Brussels, Capital of Crossing Destinies

<p>https://youtu.be/-oUEWUqgQtk?si=12CBE62OUbXAjrL5</p>

Unity in Profession: Youth & Diplomacy Forum
Brussels, Capital of Crossing Destinies
Long-form narrative report by Kadir Duran / Bruxelles Korner

Brussels, on a Saturday afternoon.
A few steps away from the European institutions, an auditorium is about to experience something rare.

On the seats sit students from Ankara, Izmir, Konya, Brussels, Ghent, Limburg, Germany, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan and Uzbekistan.
Many of them have never attended a diplomatic event before. Often, they have never seen an ambassador up close.
Let alone five members of parliament, a Consul General and a mayor flown in specially from Anatolia all gathered for them.

The air is charged with a gentle tension: the feeling of “first times”.

On stage, a young man quietly conducts this effervescence.
Oğuzhan Bahadır Arı, President of EUROVIA, student at KU Leuven, calm face but visible determination.

What he has brought together here, very few student organisations in the history of Brussels have ever achieved.

I. The Arrival of the Diplomats When Brussels Falls Silent to Listen

When the two ambassadors, H.E. Faruk Kaymakcı and H.E. Barış Tantekin, enter the room, a silence forms almost instinctively.
Students sit upright; phones slide back onto laps.

The first to speak is Faruk Kaymakcı. His voice is calm, his sentences slow and carefully chosen.

“Diplomacy is a commitment. Not just a job.” Faruk Kaymakcı

He speaks of Brussels as a strategic crossroads: the EU, NATO, the corridors where global decisions are written.
He tells the youth:

“Here in Brussels, you can become global actors. You are at the centre of world politics. Diplomacy is not just a function it is a promise to your country and to peace.”

Ambassador Barış Tantekin follows. His tone is warmer, almost intimate.

“You are the future intellectual and professional elite of our diaspora.” — Barış Tantekin

He insists on the role of the diaspora its talent, its challenges, its responsibility:

“Turkiye–Belgium and Turkiye–EU relations will be built with you — through your education, your discipline, your integration and your contribution.”

In the audience, some students take notes as if every word might appear on an exam.

II. Panel II The Moment When the Room Breathes Differently

When the members of parliament step onto the stage, the atmosphere shifts.
More direct.
More personal.
More raw.

Ali Özkaya, İbrahim Yurdunuseven, Hasan Arslan, Serkan Koyuncu, Onur Sevim.

An unlikely line-up:
a lawyer who became a major political figure,
a former bar association president turned MP,
a physician–parliamentarian,
a charismatic mayor from Emirdağ,
and a diplomat who has served in Madagascar.

They all share one thing in common:

none of them has forgotten where they come from.

And you can hear it from their very first sentences.

II. Ali Özkaya Law, Struggle and Destiny

Ali Özkaya begins in a soft, almost nostalgic voice:

“I am the second of eight children. We studied in a mixed-grade classroom: the younger ones on one side, the older ones on the other.”

The room laughs.
He continues.

He explains how he first encountered politics… by hanging a campaign flag in 1987.
A simple gesture that would trace the next three decades of his life.

Then he recounts the encounter that changed everything.

A minister tells him and his classmates:

“Forget those dreams of becoming judges or governors. Become lawyers. An MP can fall from the sky with a parachute… but a good professional never does.”

That day, he says:

“I decided I would become a lawyer. And I have never left that path since.”

He speaks without theatrics, without self-glorification.
Yet every sentence lands with weight.

Then comes his key message the one that makes the whole room vibrate:

“Set your goals. Revise them when necessary. There is no position that honest, hard work cannot reach.”

Phones go up.
Students hit record.

IV. İbrahim Yurdunuseven — Humour, Humility and Courage

İbrahim Yurdunuseven takes the microphone with a smile.

“My teacher once told me: ‘You don’t love your country.’
I replied: ‘Sir, I’ve just enrolled, you don’t even know me yet!’”

The room bursts into laughter.

Behind the humour lies a solid path:

• law studies,

• military service,

• 27 years in legal practice,

• provincial party leadership,

• two terms in parliament.

He says:

“If I were to be born again, I would still choose law. It is a noble profession.”

Then his message, which sounds like a line from Hemingway:

“Ships without a route never reach a port. Define your route.”

And a beautiful image:

“Youth is the one who can see the white hair in the white milk. I see that youth here in front of me.”

A silence follows.
A real silence.

V. Hasan Arslan Medicine as a Calling

The physician–MP walks onto the stage.
He speaks softly, as if addressing a single student at a time.

“Medicine is a long road. A very long road. But if it makes you happy… then time no longer matters.”

He speaks of his nights in emergency wards, his years in dialysis wards, his years in the Ministry of Health.

Then he shares the encounters that marked him during his election campaign:

“Sir, you stitched my arm.
You treated my child.
You saved my father.”

The room listens, holding its breath.

His final message:

“Do your job as well as you possibly can. That is how a society changes. And never forget: unity is strength.”

VI. And Then… Serkan Koyuncu Steps on Stage. And the Room Erupts.

He is not just introduced he is almost summoned.

The Emirdağ students straighten up.
You hear whispers.
Nervous smiles.
“He’s here.”

The mayor of Emirdağ a mythical figure for the diaspora walks up to the microphone.

He starts with a sentence no one will forget:

“Every time I come to Belgium, I feel like I’m coming home.”

The room tightens; the emotion is immediate.

He continues:

“Friends from Emirdağ… raise your hands!”

Around 40% of the room stands up.
Laughter explodes.
The mayor laughs too.

Then he reveals himself in a way few public officials dare to do:

“I am the youngest of six children.
My mother was illiterate. My father was a livestock farmer.
I never had holidays. I always worked.”

