The International Organization of Turkic Culture (TURKSOY) has been awarded Turkey’s highest international prize in the field of Turkic culture and language, Kızıl Elma, further recognition of its successful mission to preserve and promote Turkic cultural heritage worldwide. Sultan Raev, the organization’s Secretary General, told 24.kg news agency.
He received the prestigious award from Mehmet Nuri Ersoy, Minister of Culture and Tourism of the Republic of Turkey.
The Kızıl Elma prize is the first such high-level award ever granted to TURKSOY in the field of Turkic culture and language.
Founded in 1993 at the initiative of Azerbaijan, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Uzbekistan, Turkmenistan, and Turkey, TURKSOY became the first institutional platform for humanitarian cooperation among independent Turkic states. Over the years, the organization has become one of the key centers of cultural diplomacy in the Turkic world, implementing dozens of international projects, festivals, scientific conferences, literary programs, and artistic initiatives.
Its activities have long been supported by the heads of member states and relevant culture ministries, and TURKSOY’s work has repeatedly received high international recognition. The awarding of the Kızıl Elma prize further confirms that the organization’s efforts are viewed as a strategically important contribution to preserving cultural and linguistic diversity across the Turkic world.
TURKSOY earned the award through its consistent efforts to strengthen cultural cooperation among Turkic peoples and countries, as well as through large-scale projects aimed at studying, preserving, and promoting the rich and ancient cultural heritage of the Turkic world.
