Premier Turkish tech show Teknofest to start this week

By Gokhan Ergocun

ISTANBUL (AA) - Turkey’s biggest aerospace and technology festival, Teknofest, will start on Thursday in the southeastern province of Gaziantep.

The four-day event will include a host of activities, such as air shows with warplanes and helicopters, seminars and summits, and competitions and fairs.

This year’s third edition of the festival will feature technology competitions in nearly two dozen different categories -- such as biotechnology innovation, agriculture, environment and energy, transportation, education, helicopter design, and jet engine design.

As an incentive for competitions, Teknofest will grant awards worth over 3 million Turkish lira (around $390,000).

Omer Kokcam, the general manager of the Turkish Technology Team Foundation (organizer), has said last week that 20,917 teams and 100,000 young people had applied for competitions so far.

Last year, the second edition of the festival was organized in Istanbul Ataturk Airport which was visited by over 1.7 million people.

Teknofest is held in various Turkish cities in even years and in the metropolis of Istanbul in odd years.

Fatma Sahin, the Gaziantep mayor, said Teknofest provides a paradigm for the Turkish youth and the country's national and indigenous industrial infrastructure.

"We are in the age of information and technology, the knowledge-based economy is very important and our greatest strength is our human capital," she added.

Anadolu Agency has been the global communication partner of the event since 2018, including this year.

The annual event was scheduled for April, but was postponed due to the pandemic.