Our Diaspora’s Power Is Our Country’s Power

Our people might remember the verses of Ahmet Kutsi Tecer learnt by almost all of us in elementary school:

“There is a village so far away, there. That village is our village. Even if we don’t travel there, even if we don’t vacate there, that village is ours…”

This is exactly how the concept of diaspora made me feel when I was young. Our homeland, to which our people belong even if they do not visit, to which they express attachment with the bond of belonging… In fact, today, in the 21st century, the ever- lasting geographical borders still exist, however, we can say that their influence among diasporas has diminished. Having become widespread with the effect of technology bringing new developments to our lives every day, cross-border relations have changed and keep changing the concept of diaspora. We now know that the prerequisite for building a strong diaspora strategy is to get familiar with the term “global citizen”.

The Turkish diaspora is taking firm steps towards becoming one of the most active diasporas around the world. Our diaspora maintain their ties with their homeland, mother tongue, and culture, actively participate in the social, cultural, economic and political life of the countries they reside in, and live as successful and happy individuals. They feed on the world as they feed the world. They keep the name, culture, demeanour, and style of Turks alive in all parts of the world, and the number of their achievements keeps increasing rapidly day by day. We look forward to the days when the Turkish diaspora will add new ones to their global success stories, knowing that they will be the pioneers of change and set strategies to manage development.

In the new issue of our journal, we discuss all aspects of the concept of “Diaspora” and also touch upon the activities of DEİK/World Turkish Business Council (DTİK). We conducted our cover interview with Nail Olpak, President of DEİK. Also, Birol Akgün, President of the Turkish Maarif Foundation, Şeref Ateş, President of Yunus Emre Institute, and Abdullah Eren, President of the Turks Abroad and Related Community, shared their views with us. You can find a lot more valuable content in our new issue, where we delve deeply into bilateral trade relations between Türkiye and Japan.

Enjoy your reading.

Chief Editor, Selin Sırer