TÜRGEV (Türkiye Youth and Education Service Foundation) unveiled 7 key lessons at TercihFest 2025, reshaping girls’ education in Türkiye.
28 July 2025
Discover how TÜRGEV is transforming the landscape of girls’ education in Türkiye. During TercihFest 2025, seven powerful lessons emerged—spotlighting opportunity, leadership, and purpose-driven academic choices.
What determines a young woman's future—her zip code or her opportunities? In countries where access to education remains deeply unequal, this question is more than just theoretical. At TercihFest 2025, held in Istanbul from July 25–27, TÜRGEV answered it boldly: geography may influence beginnings, but education defines the destination.
Organized in collaboration with Ibn Haldun University and Istanbul Technical University, TercihFest 2025 brought together leading academics, policymakers, and private sector pioneers with over a thousand prospective university students. It wasn’t just about choosing a major-it was about choosing a mission.
How TÜRGEV Empowers Girls in Türkiye to Overcome Geographic Barriers Through Education
In regions where geography too often defines opportunity, TÜRGEV is leading a quiet revolution in Türkiye-empowering young women through education, mentorship, and values-based development. At TercihFest 2025, TÜRGEV showcased a bold model that enables girls from underserved communities to rise above their environment and shape their futures with purpose. With academic support and leadership training, this initiative is not just closing gaps-it's opening doors across the nation.
1. Equal Opportunity is the Real Engine of Success
TÜRGEV Chairwoman and Attorney Hatice Akıncı Yılmaz shared how strategic support can change destinies:
“Success is not just about ability- it’s about the opportunities we provide.”
From TÜRGEV’s Kartal dormitory, 33 students ranked nationally in Türkiye’s YKS 2025 (the national university entrance exam, similar to the SAT). In Silopi, a southeastern town often marginalized in educational access, several TÜRGEV students placed among the top 10,000.
This is not luck—it’s equal opportunity in action.
2. University Choice: Not Just a Decision, a Declaration of Future
University selection is not simply an academic preference- it’s a life trajectory.
Yılmaz emphasized that TÜRGEV views university preference as a strategic compass, not just the outcome of an exam. Every choice a student makes sends a ripple into the nation’s future, especially when guided by mentorship, values, and long-term vision.
3. TÜRGEV’s Educational Ecosystem: Beyond Accommodation
TÜRGEV’s work extends far beyond providing accommodation. It builds a multidimensional ecosystem of leadership and life readiness:
Mentorship programs
Ethics and values-based education
Leadership workshops
Crisis decision-making skills
Yılmaz shared:
“Every young woman we invest in becomes a carrier of our national vision-equipped to lead, solve, and inspire.”
4. Local Inspiration, Global Impact
At TercihFest 2025, students met with leaders who represent innovation, courage, and national service:
Minister of Foreign Affairs Hakan Fidan
BAYKAR Chairman Selçuk Bayraktar
Defense Industry President Haluk Görgün
Journalist Mehmet Akif Ersoy
Polar Scientist Burcu Özsoy
Their presence was more than symbolic. It expressed the message loud and clear: Türkiye believes in its youth.
5. TercihFest 2025: From Information to Inspiration
Unlike traditional academic fairs, TercihFest 2025 went deeper. It offered a platform where young people didn’t just receive guidance-they discovered purpose.
What kind of future do you want to shape?
How will your career serve your community?
What kind of leader will you become?
These questions defined the spirit of the event
6. Geography Is Not Destiny—Education Is
Referencing the famed 14th-century philosopher Ibn Khaldun, Yılmaz noted:
“Geographical conditions may shape societies, but when it comes to individuals, education, culture, values, and effort make the real difference.”
TÜRGEV’s philosophy reflects this deeply: with fair systems and value-driven guidance, young women can rise above local limitations and contribute globally.
7. Investing in Girls is Investing in Türkiye’s Future
With efforts extending across the country and the broader Islamic world, TÜRGEV seeks to transform potential into global contribution.
As TÜRGEV Chairwoman Hatice Akıncı Yılmaz declared:
“Believing in young people is believing in Türkiye. Every opportunity we provide them is a step toward the future we want to build.”
Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)
1. What is TÜRGEV and what does it stand for?
TÜRGEV (Türkiye Youth and Education Service Foundation) is a nonprofit organization dedicated to empowering girls in Türkiye through values-based education, leadership development, and equal opportunity access to university preparation and support programs.
2. What is TercihFest 2025 and how does it support girls’ university education in Türkiye?
TercihFest 2025 was a national education summit hosted in Istanbul by TÜRGEV, Ibn Haldun University, and Istanbul Technical University. It connected over 1,000 prospective female university students with academic mentors, policy leaders, and role models to guide purposeful university choices.
3. How does TÜRGEV help girls overcome regional inequality in access to education?
TÜRGEV supports girls from underserved regions in Türkiye with dormitory housing, academic tutoring, career mentorship, and leadership training. Its programs help female students overcome barriers tied to geography, income, or family background.
4. What are the top achievements of TÜRGEV’s female students in the YKS 2025 university exam?
In YKS 2025, 114 female students from TÜRGEV dormitories across Türkiye excelled. Notably, 33 from Istanbul ranked nationally, while several students from Silopi, Şırnak- a disadvantaged southeastern region- placed in the top 10,000, demonstrating the power of equal opportunity.
5. Why does TÜRGEV focus on strategic university preferences for girls in Türkiye?
TÜRGEV believes university decisions shape lifelong impact. Its programs guide girls to choose fields aligned with leadership, national service, and social impact-transforming a university preference into a mission-driven life path.
6. How is TÜRGEV’s educational model different from other dormitory or scholarship programs?
TÜRGEV offers more than housing or financial aid. Its ecosystem includes ethics education, personalized mentorship, leadership workshops, and real-life problem-solving experiences-preparing young women not just for exams, but for national leadership.
7. How is TÜRGEV’s impact on girls’ education relevant to global education equity?
By investing in girls from underrepresented regions in Türkiye, TÜRGEV aligns with global education goals such as SDG 4 (Quality Education) and SDG 5 (Gender Equality). It models how nonprofit leadership can break systemic barriers and scale educational justice.
