Excellency the Minister of Croatia Ms. (Nina Obuljen) Koržinek, Excellencies the Ministers and Distinguished Heads of Delegations, Distinguished Participants,
It is an honour and a pleasure to be here.
Thank you very much Minister Koržinek and her team for the kind hospitality extended to us.
The region of the South East Europe (SEE) has a special importance for Turkey. We regard each and every country of the region as our neighbours. The historical, human and cultural wealth of the region is highly vast, rich and deep; incomparable to any other country in the world. It should be our joint task to convert this potential into a positive synergy.
It has been very sensible to hold this meeting simultaneously with the inauguration of Rijeka as the European Capital of Culture (ECoC). The theme of this year’s meeting is very much in line with the spirit of ECoC. Holding this conference together with the ECoC launching will certainly add up to the visibility of the COMOCOSEE platform.
With İstanbul having served as the ECOC in 2010, and also myself having personally been part of the team that worked on the project then, I can say that European Capitals of Culture have always been at the heart of our country’s cultural story. ECoCs make cities benefit from the power of culture in the long run. Being a European Capital of Culture is a matter of hard work and commitment and keeping up with the impetus after the year has passed is equally important.
Indifference to the problems faced by others as well as many of the global issues is the biggest challenge we face nowadays. As a result, we become unable to feel that we are indeed part of a broader community. It is at this point culture can make a difference. Access to culture and cultural output establishes a bond with the world around you. We live at times when the whole world faces rising pressure in economic, political and cultural sense. Investing in cultural mobility and cooperation should be a top item on our agenda as they can be part of the solution to overcome any crisis.
Networking and cooperating with artists from around the world paves the way for creative development. Artists’ mobility is especially very much needed for the success of international cultural events, also for the career advancement of the artists. Perceived borders are removed as artists position themselves on the global setting. Public’s getting acquainted with the art and culture from other countries is an education in itself. Moreover, it stimulates curiosity, builds bonds and bridges for recognising the shared values.
The Ministry of Culture and Tourism in Turkey is responsible for the coordination of Turkey’s international cooperation in arts and culture with the international world and within international organisations. Our policy priorities are intended to encourage the mobility of artists and cooperation on mutual projects. Allow me to give a few examples of cultural cooperation and underline the importance we attach to the improvement of artistic production.
We are working in close cooperation with the local authorities to make culture accessible for all segments of the society. Very recently, in cooperation with municipalities we launched Performing Arts Training Academy to educate children, explore and develop their skills in arts and culture.
Strengthening the cultural industries, upgrading our competitive power among the culture exporting countries, getting inspiration from one another and developing areas of mutual international cooperation is of great importance for us. To achieve this, we carry out awareness raising meetings with our stakeholders in the cultural sector. The most recent of such meetings was about the UNESCO Convention on the Diversity of Cultural Expressions.
Turkish movie industry and TV shows constitute an important wing of our international cultural cooperation. We have formed a web portal in cooperation with the third sector, that will serve as a guidebook for the foreign film producers and as a bridge between Turkish and global movie industries. The “Filming in Turkey” portal consists of all information that would be needed by a filmmaker, from potential areas for shooting, to cast agencies, shooting permits to visa application procedures. It provides first-hand information to the foreign filmmakers with all the data they will need.
Taking part in international cultural events and festivals is another policy priority in our international cooperation. As a case in point, Turkey was the guest country at the 8th St. Petersburg International Cultural Forum in last November. Within this scope, we organised a conference and exhibition about the archaeological site Göbeklitepe, nicknamed the “ground zero of human history”, presented examples from Turkish cinema and staged a concert.
We constantly carry out reciprocal years or weeks of culture with many countries. A series of exhibitions, concerts and workshops are carried out within this scope. Such mutual projects are invitation to the people to discover and connect with the culture of the country. So far, thanks to these joint cultural events, so many people have joined in celebrating our shared cultural heritage, bringing people closer to one another and helping us build bridges between our past and the future. Thanks to such events, artists network with their peers, exchange success stories and find new ways of cooperation in the future.
In addition, we are currently working on a new, very exhaustive cultural strategy, updated in line with the needs and dynamics of the current global trends in the cultural sector.
The region of Southeast Europe is very rich. It has important lessons to teach and share, as well as a huge potential to capitalise on. It is this potential that is capable of making the region a successful example of cultural development. As Turkey, we are ready and willing to support all walks of our cooperation with SEE countries, namely, joint projects, exchange of artists and experience.
Distinguished Participants,
In addition to this year’s theme, another equally important item on our agenda this year is the idea of establishing a COMOCOSEE fund.
As Turkey, we fully support such constructive initiatives. It is very pleasing that the seed we planted then has now blossomed into a broader platform, where we are discussing about such groundbreaking initiatives.
Turkey believes that the most important contribution in the future of the SEE can only be made by the countries of the region. In this spirit, developing unique cooperation mechanisms fit for the region is essential. In this framework, I would like to heartfully thank to Croatian and Bulgarian colleagues and their delegations for their sincere efforts to deliver necessary documents for the establishment of the Fund.
However, I should say that Turkey still needs time to complete her internal assessment process for the establishing documents of the fund. The revision and assessment is performed by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the related departments of our Ministry in terms of compliance with budget and the domestic law.
We would like to advise the Council that we should go on deliberating and working on the fund until we come up with perfectly crafted output that will operate efficiently for the full benefit of each and every member. To this end, my team is ready to put all necessary contributions.
All we need is determination and will, to make the most of the region’s diversity and cultural richness.
Thank you very much for your attention.