Chairman’s Message
My dear friends, my dear elders;
I must express on behalf of myself and my family that to carry out the duty of being the president of a community with high morals and a generous volunteer like you, an exemplar of personality like you; It is a great honor. I would like to express my gratitude to the Members of the Board of Trustees and the dear friends of our Foundation, who deemed me worthy of this position.
My dear friends, my dear elders;
As Balkan Immigrants, we are one of the founding and noble elements not only of the Ottoman Empire, but also of the great Republic of Turkey. We are the proud generation of “Those” brave and patriotic brave men who fought on the front lines in Gallipoli, Çanakkale, and the War of Independence, and willingly sacrificed their lives. We know that for everyone living in this great country, the words Balkans and Geography of the Heart actually complement each other in a very meaningful way.
The Balkans have strategic importance for the Republic of Turkey and have been so throughout history. Today, the work carried out by all levels of the Republic of Turkey reveals that ensuring stability and preventing crises in the Balkans is important for us. This is a factor that has a direct impact on the security of the region. Instability and conflict situations may threaten the security of both our country and all brotherly people living in the region.
Türkiye is not just about Turkey. Those who think that Turkey is just a drawn map are seriously mistaken. A strong Türkiye will be the guarantee of peace and trust in the region.
The Balkans is actually a very wide geography, a powerful mosaic that includes many different cultures. Missing a piece of it will actually spoil the whole thing. It is possible to see from the works that the Ottoman Empire, during its stay in this geography, redeveloped the region, made investments in language, culture, trade and education, and encouraged the development of human life.
However, throughout history, the Balkans have been an area of struggle for both internal and external powers with their natural resources, human resources and historical richness. They had troubled days from time to time and there were days when they hurt each other to the point of genocide.
Today, we are repairing the heirlooms of our ancestors with TİKA and our General Directorate of Foundations, cooperating with YTB in the field of education and culture, trying to protect our common values with our Yunus Emre Institute, and strengthening our commercial ties with our businessmen.
As a result, good relations with the Balkan States should be established and intensive trade, science and cultural activities should be developed. Efforts should be made to ensure that friendship and brotherhood flourish instead of conventional behavior and that all people living in the Balkan Geography live in peace.
With these feelings and thoughts, I offer you my love, respect and respect by saying, “We will work hard, our word is our promise”, as we said on the day we set out.