I returned from Ankara with a full heart. Being selected by the Presidency for Turks Abroad and Related Communities (YTB) among 24 academics from across the Turkic world, and completing the Partnership in Turkic World Higher Education Certificate Program, was a true honour.
From Azerbaijan to Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan to Uzbekistan, Turkmenistan to Hungary, Türkiye to the TRNC — I sat at the same table with colleagues from eight countries. We discussed higher education policy, quality assurance, digital transformation and AI, science diplomacy, student mobility, and university-industry cooperation for regional development. I left every conversation with a new idea.
Representing the TRNC at such a table filled me with pride. But let me be honest: I filed away every connection and every lesson with the same question — what can I bring home to Tatlısu from this?
That is exactly what I mean when I say “I want to carry this legacy to Tatlısu”. If academic success stays with me, it is just a line on a CV; it gains meaning when it turns into service. I want to carry the Turkic world's knowledge to the TRNC and the TRNC's voice to the Turkic world — and one pillar of that bridge will be Tatlısu, where I was born and raised.
New doors can open for Tatlısu in education, technology, youth programs, international relations and economic development — and now I know the addresses of those doors. If elected mayor, I will put this legacy at my town's service; I already carry that excitement.
My path is lit by the words “unity in language, in thought, in work and in education”. And my summary never changes: from knowledge to service, from experience to the future…
