International Organization of Turkic Culture
The International Organization of Turkic Culture (Turkish: Uluslararası Türk Kültürü Teşkilatı, Türksoy) is an international cultural organization of countries with Turkic populations, speaking languages belonging to the Turkic language family. Other than being an abbreviation of the former official name Türk Kültür ve Sanatları Ortak Yönetimi ('Joint Administration of Turkic Culture and Arts'), Türksoy is also a compound noun in Turkish, made up of the words Türk (Turkic) and soy (ancestry).
International Organization of Turkic Culture Uluslararası Türk Kültürü Teşkilatı (Türksoy) | |
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![]() Sovereign (green) and other members (cyan) of Türksoy | |
Headquarters | ![]() |
Official language | Turkish (official language) Russian, English (working languages) |
Members[1] |
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Leaders | |
• General Secretary | Sultanbai Raev |
Establishment | 1993 |
Website https://www.turksoy.org |
The General Secretary of Türksoy is Sultanbai Raev, the former Minister of Culture of Krygyzstan and deputy General Secretary of Organization of Turkic States. Türksoy has its headquarters in Ankara, Turkey.
History
The organization has its roots in meetings during 1992 in Baku and Istanbul, where the ministers of culture from Azerbaijan, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Uzbekistan, Turkey, and Turkmenistan declared their commitment to cooperate in a joint cultural framework. Türksoy was subsequently established by an agreement signed on 12 July 1993 in Almaty.
In 1996, an official cooperation between Türksoy and UNESCO was established, involving mutual consultations and reciprocal representation.[2]
Since its establishment, the Turkic Council has acted as an umbrella organization for Türksoy and a number of related organizations.[3]
Members
As of 2016, Türksoy has six sovereign member states and three non-sovereign observer states.[1]
Member state | Language | Date | Notes |
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Azerbaijani | 1993 | |
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Kazakh | 1993 | |
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Kyrgyz | 1993 | |
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Turkish | 1993 | |
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Turkmen | 1993 | |
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Uzbek | 1993 | |
Observer state | Language | Date | Notes |
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Bashkir | 1993 | a federal subject of Russia. Stopped attending projects as of 2015,[4][5][6] continued after a brief period.[7] |
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Tatar | 1993 | a federal subject of Russia. |
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Khakas | 1996 | a federal subject of Russia. Stopped attending projects as of 3 December 2015,[8] continued after a brief period.[9] |
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Gagauz | 1999 | an autonomous region of Moldova. |
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Turkish | 1993 | a de facto independent republic recognized only by Turkey; see Cyprus dispute. |
Past members
Five Russian federal subjects left Türksoy after a Russian aircraft was shot down by Turkish forces in late 2015.[4][5][6]
Observer state | Language | Date | Notes |
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Altay | 2003 | a federal subject of Russia. |
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Sakha (Yakut) | 2003 | a federal subject of Russia. |
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Tuvan | 1996 | a federal subject of Russia. |

Past and future population
List of countries by past and future population provides the 1950, 2000 and 2050 population data, while the 2100 data is from the United Nations medium fertility variant projection.
Rank | Country | Area (km²) | 1950 | 2000 | 2050 | 2100 |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1 | ![]() | 783,562 | 21,122,000 | 65,970,000 | 89,291,000 | 87,983,000 |
2 | ![]() | 447,400 | 6,293,000 | 25,042,000 | 35,117,000 | 32,077,000 |
3 | ![]() | 2,724,900 | 6,694,000 | 15,688,000 | 22,238,000 | 24,712,000 |
4 | ![]() | 86,600 | 2,886,000 | 8,464,000 | 11,210,000 | 9,636,000 |
5 | ![]() | 199,900 | 1,739,000 | 4,938,000 | 7,064,000 | 9,046,000 |
6 | ![]() | 488,100 | 1,205,000 | 4,386,000 | 6,608,000 | 5,606,000 |
Total | 4,730,462 | 39,939,000 | 124,488,000 | 171,528,000 | 169,060,000 |
Land and water area
This list includes dependent territories within their sovereign states (including uninhabited territories), but does not include claims on Antarctica. EEZ+TIA is the exclusive economic zone (EEZ), plus total internal area (TIA) which includes land and internal waters. This table excludes any area in the Caspian Sea.
Rank | Country | Area (km²) | EEZ (km²) | Shelf (km²) | EEZ+TIA (km²) |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
1 | ![]() | 2,724,900 | 0 | 0 | 2,724,900 |
2 | ![]() | 783,562 | 261,654 | 56,093 | 1,045,216 |
3 | ![]() | 488,100 | 0 | 0 | 488,100 |
4 | ![]() | 447,400 | 0 | 0 | 447,400 |
5 | ![]() | 199,900 | 0 | 0 | 199,900 |
6 | ![]() | 86,600 | 0 | 0 | 86,600 |
Total | 4,730,462 | 261,654 | 56,093 | 4,992,116 |
Activities
Since its establishment, Türksoy has been "carrying out activities to strengthen the ties of brotherhood and solidarity among Turkic peoples, transmit the common Turkic culture to future generations and introduce it to the world."[10]
Activities and events include:
- Gatherings of artists, photographers, painters, opera singers, poets, journalists, theatre, dance and music ensembles of the Turkic World
- Monthly journal published in three languages
- Publishing works written in various Turkic languages and dialects
- Commemoration of artists, authors, poets and scholars in recognition of their valuable contribution to Turkic culture
- Symposia and conferences covering topics on the common history, language, culture and art of Turkic peoples
- Nevruz Day celebrations including concerts and events held in the UNESCO Headquarters in 2010, the United Nations General Assembly Hall in 2011, and various other countries including Germany, Austria, and the United Kingdom.
