Ankara Marks 150th Birth Anniversary of Ziya Gökalp with Commemoration Year Opening
Ankara, March 25 – The opening ceremony for the “Ziya Gökalp Commemoration Year” was held in Ankara today, marking the 150th anniversary of the birth of the prominent Turkish intellectual. Minister of Culture and Tourism Mehmet Nuri Ersoy underscored the significance of this declaration, stating, “The decision to declare the current year as ‘Ziya Gökalp Commemoration Year’ is a very important one. This decision is a concrete manifestation of the common intellect, common memory, and common will of the Turkic world for a shared future.”
The event, held at the Turkish Hearth Hall of the Museum of Painting and Sculpture, brought together officials and scholars to commemorate, understand, and reinterpret Ziya Gökalp’s legacy. The “Ziya Gökalp Commemoration Year” was unanimously approved by the Permanent Council of the International Organization of Turkic Culture (TÜRKSOY) upon the proposal of the Ministry of Culture and Tourism.
A Symbol of Turkic Solidarity and Cultural Integration
Minister Ersoy emphasized that this gathering was more than just a commemoration program. He stated, “It is also the strongest declaration of will that transforms the spirit of unity and solidarity of the Turkic states into action at a time when significant global developments are taking place.” He further noted that TÜRKSOY, which unites Turkic states under a common roof, is the pioneer and driving force not only of a consensus but also of the concrete steps taken to realize these ideas.
The decision to declare 2026 as the “Ziya Gökalp Commemoration Year” was unanimously accepted at the 41st Period Meeting of the TÜRKSOY Permanent Council in Ashgabat, Turkmenistan, on November 16, 2024. Plans for this commemoration were further solidified during meetings in Aktau, Kazakhstan, the 2025 Turkic World Cultural Capital.
Ersoy highlighted that these plans clearly demonstrate that Gökalp’s ideas are not merely historical but continue to guide the present. “Both the planning done in Ashgabat and Aktau has clearly shown that Gökalp’s ideas are not only historical but also guiding today,” he added.
Gökalp: The Architect of Turkic Cultural Integration
Recalling the scientific meetings, symposiums, and commemorative events held on the 100th anniversary of Gökalp’s death, Ersoy stated that these events once again demonstrated how vibrant and current Gökalp’s intellectual world remains. Ersoy emphasized that Ziya Gökalp was a pioneering thinker who approached the ideal of Turkic unity not merely as a political goal, but as a deeply rooted civilization concept to be built on cultural and scientific foundations.
“His distinction between culture and civilization serves as a fundamental guide today for the Turkic States’ pursuit of a strong presence in the modern world while preserving their unique identities,” Ersoy remarked. He underlined that TÜRKSOY is the most concrete institutional reflection of this vision. “The goal of cultural integration is the realization today of the direction Gökalp pointed to a century ago. This understanding, shaped by İsmail Gaspıralı’s ideal of ‘unity in language, thought, and action,’ rises on the sociological foundations laid by Gökalp and guides the common future of the Turkic world. In this context, Ziya Gökalp is not just a writer or a poet, but the intellectual father of the Turkic world’s ideal of cultural integration and the architect of this great vision.”
A Compass for Youth in the Digital Age
Minister Ersoy stressed that the approach of “globalizing based on one’s own culture” forms the basis of TÜRKSOY’s cultural integration vision today. He noted, “The series of events we initiated today has a wide impact area extending from Turkey to the Turkistan geography, from the Balkans to the Western world.”
He further elaborated on the planned activities, stating, “Information feasts to be organized in our universities, works to be brought to life with the contributions of our art institutions, international panels, and exhibitions will reinterpret Gökalp’s ideas and carry them into the future. This multi-layered program, extending from Thessaloniki to Malta, from Baku to Ankara, is also a cultural diplomacy initiative. One of the most important goals of this commemoration year is the younger generations. Ziya Gökalp’s ideas should not remain only in academic texts but should find new life in the minds of young people. His intellectual system can be a solid compass for our youth in the digital age.”
Ersoy described the step taken as not just a commemoration but “a civilization march.” He concluded by saying, “To commemorate Ziya Gökalp is not to repeat him, but to rethink and develop him. On this occasion, I would like to thank TÜRKSOY, Atatürk Culture, Language and History High Institution, Turkish Hearths, Turkish Historical Society, and all stakeholder institutions who contributed to the realization of this meaningful program, and I commemorate Ziya Gökalp with mercy and gratitude.”
Sociologists Workshop for the Turkic World
Deputy Chairman of the AK Party and Head of Relations with Turkic States, Kürşad Zorlu, stated that Gökalp was an important intellectual leader who conveyed the meaning of the struggle for liberation and independence to future generations. Zorlu explained that Gökalp’s ideas are evaluated through his understanding of the state, the distinction between culture and civilization, and the concepts he brought to the Turkic world. These ideas, he added, form the basis for unity and cooperation among Turkic states today.
Zorlu emphasized that Turkic states come together under the umbrella of the Organization of Turkic States with their different identities and cultural riches. “Our common roof is the ideal of Turan, which Ziya Gökalp defined as a distant target country. Thankfully, today, under the leadership of our President, the Republic of Turkey continues to advance in this regard with great sensitivity and care,” he said.
In this context, Zorlu stated that they would continue to contribute to the concretization of these ideas in the political sphere. “Next month, we are holding the Turkic World Sociologists Workshop in Kazakhstan, hosted by Eurasia Republic University. Because Ziya Gökalp said, ‘Nations whose sociologists are not trained do not progress into the future.'”
Gökalp’s Ideas Guide the Common Memory of the Turkic World
Prof. Dr. Derya Örs, President of the Atatürk Culture, Language and History High Institution, stated in his speech that despite his short life, Ziya Gökalp made great contributions as a significant person of thought and action. Örs noted that Gökalp influenced the founding cadres of the Republic, especially Gazi Mustafa Kemal Atatürk, and that this intellectual legacy continues to exist in social and cultural life today.
TÜRKSOY Secretary General Sultan Raev pointed out that Gökalp’s ideas guide the common memory of the Turkic world, and that this intellectual legacy continues to guide the unity and cooperation efforts among Turkic states today. Prof. Dr. Mehmet Öz, President of the Turkish Hearths, expressed his happiness to be together at such an event on the 114th anniversary of the establishment of the Turkish Hearths and presented plaques of appreciation to Minister of Culture and Tourism Mehmet Nuri Ersoy and TÜRKSOY Secretary General Sultan Raev.
Source: Anadolu Agency
