President Erdoğan: Our unique cultural and artistic wealth lies behind the unity and solidarity on our lands

 

President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan delivered a speech at the 2018 Special Awards Ceremony of the Ministry of Culture and Tourism, held at the Presidential Complex in Ankara.

“The common trait of all long-standing civilizations and great states in history is that they produced significant values in culture and arts,” President Erdoğan underlined. “In order to gather around our shared values and goals, we need to add new ones to the historical accumulation in culture, arts and architecture.”

“IN TODAY’S AGE OF ASTONISHINGLY FAST COMMUNICATIONS, CULTURE AND ARTS’ INFLUENCE IS NOW MORE IMPORTANT THAN EVER”

“It is the state’s duty to support fine works in all art forms and its promotion on a global scale,” President Erdoğan said. Highlighting the influence the works of popular culture provide to their producers, President Erdoğan said: “Sometimes, nations can accomplish through music, literature, cinema what they cannot through diplomacy or military and economic power. In today’s age of astonishingly fast communications, culture and arts’ influence and transformative power are now more important than ever."

“Our unique cultural and artistic wealth and treasures lie behind the unity, solidarity and friendliness on our lands. We need the inclusive power and influence of culture and arts in order to protect and carry to the future our existence,” President Erdoğan noted.

“WE WILL ELEVATE CULTURE, ARTS AND ARCHITECTURE TO THEIR RIGHTFUL PLACE”

“I regard the cultural and artistic issues as important a matter of survival as the fight against terror, as the foreign policy and basic areas of service. In the new era, we will address our shortcomings and elevate culture, arts, architecture and urbanization to their rightful place,” President Erdoğan said.