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 (Turk/ic) and soy (ancestry).

International Organization of Turkic Culture Uluslararası Türk Kültürü Teşkilatı (Türksoy)
Sovereign (maroon) and other members (red) of Türksoy
Headquarters	Ankara, Turkey
Official language	Turkish (official language) Russian, English (working languages)
Members[1]	6 sovereign member states 4 non-sovereign observer states
Leaders
• General Secretary	Dusen Kaseinov
Establishment	1993
Website https://www.turksoy.org

The General Secretary of Türksoy is Duisen Kaseinov, former Minister of Culture of Kazakhstan. 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 July 12, 1993 in Almaty.

In 1996, an official cooperation between Türksoy and UNESCO was established, involving mutual consultations and reciprocal representation.[2]

It is announced that Türksoy will be integrated into the Turkic Council, a geopolitical organization of Turkic countries established on November 3, 2009.

Members

As of 2016, Türksoy has six sovereign member states and three non-sovereign observer states.[1]

Member state	Language	Notes
Azerbaijan	Azerbaijani
Kazakhstan	Kazakh
Kyrgyzstan	Kyrgyz
Turkey	Turkish
Turkmenistan	Turkmen
Uzbekistan	Uzbek
Observer state	Language	Notes
Bashkortostan	Bashkir	a federal subject of Russia.
Tatarstan	Tatar	a federal subject of Russia.
Găgăuzia	Gagauz	an autonomous region of Moldova.
Northern Cyprus	Turkish	a de facto independent republic recognized only by Turkey; see Cyprus dispute.

Past members

The five Russian federal subjects left Türksoy after a Russian aircraft was shot down by Turkish forces in late 2015.[3][4][5]

Observer state	Language	Notes
Altai Republic	Altay	a federal subject of Russia.
Khakassia	Khakas	a federal subject of Russia.
Yakutia	Sakha (Yakut)	a federal subject of Russia.
Tuva	Tuvan	a federal subject of Russia.

Türksoy Headquarters, Ankara

Past and Future Population

• List of countries by past and future population provide 1950, 2000 and 2050 population while the 2100 data is from the United Nations medium fertility variant projection.

Rank	Country	Area	1950	2000	2050	2100
1	Turkey	783,562	21,122,000	65,970,000	89,291,000	87,983,000
2	Uzbekistan	447,400	6,293,000	25,042,000	35,117,000	32,077,000
3	Kazakhstan	2,724,900	6,694,000	15,688,000	22,238,000	24,712,000
4	Azerbaijan	86,600	2,886,000	8,464,000	11,210,000	9,636,000
5	Kyrgyzstan	199,900	1,739,000	4,938,000	7,064,000	9,046,000
6	Turkmenistan	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 (Exclude Caspian Sea)

• Main article: Exclusive economic zone

This list includes dependent territories within their sovereign states (including uninhabited territories), but does not include claims on Antarctica. EEZ+TIA is exclusive economic zone (EEZ) plus total internal area (TIA) which includes land and internal waters.

Rank	Country	Area	EEZ	Shelf	EEZ+TIA
1	Turkey	783,562	261,654	56,093	1,045,216
2	Uzbekistan	447,400	0	0	447,400
3	Kazakhstan	2,724,900	0	0	2,724,900
4	Azerbaijan	86,600	0	0	86,600
5	Kyrgyzstan	199,900	0	0	199,900
6	Turkmenistan	488,100	0	0	488,100
Total		4,730,462	261,654	56,093	4,992,116

Activities

Türksoy carries out activities to strengthen cultural ties between Turkic peoples. One of the main goals to transmit their common cultural heritage to future generations and promote it around the world.[6]

Activities and events include;[6]

• Gatherings of artists, photographers, painters, opera singers, poets, journalists, theatre, dance and music ensembles of the Turkic World.
• Monthly journal published in three languages,
• Works written in various languages and Turkic 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 UK
• Nevruz festival held on April 1, 2016 at Warner Theater in Washington DC[7]

Cultural Capital of the Turkic World

Main article: Culture and Arts Capital of the Turkic World

Every year, one city in the Turkic world is selected as the "Cultural Capital of the Turkic World". Within the framework of events to celebrate the Cultural Capital of the Turkic World, numerous cultural events are held, gathering artists, scholars and intellectuals, giving them the opportunity to exchange their experiences, as well as promoting the city in question internationally.[8]

