The 3rd Turkic World Summer Forum convened in Istanbul from 6 to 15 July 2026 under the title “The Future of the Turkic World,” hosted by Ibn Haldun University. At the outset of the programme, OTS Secretary General Ambassador Kubanychbek Omuraliev welcomed the forum's young participants at the OTS Secretariat.

Now in its third edition, the Summer Forum has established itself as a recurring platform bringing together young people from across the Turkic states for ten days of academic exchange. The programme is dedicated to dialogue, academic cooperation and the strengthening of bonds among the youth of the Turkic world – combining scholarly engagement with the personal networks on which long-term regional cooperation is built. The OTS lists the forum within its education activities, and its Secretary General's personal engagement with participants underscores the importance the Organization attaches to the format.

The forum belongs to a growing family of youth-focused academic initiatives across the Turkic world – from the Turkic World Summer School, whose 2025 edition hosted a dedicated workshop on the Orhun Process and TURKUNIB, to model-OTS simulations and student exchange programmes – that together cultivate a generation of scholars and professionals at home in the wider region.

For TURKUNIB member universities, initiatives of this kind complement institutional cooperation with people-to-people academic ties. The forum's host, Ibn Haldun University, illustrates the role individual universities can play in convening the youth of the Turkic world – a model open to institutions across the Union.

Photo: Organization of Turkic States (turkicstates.org)

Photo: Organization of Turkic States (turkicstates.org)

Photo: Organization of Turkic States (turkicstates.org)

Based on official OTS reporting: OTS Secretary General welcomed participants of the 3rd Turkic World Summer Forum