Minister of Industry and Technology Mehmet Fatih Kacır, Izmir Governor Süleyman Elban, T3 Foundation Board of Trustees and TEKNOFEST Chairman Selçuk Bayraktar attended the closing program of the festival. The program started with the presentation of awards to the students who ranked in the competitions and continued with the presentation of plaques to the teams affiliated with the Ministry of National Defence and the Ministry of Interior. After the T3 Foundation management and the team took a souvenir photo, closing speeches were made.
Red and White in the Sky, everywhere in Izmir is TEKNOFEST
For five days, the sky is red and white at Çiğli Air Base, and everywhere in Izmir is TEKNOFEST; Minister of Industry and Technology, Mehmet Fatih Kacır, said that we are now completing a TEKNOFEST full of excitement and enthusiasm: “We hosted hundreds of thousands of our guests right in the Independence Square. We felt the pride in our bones. Maybe TEKNOFEST Izmir will end here today, but for everyone who meets this square, for each of us who experience this climate, I believe that nothing will ever be the same.
A parent or a teacher raising his/her child, a master or an engineer sweating in a factory, young and old, men and women, from now on, every one of us are soldiers of the national technology initiative. Until the Turkish youth, until the TEKNOFEST generation turns their dreams into reality until our Türkiye rises above the level of contemporary civilizations until our civilization becomes a leader in science and technology again as it was centuries ago, until the hopes of the deprived, oppressed, innocent people who walk with us to the future blossom until their faces meet with a smile until the order in which power is superior to right comes to an end until a fairer world is established, we will be one and together on this journey."
Kacır also said, "Dear young people; you are the pioneers and raiders of this journey. Just as the poet addressed you; 'My young man, the day you receive the signal from your ancestor, you will walk, the nation will walk behind you. I bring you greetings from Ulubatlı Hasan, you are in the hand, you are in the tongue, you are in the heart, you are in the head, you are at the age when Fatih conquered Istanbul." The one who loves the Republic the most is the one who works the hardest for it. We are celebrating the 100th anniversary of our Republic, which we founded with blood and wisdom, with great enthusiasm. With 4.5 million guests, we organized the world's biggest festivals in the biggest cities of Türkiye for the 100th anniversary of our Republic. We stepped into the Turkish Century with songs of fully independent Türkiye. This pride belongs to the Turkish Nation. This pride belongs to the TEKNOFEST generation. Do not think that our songs were heard only in Izmir, the Turkish anthem was also sung in Baku and Karabakh. Those who love us are happier, more hopeful and stronger now. Those who look at us with hostility on earth are more timid, more anxious. In front of history, in the presence of the Turkish nation, we promise that we will never give up walking together with the Turkish youth on the journey of the national technology initiative, and we will never turn back from this path."
TEKNOFEST Generation Growing Every Year
On the 100th anniversary of our Republic, we are living the last moments of a magnificent TEKNOFEST in Izmir, the pearl of the Aegean. Selçuk Bayraktar, Chairman of T3 Foundation Board of Trustees and TEKNOFEST Board of Directors, said, "We came together with our young brothers and sisters and the technologies of the future in beautiful Izmir: "Once again, we were happy to see the determination and talent of our young people. On this path we set out in 2018, more and more young people accompany us every year. The TEKNOFEST generation, which comes like a bottom wave, grows bigger every year. In the 9 TEKNOFESTs we have organized so far, approximately 2 million young people competed with their projects. More than 9 million visitors came to TEKNOFESTs and breathed the air of the future Türkiye. Do not look at the applications of 2 million young people as an ordinary number. These applications are the future of our nation, our future, the guarantee of Türkiye's leadership in science and technology. In this city full of traces of our history, we came together with our innovative ideas and started to build our future. In order to be worthy of the legacy left by the pioneers of our civilization such as Ibn-i Sina, Al-Jazari, Ibn-i Heysem, Ali Kuşçu and Harezmi, we are sailing to new horizons with our youth. If our ancestors could see the efforts and endeavours of our youth today, they would be proud to see that the struggle throughout history was not in vain."
