TÜBA 53rd General Assembly Was Held
TÜBA 53rd General Assembly was held in Ankara on July 4, 2018. The Presidency and member elections made after the opening speeches of Minister of Science, Industry and Technology Dr. Faruk Özlü and TÜBA President Prof. Ahmet Cevat Acar, and Academy Conference titled as “Westernism of Second Constitutionalism and Reform in the Religion” by TÜBA Principal Member Prof. M. Şükrü Hanioğlu.
Minister Dr. Özlü, who made the opening speech of the program, expressed his pleasure to meet with important participants from the scientific world and hoped that the General Assembly would bring good results for TÜBA and science world. At the beginning of his speech, expressing that he remembers TÜBA Honorary Member and Islamic Science History Researcher Prof. Fuat Sezgin with mercy and gratitude, Dr. Özlü said: “Fuat Sezgin was one of the very exceptional names raised at our republican history. Fuat Sezgin's services to the history of Islamic science will not be forgotten. We will continue our studies for the survival of his name and the protection of his great inheritance. The new era will be a period in which we will stand up in science and technology as well as in every area. We, as the ministry, have prepared the idea and physical infrastructure of this standing up with the work we have done so far. We mobilized all means and tools to make Turkey a science center.”
President Acar: “We have acted with understanding of ‘differences are wealth not the cause of conflict and responsibility of ‘being the Turkey’s National Academy of Sciences’.
Expressing his thanks to member of the general assembly and Minister Dr. Özlü, TÜBA President Prof. Acar stated that he believes the new president of TÜBA will continue to work as a respected and active member of the world science community. He continued: “If there is a success, this achievement has been achieved as a result of our work with our vice president, council members, working groups and all our members during my two-term presidency.”
Prof. Acar said: “In August 2012, I began the duty at an environment in which about half of the former members left the academy and there are debates at national and international level. From the day I started, we have seen differences as wealth, not as a cause of conflict, and we have shaped our activities in this direction. I and my colleagues in the administration have never distinguished any member or scientist because of their intellectual, religious, or political sense. I would like to thank them very much for their support and encouragement. When I came to the office, the institutionalization of the Academy was an important issue. TÜBA is an institution which has a little recognition because of not being a performer. We invited all of our stakeholders to participate in all of our activities in an inclusive way. Feedback from our stakeholders has contributed to our motivation. Another dimension of the institutionalization of the Academy is the elimination of legal and structural deficiencies. In this sense, starting from the first year, we have initiated studies that require some changes, especially member election.” President Acar concluded his speech by saying that he would like to thank all the stakeholders with the members of the academy and staff for their support and contribution during his presidency.
The General Assembly ended with the presentation of the academic program and projects of TÜBA President Prof. Ahmet Cevat Acar, in the year 2018 and following the discussion of other issues on the agenda.
