Turkish institute launches face-to-face language courses in Mexico

By Muhammed Emin Canik

BUENOS AIRES (AA) - The Yunus Emre Institute (YEE) on Wednesday began offering face-to-face Turkish language courses in Mexico city, Türkiye's ambassador to the Latin American country announced.

The nonprofit organization, which seeks to spread the Turkish language and culture worldwide, has become a bearer of culture, according to Ilhan Kemal Tug, who was speaking at a ceremony in the Mexican capital marking the courses' launch.

Cultural interaction between Türkiye and Mexico will henceforth continue to deepen in cinema, music, literature, and other areas, Tug underlined, expressing his pleasure at the opening of the institute's Turkish cultural center in the Mexican capital.

Also attending the event, the Yunus Emre Institute's Mexico coordinator, Salih Gultekin, said there was a great interest in the Turkish language and that this demand needed to be satisfied.

Gultekin highlighted that the institute would strengthen the bridges of friendship between Türkiye and Mexico and that the face-to-face courses would be a great step towards intercultural solidarity.

About 2,500 Mexican students are currently enrolled in the Yunus Emre Institute's online Turkish language lessons.

One prospective student at the center, Fernando Aguilar, expressed his eagerness to learn Turkish as soon as possible, pointing to his interest in Turkish history and the etymological diversity of the Turkish language.

Police officer Francisco Javier Mendoza, who became a Muslim eight years ago after a visit to Türkiye, said he was fascinated by Turkish culture and would like to visit the country again soon.

Carolina Hernandez, one of the institute's online students, said her interest in Turkish cinema and literature were among the main reasons that prompted her to learn Turkish.

The institute's namesake, Yunus Emre, is a Turkish folk poet and Sufi who lived in Anatolia from the mid-13th century to the first quarter of the 14th century.

The Yunus Emre Institute is a non-profit organization founded in 2007 to promote Turkish culture, language, and arts across the world. It has expanded to 66 countries, signed agreements with more than 400 universities, and provided 3.5 million Turkish language diplomas worldwide.