Bayraktar continued: "This innovative spirit and determination we see at TEKNOFEST is a harbinger that the 21st century will be the 'Century of Türkiye'. The national technology initiative continues to take root with TEKNOFEST. The deeper a sapling takes root in the soil, the higher it reaches to the sky. We, too, are proudly reaching for the future by saying from the roots to the skies. Each TEKNOFEST becomes stronger and more magnificent than the previous one with your support. We are re-establishing our bond with technology that has been severed for centuries. Our hope is reborn every morning and refreshed every morning. As Gazi Mustafa Kemal Atatürk said, "Sleeping nations either die or wake up as slaves." Türkiye is now awake...
We know that when this nation wakes up, there is no power on earth that can hold it back. We are advancing to the top in technology and science, and sowing the seeds of a fully independent Türkiye together. I would like to thank our team at the T3 Foundation, our volunteers, our stakeholders, our valuable Izmir residents and our beloved nation who have contributed to the realization of TEKNOFEST. Dear young people, I see the light in your eyes. This light is the same as the light in the eyes of our ancestors who fought for our independence. With this light, we will illuminate not only today, but also tomorrow and the future together for humanity. Let the Türkiye Century be the beginning of the era in which we raise our flag to the highest heights in high technology.
President Erdoğan was at TEKNOFEST
President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, who attended the festival organized by the Technology Team Foundation of Türkiye and the Ministry of Industry and Technology, gave awards to the winners of the technology competitions organized with the aim of a technology-developing Türkiye. During the festival, the Turkish Air Force's aerobatic team, our national pride Turkish Stars and Solo Türk performed demonstration flights in the skies of Izmir. Domestic and national production aircraft such as Akıncı, Anka, Bayraktar TB2, Hürkuş, Gendarmerie Steel Wings, Paramotor, Gyrocopter, Atak Helicopter, Police Grape Cluster and Coast Guard Search and Rescue demonstrations also received great applause at the festival. Akıncı's arm flight with the Turkish Stars and the joint flight of the Steel Wings and Solo Türk, which was held for the first time in Izmir, were among the shows that received great acclaim at the festival.
Technology and entrepreneurship competitions, workshops for the 6-14 age group in the Science Street, Air and Land Vehicles Exhibition, Planetarium, Vertical Wind Tunnel, Climate Tunnel, Virtual Reality Tunnel, Solar Observation Activity, Space Themed Inflatable Playground, Simulation Experience Areas, First Flight Activity with Students, Pedal Flight Activity, Refik Anadol's "Machine Memories: Space" Exhibition, Refik Anadol's "Machine Memories: Space" Event, Your Stage Event, main stage shows, TEKNOFEST Discovery Game organized for the first time this year and many more activities. Dokuz Eylül University State Conservatory students took the stage at the festival and gave the participants a musical feast, while DJ Burak Yeter entertained the visitors with his stage.
Pre-events of Take Off Startup Summit held in Izmir
Within the scope of TEKNOFEST, for the first time this year, the Izmir stage of the TEKNOFEST Startup Competition was also completed in Ankara and Izmir in order to transform the projects of the team members who applied to TEKNOFEST Competitions into startups, to grow the startups and thus to develop the entrepreneurship ecosystem of our country. Within the scope of TEKNOFEST Startup Competition, a total of more than 7 million TL was offered. In line with the goal of contributing to the entrepreneurship ecosystem, TAKE OFF Startup Summit, organized under the main execution of the Technology Team Foundation of Türkiye, the Ministry of Industry and Technology and the Presidential Investment Office, will be held in Istanbul in December 2023.
Students competed fiercely in Deneyap Ideathon and Deneyap Makeathon Competition
The Deneyap Ideathon and Deneyap Makeathon Competition organized exclusively for Deneyap Technology Workshop students at TEKNOFEST Izmir was completed. Within the scope of the competition, it was aimed for students to reinforce their idea development processes and presentation skills, as well as to experience the productization process and brand development. 28 teams competed in the Deneyap Ideathon, which received 913 team applications, and 32 finalist teams competed in the Deneyap Makeathon, which received 1005 team applications.
As every year, promotional and event stands were set up at TEKNOFEST Izmir. A total of 208 booths took place with 130 booths opened by 78 Stakeholder Institutions from 11 sectors, 17 Sponsors, 67 Companies, 39 Food Court participants and 106 participating companies. More than 300 booth activities organized at the stands met with students and young people.
