türkçe) project, which has played an important role in integrating Turkish into the formal curriculum of many schools in Bosnia and Herzegovina as a primary second foreign language. This initiative was presented as a significant contribution to the institutional presence of Turkish language education within the country’s educational system.
In addition to language teaching, the presentation showed that the work of the Yunus Emre Institute extends into a wide range of cultural activities aimed at strengthening intercultural dialogue and mutual understanding. Among the programs regularly organized by the Institute are annual painting and essay competitions, poetry recitals, screenings of contemporary and classical Turkish films, and practical workshops in traditional Turkish-Islamic arts such as hat (calligraphy) and ebru (paper marbling).
Dr. Yaman emphasized that the Yunus Emre Institute serves as an important bridge between Bosnia and Herzegovina and Turkiye, contributing not only to language education but also to stronger socio-cultural and diplomatic ties between the two countries. He particularly highlighted the important role of Turkology students, describing them as key stakeholders and future contributors to the continuation and strengthening of these academic and cultural connections.
The event concluded with a certificate presentation ceremony, followed by a group photograph of the participants and organizers, marking the successful end of another meaningful session within the Turkology Talks series.