Cultural Capital of the Turkic World
Every year, Türksoy selects one city in the Turkic world to be the "Cultural Capital of the Turkic World". The chosen city hosts a number of events to celebrate Turkic culture.[11][10]
The cities that have been awarded this title are:
- 2012: Astana (now Nur-Sultan), Kazakhstan
- 2013: Eskişehir, Turkey
- 2014: Kazan, Tatarstan
- 2015: Merv, Turkmenistan
- 2016: Shaki, Azerbaijan[11]
- 2017: Turkistan, Kazakhstan
- 2018: Kastamonu, Turkey[12]
- 2019: Osh, Kyrgyzstan
- 2020: Khiva, Uzbekistan[13]
- 2022: Bursa, Turkey[14]
- 2023: Shusha, Azerbaijan[15]
Commemorative years
Since 2010, Türksoy has selected at least one figure from Turkic culture every year to dedicate their activities to.
Year | Person | Description |
---|---|---|
2010 | Zeki Velidi Togan[16] | Bashkir historian, 120th anniversary of his birth |
2011 | Ğabdulla Tuqay[17] | Tatar poet, 125th anniversary of his birth |
2012 | Nikolai Katanov (az)[18] | Khakas Turkologist, 150th anniversary of his birth |
Mirza Fatali Akhundov[19] | Azerbaijani writer, 200th anniversary of his birth | |
2013 | Mukan Tulebaev (tr)[20] | Kazakh musician, 100th anniversary of his birth |
2014[21] | Magtymguly Pyragy | Turkmen poet |
Toktogul Satylganov | Kyrgyz poet | |
2015[22] | Haldun Taner | Turkish writer, 100th anniversary of his birth |
Semyon Kadyshev | Khakas dastan writer, 130th anniversary of his birth | |
2016 | Yūsuf Balasaguni[23] | Turkic philosopher and poet, 1000th anniversary of his birth |
2017 | Molla Panah Vagif[24] | Azerbaijani poet, 300th anniversary of his birth |
2018[25] | Gara Garayev | Azerbaijani composer, 100th anniversary of his birth |
Magzhan Zhumabayev | Kazakh poet, 125th anniversary of his birth | |
Chinghiz Aitmatov | Kyrgyz writer, 90th anniversary of his birth | |
2019[26] | Imadaddin Nasimi | Azerbaijani poet, 650th anniversary of his birth |
Âşık Veysel | Turkish folk singer, 125th anniversary of his birth | |
2020 | Abai Qunanbaiuly[27] | Kazakh poet and intellectual, 175th anniversary of his birth |
2022[14] | Toktobolot Abdumomunov (ru) | Kyrgyz writer, 100th anniversary of his birth |
Fikret Amirov | Azerbaijani composer, 100th anniversary of his birth | |
Süleyman Çelebi (tr) | Turkish sufi, 600th anniversary of his death |
Funding
Türksoy is funded by contributions paid by individual member states, local governments, universities and NGOs.[10]
List of Secretaries-General
No. | Name | Country of origin | Took office | Left office |
---|---|---|---|---|
1 | Polad Bülbüloğlu[28] | Azerbaijan | 1994 | 2008 |
2 | Düsen Kaseinov (tr)[29] | Kazakhstan | 29 May 2008 | 31 March 2022 |
3 | Sultanbai Raev[15] | Kyrgyzstan | 31 March 2022 | incumbent |
References
- Türksoy Official Web Site (2009). "Homepage > Türksoy > Member States". Archived from the original on 2012-12-22. Retrieved 2009-12-04.
- UNESCO Web Site (1996). "Relations with the Joint Administration of the Turkic Culture and Arts (TÜRKSOY), and Draft Agreement between that Organization and UNESCO" (PDF). Archived (PDF) from the original on 2016-03-03. Retrieved 2009-12-04.
- "Organization Chart". Türk Keneşi. Retrieved 20 March 2021.
Turkic Council also functions as an umbrella organization for existing cooperation mechanisms such as the International Organization of Turkic Culture (TURKSOY)...
- "Якутия поддерживает политику России по отношению к Турции | NVK Online". nvk-online.ru. Archived from the original on 2016-02-02. Retrieved 2016-01-30.
- "Якутия прервет связи с ТюрКСОЙ: "Партнеров в тюркском мире достаточно" - ИА REGNUM". ИА REGNUM. Archived from the original on 2016-02-03. Retrieved 2016-01-30.