Recent cities that have been awarded this title are;[6]

• 2012: Nursultan (as formerly Astana) in Kazakhstan
• 2013: Eskişehir, in Turkey
• 2014: Kazan in Tatarstan
• 2015: Merv in Turkmenistan
• 2016: Shaki, Azerbaijan[8]
• 2017: Turkistan, in Kazakhstan
• 2018: Kastamonu, in Turkey[9]
• 2019: Osh, in Kyrgyzstan
• 2020: Khiva, in Uzbekistan[10]

Year of

Year	Year of	Notes
2010	Zeki Velidi Togan[11]	Bashkir historian
2011	Ğabdulla Tuqay[12]	Tatar poet
2012	Nikolai Katanov (az)[13]	Khakas Turkolog
2013	Mukan Tulebaev (tr)[14]	Kazakh musician
2014	Magtymguly Pyragy and Toktogul Satylganov[15]	Turkmen poet / Kyrgyz poet
2015	Haldun Taner and Semen Kadışev (ru)[16]	Turkish writer / Khakas dastan writer
2016	Yūsuf Balasaguni[17]	Turkic philosopher and poet
2017	Molla Panah Vagif[18]	Azerbaijani poet
2018	Gara Garayev, Magzhan Zhumabayev and Chinghiz Aitmatov[19]	Azerbaijani composer / Kazakh poet / Kyrgyz writer
2019	Imadaddin Nasimi and Âşık Veysel[20]	Azerbaijani poet / Turkish folk singer
2020	Abai Qunanbaiuly[21]	Kazakh poet and intellectual

Funding

Türksoy is funded by contributions paid by individual member states, local governments, universities and NGOs.[6]

References

1. Türksoy Official Web Site (2009). "Homepage > Türksoy > Member States". Archived from the original on 2012-12-22. Retrieved 2009-12-04.
2. 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.
3. "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.
4. "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.
5. "Власти тюркских регионов выбирают между Россией и Турцией". Archived from the original on 2017-04-08. Retrieved 2017-04-02.
6. POLAT, Orhan. "About :: TURKSOY". www.turksoy.org. Archived from the original on 2016-04-24. Retrieved 2016-05-17.
7. "NEVRUZ CELEBRATIONS OF TURKSOY 2016". www.turksoy.org. Archived from the original on 2016-04-04. Retrieved 2017-07-27.
8. POLAT, Orhan. "Cultural Capital of the Turkic World 2016: Sheki :: TURKSOY". www.turksoy.org. Archived from the original on 2016-06-01. Retrieved 2016-05-17.
9. POLAT, Orhan. "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.
10. "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 2019-12-06. Retrieved 2019-12-06.CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
11. "2010 Ahmet Zeki Velidi Togan Yılı :: TÜRKSOY". www.turksoy.org. Archived from the original on 10 November 2019. Retrieved 10 November 2019.
12. "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.
13. "TÜRKSOY Türk Dünyasını Astana'da Buluşturdu :: TÜRKSOY". www.turksoy.org. Archived from the original on 10 November 2019. Retrieved 10 November 2019.
14. "2013 MUKAN TÖLEBAYEV YILI :: TÜRKSOY". www.turksoy.org. Archived from the original on 10 November 2019. Retrieved 10 November 2019.
15. "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.
16. "32. DÖNEM TÜRKSOY DAİMİ KONSEYİ SONA ERDİ :: TÜRKSOY". www.turksoy.org. Archived from the original on 10 November 2019. Retrieved 10 November 2019.
17. "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.
18. "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.
19. "Kültür Bakanları Türkistan'da Bir Araya Geldi :: TÜRKSOY". www.turksoy.org. Archived from the original on 10 November 2019. Retrieved 10 November 2019.
20. "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.
21. "TÜRKSOY Daimi Konseyi Oş'ta Toplandı. :: TÜRKSOY". www.turksoy.org. Archived from the original on 14 December 2019. Retrieved 14 December 2019.

External links

• (in Turkish, English, and Russian) Türksoy Website