Turkey’s Teknofest getting better with every year

By Gokhan Ergocun

GAZIANTEP, Turkey (AA) - Teknofest, Turkey's largest aerospace and technology event, gets better every year with feedback from participants, said the event organizer.

"Our goal is to move this organization much further in line with our experiences to realize the National Technology Move of our country," Haluk Bayraktar, vice chair of the T3 Foundation, told Anadolu Agency.

The four-day event began Thursday in Gaziantep province, where youngsters prepared projects during the year for the event by working hard.

"We continue to organize Teknofest under pandemic conditions, with certain restrictions and closed to visitors, so that these people's efforts are not lost," he said.

Teknofest is a platform where young people's dreams are transformed into projects and projects become initiatives, said Bayraktar.

He said this year 20,000 teams and 100,000 people from 84 countries applied for Teknofest competitions.

There are several competitions in different categories, including energy, defense, health and transportation.

- More projects

Gaziantep Mayor Fatma Sahin said Teknofest is not only a festival but an important step for Turkey's fully independence target.

Turkey should strengthen its national technology infrastructure, she said, noting that this year, there are more than three times the projects in Teknofest than last year.

Anadolu Agency has been the global communication partner for Teknofest since 2018.

The annual event was scheduled for April, but was postponed because of the pandemic.