- "Власти тюркских регионов выбирают между Россией и Турцией". Archived from the original on 2017-04-08. Retrieved 2017-04-02.
- "Министерство культуры Республики Башкортостан". culture.bashkortostan.ru (in Russian). Retrieved 27 December 2020.
- "Приказ от 03.12.2015 № 212 "О прекращении участия в проектах Международной организации тюркской культуры ТЮРКСОЙ" - Правительство Республики Хакасия". r-19.ru (in Russian). Retrieved 16 December 2020.
- ...Hakas Cumhuriyeti, Makedonya ve Kuzey Kıbrıs Türk Cumhuriyeti TÜRKSOY temsilcileri ile UTMK Genel Sekreterlik Personeli de hazır bulundu."UNESCO Türkiye Millî Komisyonu". www.unesco.org.tr. 14 February 2019. Retrieved 16 December 2020.
- "About :: TURKSOY". www.turksoy.org. Archived from the original on 2016-04-24. Retrieved 2016-05-17.
- Türksoy Official Web Site. "Cultural Capital of the Turkic World 2016: Sheki :: TURKSOY". www.turksoy.org. Archived from the original on 2016-06-01. Retrieved 2016-05-17.
- Türksoy Official Web Site. "The Cultural Capital of the Turkic World 2018: Kastamonu :: TURKSOY". www.turksoy.org. Archived from the original on 2017-12-15. Retrieved 2017-12-15.
- "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 2019-12-06. Retrieved 2019-12-06.
{{cite web}}
: CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link) - "Osmanlı'nın ilk başkenti Bursa 2022 Türk Dünyası Kültür Başkenti seçildi :: TÜRKSOY". www.turksoy.org. Retrieved 16 September 2021.
- "Azerbaycan'ın Şuşa kenti "2023 Türk Dünyası Kültür Başkenti" ilan edildi - Avrasya'dan - Haber". TRT Avaz. Retrieved 31 March 2022.
- "2010 Ahmet Zeki Velidi Togan Yılı :: TÜRKSOY". www.turksoy.org. Archived from the original on 10 November 2019. Retrieved 10 November 2019.
- "TÜRKSOY 27.Dönem Bakanlar Konseyi Toplantısı'nda Önemli Kararlara İmza Atıldı :: TÜRKSOY". www.turksoy.org. Archived from the original on 10 November 2019. Retrieved 10 November 2019.
- "TÜRKSOY Türk Dünyasını Astana'da Buluşturdu :: TÜRKSOY". www.turksoy.org. Archived from the original on 10 November 2019. Retrieved 10 November 2019.
- "2012 Mirza Fatali Ahundzade Yılı Açılışı Töreni Ve 2012 Türksoy Basın Onur Ödülleri Töreni :: TÜRKSOY". www.turksoy.org. Retrieved 2 October 2021.
- "2013 MUKAN TÖLEBAYEV YILI :: TÜRKSOY". www.turksoy.org. Archived from the original on 10 November 2019. Retrieved 10 November 2019.
- "TÜRKSOY Daimi Konseyi 31. Dönem Toplantısı ve TÜRKSOY'un 20. Kuruluş Yıldönümü Kutlamaları Sonuç Bildirisi :: TÜRKSOY". www.turksoy.org. Archived from the original on 10 November 2019. Retrieved 10 November 2019.
- "32. DÖNEM TÜRKSOY DAİMİ KONSEYİ SONA ERDİ :: TÜRKSOY". www.turksoy.org. Archived from the original on 10 November 2019. Retrieved 10 November 2019.
- "Türk Dili konuşan ülkeler Kültür Bakanları Daimi Konseyi 33. Dönem Toplantısı, 2015 Türk Dünyası Kültür Başkenti Merv'de yapıldı :: TÜRKSOY". www.turksoy.org. Archived from the original on 10 November 2019. Retrieved 10 November 2019.
- "Azerbaycan'da Büyük Buluşma - TURKSOY Daimi Konseyi 34. Toplantısı :: TÜRKSOY". www.turksoy.org. Archived from the original on 10 November 2019. Retrieved 10 November 2019.
- "Kültür Bakanları Türkistan'da Bir Araya Geldi :: TÜRKSOY". www.turksoy.org. Archived from the original on 10 November 2019. Retrieved 10 November 2019.
- "TÜRKSOY Daimi Konseyi 36. Dönem Toplantısı Kastamonu'da Yapıldı :: TÜRKSOY". www.turksoy.org. Archived from the original on 10 November 2019. Retrieved 10 November 2019.
- "TÜRKSOY Daimi Konseyi Oş'ta Toplandı. :: TÜRKSOY". www.turksoy.org. Archived from the original on 14 December 2019. Retrieved 14 December 2019.
- "Polad Bülbüloglu CV" (PDF). Retrieved 22 December 2021.
- "About :: TURKSOY". www.turksoy.org. Retrieved 22 December 2021.
External links
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Wikimedia Commons has media related to TÜRKSOY. |
- (in Turkish, English, and Russian) Türksoy Website