Skopje Yunus Emre Institute held a panel on "Turkish TV Series in the Balkans".

The panel hosted by the Institute was attended by Yunus Emre Institute Vice President Assoc. Prof. Ahmet Naim Çiçekler, YEI Skopje Coordinator Serhat Kula, lead actor of the series "Balkan Lullaby" Erdal Özyağcılar and series actors, representatives of Turkish institutions and cinephiles.

YEI Vice President Assoc. Prof. Ahmet Naim Çiçekler stated that Yunus Emre Institute carries out activities for promoting Turkish language and culture across the world with a focus on cultural diplomacy and emphasized that the Institute conducts its activities with the mission of increasing the number of people who are friendly to Turkey.

Vice President Assoc. Prof. Çiçekler stated: "We are the country that exports the second highest number of TV series in the world. Turkish TV series play an important role in promoting both Turkish language and culture to the world."

In his speech at the panel, actor Erkan Özyağcılar stated that the reason that he became fond of the Balkan geography was the series "Farewell Rumelia" and that they unlocked the old memories of the Balkan people with "Farewell Rumelia".

Noting that films and TV series convey intercultural issues very effectively, Özyağcılar said that he was very happy when he was offered the lead role in "Balkan Lullaby" and shared the following:

"We are receiving very good feedback about the series. Here, we are acting as cultural ambassadors through the series. The series is very popular in the Balkan region. That is no surprise to us; we made the series for this region."

Moderated by YEI Skopje Coordinator Serhat Kula, the panel included speeches by Özyağcılar, Balkan Lullaby series director Selahattin Sancaklı, producer and screenwriter Uğur Uzunok and series actress Selviye İnci.