A protocol regarding the project was signed between the Metropolitan Municipality, the Provincial Directorate of National Education, the Mediterranean Tourist Hoteliers Association (AKTOB), and the Alanya Tourist Operators Association (ALTİD). Speaking at the signing ceremony, Mayor Menderes Türel stated that the project is an indicator of the importance they place on education as the Metropolitan Municipality. Noting that they have achieved another first in Turkey following the Schools League project, Mayor Türel said, “We are implementing many projects for the people of Antalya. Among these, our projects that specifically involve human contact carry a different meaning. In particular, the matter of rewarding successful young students is important. The more we encourage our youth toward success, the more we will have built our future on solid foundations.”
Thanks to tourism professionals
President Türel, emphasizing that the tourism sector is one of the most important pillars of this social project, which is being carried out under the auspices of the Antalya Governorship and the Directorate of National Education, stated the following: “When I first presented this project to AKTOB President Yusuf Hacısüleyman, he accepted it without hesitation. He said they would be happy to participate in such a social sharing and rewarding project. Then, he met with ALTİD. ALTİD President Mr. Burhanettin Sili also agreed to be another participant in this project,” he said.
Double celebration
President Türel stated that the top students from 446 middle schools and 176 high schools across the center and 19 districts of Antalya will enjoy an all-inclusive vacation at five-star hotels for 3 days together with their families, expressing that they will thus see the reward for an effort indexed to success. Emphasizing that in this project not only the students but also the families are being rewarded, President Menderes Türel said: “Along with our youth, their families, who are their greatest supporters, will also have the opportunity to go on vacation. Since they acted together with us, I consider it a debt of gratitude to AKTOB, our President of ALTİD, our Director of National Education, and our Antalya Governorship. This weekend, our brothers and sisters who are top of their class will celebrate a double holiday. They will experience both the happiness of being first in their term and the happiness of receiving the reward for this success together with their families. May it be auspicious and beneficial for them already.”
We are happy to be part of the project
AKTOB President Yusuf Hacısüleyman, expressing that they are very happy to be part of the project, stated the following: “We thank President Türel for sharing this beautiful idea with us. When we discussed the matter with our tourism professional colleagues, we received a ‘with pleasure’ response. They immediately said, ‘We are in too.’ This demonstrated how accurate an idea this project is. What an award brings and what we will receive afterwards are also very important. Antalya is the capital of tourism, and perhaps many of our families have not yet entered a hotel. Our youth may not have seen a hotel garden. With this project, we will introduce them in some way to the most important sector of the city they live in. We are very happy to be able to contribute to education as much as we can.”
We will always provide support
ALTİD President Burhanettin Sili stated that they attach great importance to it being a project that touches people, saying, “We thank the Metropolitan Municipality for acting together with us on such a project. I express that we will always support this and similar projects. It is very important that tourism professionals show effort in certain social activities and that we gladly receive responses from operators of all sectors.”
Thanks from the education community
Antalya Provincial Director of National Education Osman Nuri Gülay stated the following: “We have 430 thousand students and around 30 thousand education workers. Today, we are launching a project that values them and makes them proud. Education is not achieved merely by building structures. Together with philanthropists, we have built 6,900 classrooms in Antalya. The important thing was to provide social activities for our students within them and to reward their success. In this sense, you have come to our aid. You are providing immense support to education. It was not possible to manage this with the resources of the Directorate of National Education alone. We have very successful young people in Antalya. It is impossible to overlook the contribution of families to their success. Spending a three-day holiday with their families and siblings will provide great morale to our youth. Our children living in the coastal areas have the opportunity to vacation in 5-star facilities, but the Taurus Mountains also have a hinterland. Most of the children there do not have the opportunity to see these places. They will have a very wonderful holiday. On behalf of the education community, I thank everyone who has contributed.”
Stating that the project serves as an example to Türkiye, Osman Nuri Gülay also thanked Ebru Türel, the wife of Metropolitan Municipality Mayor Menderes Türel and one of the architects of the project. Gülay said, “She is someone who opens our horizons and guides us.”