00:00Thank you, Mr. Chair.
00:01Dear colleagues, I would like to congratulate the rapporteur, dear Luz Martinez-Seyoho.
00:06Like her previous report on history education, this is a significant piece of work
00:10that develops new proposals to support the role of education in creating a democratic society.
00:17I hope that it is not only adopted here, but also taken into account when developing new policies
00:22and that it paves the way for new projects in member states.
00:26Since we have an agenda regarding education, I would like to take this opportunity to tell you
00:32an interesting story about an educational journey.
00:3535 years ago, a 19-year-old youth was a student in northern Cyprus.
00:41Istanbul University placed an advertisement in the newspaper stating that applications
00:46for undergraduate transfers had begun.
00:50The required documents were listed in the advertisement.
00:53The young student gathered all the documents and applied.
00:57His application was accepted and he began his studies at Istanbul University.
01:02He graduated.
01:04Following that, he completed his master's degree too.
01:07For 35 years, there was never an issue regarding this diploma.
01:12Then, 35 years later, this student, Ekrem İmamoğlu, became a presidential candidate through the primary
01:19election votes of 15.5 million Turkish citizens.
01:23It was at that exact moment that his diploma was annulled.
01:27Why?
01:28Because according to the Turkish constitution, a university diploma is required to become a presidential candidate.
01:35And it wasn't just Ekrem İmamoğlu.
01:37There was another student in the same class.
01:40She pursued her academic career later in the University of Sorbonne in France and then at the University of Galatasaray in Istanbul.
01:48Simply because of this coincidence, her diploma was also cancelled 35 years later.
01:54A lawsuit was filed in the administrative court to annul this action.
01:58However, the panel of judges assigned to this case was changed by a decision of the Council of Judges and Prosecutors right before the trial.
02:08The newly appointed judges ruled that the cancellation of diploma was not unlawful.
02:14Dear colleagues, what happens in education is never independent of politics.
02:19Whether students are given the opportunity to encounter different ideas, whether a student is hungry, whether a teacher has job security, whether bullying is tolerated in schools, whether educational institutions uphold acquired rights and the rule of law, these are all political choices.
02:39The future of Europe depends on how these political choices are made.
02:44Thank you.
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