International students studying at OMU within the scope of the Cultural Ambassadors Project, led by Rectorü Prof. Dr. Yavuz Ünal and carried out by the International Relations Unit and supported by the OMU Foundation, were awarded their certificates.

Rector Prof. Dr. Yavuz Ünal, Vice Rector Prof. Dr. Cengiz Batuk, OMU-TURKISH Center Director Prof. Dr. Bekir Şişman, Head of International Relations Office Prof. Dr. Mustafa Said Kurşunoğlu, OMU Foundation President Assoc. Dr. İdris Varıcı, academicians and students attended the ceremony.

Aryan Jahangirian: "With this project, we learned to look at life from a different perspective."

Speaking on behalf of the students participating in the Cultural Ambassadors Project, Faculty of Dentistry third-year student Aryan Jahangirian said, "We are happy to complete the Cultural Ambassadors Project, which will undoubtedly be an important part of my university life and will always be in my mind. I am sure that the lessons we took within the scope of the project gave my friends from all over the world the opportunity to look at life from a different perspective, as I did, and caused our feelings to go to the next level."

Kurşunoğlu: "50 students from 21 countries will represent our country as Cultural Ambassadors all over the world"

Head of Office Prof. Dr. Mustafa Said Kurşunoğlu said, "The Cultural Ambassadors Scholarship Project started in 2020. Our Rector, Prof. Dr. Yavuz Ünal, the project's architect, turned the pandemic's negative impact on education's strict quarantine conditions into an education and training opportunity in favor of our international students. Thus, 50 students from 21 countries attended the Advanced Academic Turkish, Cinema Workshop, Recent History of Turkey, Creative Writing courses and socio-cultural activities and took two semesters of twenty-eight hours each in the project participated by students with a grade point average of three or above with a full scholarship. Thanks to the courses they took, our students not only gained the capacity to express and understand academic and literary Turkish but also have reached an intellectual awareness at the level of directing in terms of representing cultures through visual arts, especially cinema. In the Recent History of Turkey lessons, they witnessed Turkey's struggles for existence from the Tanzimat period to the present and Turkey's perspective on people, life and the world from a historical perspective. With the Creative Writing Lessons, they were introduced to the aspects of Turkish literature, such as novels and short stories, from the local to the universal. Thus, they have a mind that can produce in Turkish in communication. OMU-Foundation, which has undertaken the financial part of the project, used a total of 250.000 TL of funds to support education. Today, I congratulate our international students who have completed their education, received their certificates from our University, and have reached a level where they can represent our country as Cultural Ambassadors worldwide."

Rector Ünal: "With the Cultural Ambassadors Project, we aimed for our students to understand our feelings and transfer them to their own people."

Taking the floor, Rector Prof. Dr. Yavuz Ünal stated: "This project, which we started in 2020 under quarantine conditions that closed everyone to their homes and even their rooms, is primarily related to our perspective and vision towards education and international students. We live in a world where education is no longer just about getting a diploma. The need for trained people in every field brings quality to the fore instead of quantity. In addition to formal education, we aimed that our international students coming to our university benefit from the training processes, the content of which has been specially developed, so that they can improve themselves by taking advantage of this opportunity, become familiar and even dominate Turkish academically and literally, understand and feel our thoughts and feelings, and transfer them to people in the countries they live in."

"We see the international student as a human being, and even more, as one of us."

Rector Unal pointed out that they do not see international students as a financial resource like Western countries and said, "We see international students as human beings, and even more, as one of us. When we enter the borders of many countries abroad, we encounter people and lives that are not much different from ours. Many countries beyond our borders have the same or similar, close cultures and societies, friendly and fraternal societies. We call it our heartland. Apart from the historical depth of our heartland, we also see it constantly expanding from east to west. Accordingly, we have embodied Turkey's view of the world and people by making a 40% discount on fees during the pandemic process."

"This project is a first among Turkish universities."

Stating that the project is the first among Turkish universities, Prof. Dr. Ünal said, "This has given its first fruits with its first graduates. We want the international students we train to return to their countries and work for their own states and nation. If you can succeed here, we want you to stay until the last doctorate education, but also to return to your own country and present the education you received here for the benefit of your nation and the country that sent you. We supported them with this project, highlighting the quality and qualified people in the education we have prepared. When I go abroad, it excites me to encounter OMU graduates in many different positions and professions, such as doctors, managers, ministers, deputy ministers, school principals, teachers, and agricultural engineers,. I am faced with the results of the continuous investment that our University has made in internationalization institutionally for decades. I know that our investment in people is an investment of the heart. I want you to take the mission of developing your countries and nations, defending the rights of your nation against all kinds of exploitation and injustice, as an example from Türkiye."

"Having students from 120 different countries in our university is our greatest wealth."

Rector Ünal concluded their speech: "Having students from 120 different countries in our University is our greatest wealth. If only one color dominates everything, for example, if white is everywhere, after a while, you will not be able to see anything; different colors make everyone visible and exist. That is why I see you as a mosaic of colors, a wealth that best expresses the universality of the University. We want and aim to make you ready for life by making good use of these valuable opportunities in this country, to go beyond just being a good doctor, engineer or teacher, to have a total quality as a good person and equipped people, and to be exemplary in your own countries. I would like to thank all the faculty members involved in this project. I congratulate all my students who have been confirmed by our University as the cultural ambassadors of our country by participating in the project."

The program ended with the presentation of certificates to the students who completed the Cultural Ambassadors Project.