The closing meeting of the “Training Program for Iraqi Turkmen Teachers” was organized in cooperation with the Directorate General for Teacher Training and Development of the Ministry of National Education and the Presidency for Turks Abroad and Related Communities (YTB). Abdullah Eren, President of YTB, Deputy Governor of Eskisehir Dr. Erdinç Yılmaz, Director General of Teacher Training and Development Assoc. Prof. Adnan Boyacı and trainees from Mosul, Kirkuk, Tel Afar, Baghdad and other parts of Iraq attended the meeting.

Delivering a speech in the event, YTB President Abdullah Eren pointed out that one of the main tasks of YTB is to preserve the Turkish language and Turkish culture. In this context, mentioning the continuing activities for Turkish-speaking communities and the related nations that sustain their relations with Turkey, Eren said: "YTB is an institution which was founded in 2010 with a purpose of providing service for all kindred and related communities, and especially our citizens abroad. We are the sons of a great civilization. Although we have an area of 784 thousand km in our homeland today, we have the term 'geography of hearts' in mind. You came from Mosul, Kirkuk, Tel Afar, Baghdad, Tooz and Iraq. One of the main purposes of YTB is to produce projects aimed at maintaining our relations with kindred communities, who speak Turkish wherever in the world, and who continue to have ties with Turkey. Language is the memory, identity, and culture of a nation. Turkish is the element that brings us together wherever we are in the world and brings us together in the same world of meaning. You are performing an important task.

There is a history of this geography spent with grief, with tears. You're taking care of your country. You teach Turkish to children who want to learn it. You are in our minds and hearts. It is our primary duty to preserve the Turkish language and culture.”