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President Şeker Spoke at the Summit Marking the 100th Anniversary of the First Congress of Turkology
30 JUN 2026

President Şeker Spoke at the Summit Marking the 100th Anniversary of the First Congress of Turkology

TÜBA President Prof. Dr. Muzaffer Şeker spoke at the “The Turkic World and International Scientific Cooperation” panel, held as part of the 100th Anniversary Summit of the First Congress of Turkology, organized in Baku by the Azerbaijan National Academy of Sciences (ANAS).

Organized as part of Turkic World Week activities, the program was held to commemorate the 100th anniversary of the First Turkology Congress, which took place in Baku in 1926; to assess the congress’s contributions to the shared scientific, linguistic, and cultural heritage of the Turkic world; and to strengthen international academic cooperation. As part of Turkic World Week, 126 scholars, researchers, and cultural representatives from 20 countries gathered in Baku. Following the opening remarks by ANAS President Academician Isa Habibbeyli, TÜBA President Prof. Dr. Muzaffer Şeker, Prof. Dr. Abdurrahman Aliy, President of the Yunus Emre Institute; Prof. Dr. Derya Örs, President of the Atatürk Cultural, Language, and History Higher Council; Prof. Dr. Osman Mert, President of the Turkish Language Association; and Prof. Dr. Gezim Hoxha, Head of the Department of Social Sciences and Albanology at the Albanian Academy of Sciences, delivered opening remarks.

During the “Turkic World and International Scientific Cooperation” panel held after the opening ceremony, Prof. Dr. Ramazan Korkmaz, Dr. Katibe Guliyeva, Prof. Dr. Süleyman Barbaros Yalçın, Dr. Şebnem Hasanlı Garibova, and Assoc. Prof. Dr. Şelale Ana Hümmetli delivered presentations on language, alphabets, shared cultural heritage, and scientific cooperation in the Turkic world.

We Continue to Strengthen Cooperation in the Field of Turkology.
In his speech, TÜBA President Prof. Dr. Muzaffer Şeker emphasized that the First Congress of Turkology was not merely an academic gathering but a historic turning point that shaped the shared scientific memory of the Turkic world. He noted that the shared understanding of language, alphabet, and terminology established in Baku in 1926 continues to serve as a guiding principle today.

Prof. Şeker, noted that TÜBA views supporting international research in the field of Turkology as a strategic mission. He explained that through the TÜBA Turkology Research Support Program, they offer researchers from various countries around the world the opportunity to conduct research in Türkiye; under the TÜBA Turkic-Islamic Scientific and Cultural Heritage Project, they contribute to the scientific community by preserving the shared cultural heritage; and through the International Turkology Summer Schools, they bring young researchers together. He also noted that efforts are ongoing under the umbrella of the Union of National Academies of Sciences of the Turkic World (UNASTW)—of which TÜBA currently holds the rotating presidency—to develop common terminology, a shared history, and collaborative scientific partnerships.

Concluding his remarks, President Şeker highlighted the importance of the support provided by Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev for the 100th anniversary of the First Turkology Congress. He expressed his belief that the panels and scientific events held during the summit would further strengthen scientific integration across the Turkic world and thanked the institutions that contributed to the organization of the event.