The Distribution of the Second Set of “10 Must-Read Turkish Children’s Books,” Prepared with TİKA’s Support, Began in North Macedonia

The second set of “10 Must-Read Turkish Children’s Books,” which consists of the supplementary reading materials prescribed by the Ministry of Education and Science of North Macedonia for primary schools, has been prepared by ZOR Association, operating in North Macedonia, with TİKA’s support. The distribution of the set to the libraries of schools providing education in Turkish across North Macedonia began.

As part of the project that follows the project “10 Must-Read Turkish Children’s Books,” launched by TİKA in North Macedonia in 2020, and that was implemented for the distribution of the second sets of 10 must-read Turkish children’s books, the distribution of a total of 10,000 books to the libraries of 64 city and village schools providing education in Turkish in 26 municipalities across North Macedonia began. The first stop was Petar Zdravkovski Penko Elementary School in Skopje, the capital of North Macedonia.

The delivery ceremony held for the second set of books was attended by Halim Ömer Söğüt, TİKA’s Coordinator in Skopje; Hacer Sulooca, Chairperson of ZOR Association; Mevlude Kryeziu, Principal of Petar Zdravkovski Penko Elementary School; Zekeriya Hasip, Director of the Bureau for Development of Education of North Macedonia; Gönül Bayraktar, State Advisor to the Minister of Education and Science of North Macedonia; and the teachers and students of the school.

Halim Ömer Söğüt, TİKA’s Coordinator in Skopje, delivered a speech at the ceremony and stated that North Macedonia was one of the countries where TİKA has implemented the highest number of educational projects. He said, “Educational projects make up one-third of the 1200 projects implemented by TİKA across the country. The majority of educational projects focuses on human resource development and increasing human capital.”

Söğüt noted that they have implemented many projects for the construction of schools, the donation of technical equipment, the training of teachers, the donation of learning materials for students, and the provision of social and cultural support for students. Söğüt added, “[This project] was launched in 2020. It should be noted that the project is being implemented in cooperation with a number of partners. On the one hand, a publishing house, which cares about the education of children, undertook the entire process from typesetting to printing, which is one of the key local aspects. The Ministry of Education and Science of North Macedonia investigated supplementary reading materials through official bodies and approved the list of books to address a problem faced by Turkic people living in the country. On the other hand, a non-governmental organization undertook the distribution of books to schools. TİKA supported and contributed to all these activities.”

Mevlude Kryeziu, Principal of Petar Zdravkovski Penko Elementary School, which provides education in Turkish, Albanian, and Macedonian, said, “I would like to thank you for the gifts you brought for children. I believe that they will read these books with great enthusiasm. We are open to cooperation. This project means a lot to us. We provide education in three languages, namely Albanian, Macedonian, and Turkish, in this multi-ethnic school. We have 1700 students. Since the school is big, our needs are variable and unpredictable.”

Hacer Sulooca, Chairperson of ZOR Association, noted that they aimed to distribute these books, which were published by Yeni Balkan Publishing House, with the slogan “We preserve the legacy of the past for the future.” Sulooca stated that they were keeping alive Turkish language, literature, and culture through these books. She said, “As ZOR Association, we would like to thank the families of local authors for granting us this right, and TİKA for its support. I would especially like to thank Mevlude Kryeziu, the principal of the school, for hosting us here today.”

Zekeriya Hasip, Director of the Bureau for Development of Education of North Macedonia, stressed that the distribution of these works to schools providing education in Turkish in North Macedonia is a great project that contributes to Turkish literacy and cultural development.

As part of the project, a total of 10,000 (1000 sets of 10 must-read books) supplementary reading materials will be distributed in order to contribute to the self-development of students by adding the missing works of local Turkish authors to the collections of school libraries.