Yunus Emre Institute continues to commemorate the turning points of the deep-rooted and glorious history of the Turkish nation and important figures in the national struggle of the Turkish nation all over the world with the events it organizes.

A special event was held by Baku Yunus Emre Enstitüsü on March 11, 2023, on the occasion of the 150th anniversary of Mehmet Akif Ersoy's birth and the 102nd anniversary of the adoption of the National Anthem.

The event hosted by the Institute was attended by T.C. Baku Ambassador Cahit Bağcı, Baku Yunus Emre Enstitüsü Coordinator Selçuk Karakılıç, Baku State University Eastern Sciences Faculty Dean Assoc. Dr. Aydan Handan, Director of the Center for Turkish Studies at the University of Foreign Languages, Assoc. Dr. Elçin İbrahim and Director of the Turkish Chamber of Pedagogical University Elman Guliyev, writers, academicians and students attended.

SYMBOL NAME OF THE TURKISH PEOPLE'S STRUGGLE FOR LIBERATION: MEHMET AKIF ERSOY

Delivering the protocol speeches in the program that started with the singing of the Turkish National Anthem and the Azerbaijan National Anthem, Ambassador Bağcı said that Mehmet Akif Ersoy is one of the symbols of the Turkish people's struggle for liberation.

Stating that the struggle for independence continues on the field, Bağcı said, "Mehmet Akif Ersoy ignited the struggle and breathed the spirit with the way he was brought up, the knowledge he received, the way he expressed the feelings of the society." 

Bağcı said, “We see the most important language and emotions of the understanding of not letting the banner of independence and sovereignty fall on the ground, in the words of Mehmet Akif Ersoy. What Mehmet Akif Ersoy wrote is the name of resisting oppression and imperialism with faith.”

Baku Yunus Emre Enstitüsü Coordinator Selçuk Karakılıç said that the National Anthem is a national agreement text that draws the framework for the values that make the Turkish nation a nation.