Azernews.Az

By News Centre

Necmeddin Bilal Erdoğan, a member of the High Advisory Board of the Turkish Youth Foundation (TÜGVA), said that the values that made these lands a homeland and bind the nation together must be passed on to future generations, adding that TÜGVA reached 700,000 young people through its summer schools.

Speaking at the TÜGVA İzmir Summer Schools Final Program held at the ancient city of Ephesus, Erdoğan said Ephesus is one of the important centers demonstrating that Anatolia has been home to ancient civilizations.

Emphasizing the need to preserve the values of these lands, Erdoğan said: "If we want to be able to say that these lands will remain our homeland for another thousand years, then we must preserve for another thousand years the values that made these lands our homeland, connected us to these lands and made us brothers here, just as we have preserved them for a thousand years. If we lose these values, if our unity falls apart, if we do not live by the values that made these lands our homeland, we cannot call these lands our homeland for another thousand years. It is not that easy."

Erdoğan noted that the Umayyad Caliphate of Córdoba had created a significant civilization on the Iberian Peninsula for 800 years, saying:

"What is there on the Iberian Peninsula today? There is Spain. Is there a Muslim minority? Almost none. Are there remnants of the Islamic civilization there? Almost none. They have virtually erased it. They carried out genocide, massacres, destruction — whatever was necessary — so that there would never again be Muslims on the Iberian Peninsula, so that Islam would not come to mind, and so that no one who would preserve that heritage would ever return there."

Erdoğan stressed that President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan had set the goal of the "Century of Türkiye" before young people, emphasizing that young people must embrace national and spiritual values in order to achieve these objectives.

Bilal Erdoğan said: "Therefore, if we want to preserve these lands for another thousand years, our President has opened a path before us. He called it the Century of Türkiye. If we are going to move forward with strong steps toward our President's goal of the Century of Türkiye, then we must first embrace the values that made these lands our homeland. TÜGVA reminded 700,000 young people of these values through its summer schools this year. While reminding them of these values, all our brothers and sisters who participated also had a good time."

Describing TÜGVA as a new-generation youth foundation, Erdoğan said it brings together young people working to increase beneficial initiatives in Türkiye and around the world.

Erdoğan said TÜGVA would continue reaching more young people, adding: "Every summer, the Turkish Youth Foundation will continue reaching more of our young brothers and sisters and children, until the goal of the Century of Türkiye ceases to be a utopia and becomes a reality for us. Therefore, amid all the turmoil in the world, while genocide is taking place in Gaza, while the Russia-Ukraine war continues, while the America/Israel-Iran war continues, and while unrest appears to be increasing around the world, we will continue to sing our song."