He tells the story of his middle-school dream:
to become mayor of Emirdağ.

He recounts his career as an independent civil engineer.
The houses he built.
The families he helped.
The villages he served.

He talks about politics the defeat of 2014, the hard work that followed, the victory of 2019, and his re-election in 2024.

Then comes his message the one that quite literally stops time:

“Dear young people, learn Europe’s technology, science and methods. And one day, bring them to your country.
The coming era is your era. Do not disappoint us.”

Applause.
Long, intense, sincere.

The strongest moment of the evening.

VII. Then Comes the Diplomat — The Man Behind the Scenes: Onur Sevim

A respectful silence accompanies him.
The Consul General of Turkiye in Brussels is the kind of man you don’t see often but who works for all citizens, every day.

He begins with disarming honesty:

“I never dreamed of becoming a diplomat.
My dream was to become a journalist.”

He speaks about Mehmet Ali Birand, his internships in newsrooms, the existential questions, the eventual renunciation of that path.

Then he tells the story of his first posting:

“Madagascar. We opened the embassy from a floor of a hotel.
We lived among the files. An unforgettable experience.”

He talks about Brussels.
Then Tbilisi.
His most difficult posting.
Endless delegations, the tension of being in a neighbouring country to Turkiye, crises, sleepless nights.

And now Brussels again, as Consul General.

He explains what a consulate truly is:

“A consulate is the home of its citizens. Births, passports, nationality, military service, social problems… we are here for you.”

Then he summarises the philosophy of his profession:

“We want our citizens to be exemplary citizens of their host countries.
That is how their voice and Turkiye’s voice is truly heard.”

Applause.
Respect.

VIII. Panel III — Collective Intelligence: Education, Integration, Mental Health

The third panel brings together decision-makers, NGOs and civil society:

• Busra Doğan Köksu (Maarif Foundation)

• Hennan Oflu (Brussels Regional Parliament)

• Yusuf Taşpınar (UID Belgium)

• Neslihan Akyol (clinical psychologist)

They talk about mental health, integration, identity, citizenship, ambition, obstacles and strategies.

The tone is different: more analytical, closer to the field, more social.

One key message emerges:

“Social engagement and integration are not optional.
They are the foundations of your success.”

IX. Conclusion That Evening in Brussels, a Generation Stood Up

The Forum comes to an end.
But nobody leaves the room.

MPs surround the students.
Diplomats answer questions.
Young people take photos, notes, contacts.

A student from Antwerp says:

“Tonight, I understood that everything is possible.”

A student from Kazakhstan whispers:

“I’m leaving with a life project.”

A young man from Emirdağ says:

“I want to become a mayor one day.”

And a KU Leuven student sums it all up:

“This forum did not just inspire us.
It woke us up.”

That night, Brussels was not only the capital of Europe.
It was the crossroads of possible futures the place where diplomats, MPs, mayors and young people looked each other in the eye and understood that a shared future is not only possible…
but already underway.

X. The Surprise Guest When an Education Diplomat Enters the Room

Just as the Forum seemed to reach its peak, a final unexpected moment surprised the audience.

A woman enters discreetly calm, composed, elegant in a quiet, academic way.
A few students recognise her, and a murmur ripples through the room:

“That’s the Education Counsellor in Brussels…”

The level of attention changes instantly.

Because the surprise guest is none other than Hümeyra Altuntaş Kıran,
Eğitim Müşaviri, the official representative of the Turkish Ministry of National Education to Belgium and the European Union.

Her presence was not announced.
Her speech even less so.

But as soon as she starts speaking, silence falls the respectful silence reserved for a career dedicated entirely to education, international cooperation and public policy.

Hümeyra Altuntaş Kıran A Life Between Continents, Schools and Institutions

Born in 1982 in Zonguldak, and raised between Sydney, Anamur and Malatya, she embodies a profoundly transnational trajectory.

She smiles at the students:

“I grew up in different schools, different countries, different cultures…
Education is not only what you learn
it is also where life places you.”

Her academic path commands admiration:

• degree in English Language Teaching (Marmara University, 2003)

• degree in International Relations (Anadolu University, 2015)

• master’s degree in English Translation and Interpreting (Hacettepe University)

• PhD candidate in Translation and Cultural Studies (Gazi University)

Then comes an impressive professional career:

• English teacher (2003–2006)

• representative of the Ministry at the OECD (Education Indicators programme)

• representative at EUROSTAT for education statistics

• numerous study visits focused on different national education systems

• national and international projects for secondary education

• contributor and co-author of multiple international education reports

• six-month assignment at the European Commission – EURYDICE unit in Brussels

• strategic posts within the Ministry of National Education

• appointed Education Counsellor in Brussels in April 2023

A life devoted to understanding, analysing and improving education systems.

She confides gently:

“My time at EURYDICE marked me deeply.
Since then, I’ve carried Euro–Turkish educational cooperation at the core of my work.”

Her Message to the Students Clear, Concrete, Powerful

Her speech is short, structured, free of unnecessary rhetoric.
The voice of a pedagogue, equally at ease in classrooms and international meetings.

To the students, she says:

“You are studying in Europe make use of every opportunity.
Master the languages, understand the culture, and one day,
bring part of that knowledge back to Turkiye.”

She insists on:

• the importance of language skills,

• the value of European exchange programmes,

• the usefulness of double degrees,

• the growing need for internationally trained professionals,

• the strategic advantage of academic mobility,

• the necessity of acquiring European cultural literacy in addition to a diploma.

Then she summarises:

“Education is your golden passport.
It opens every door, in every country.”

A Symbolic Presence, a Quiet Source of Inspiration

Hümeyra Altuntaş Kıran’s presence was not just a “bonus moment”.
It was a deeply symbolic act.

A signal to all the Turkish and Central Asian youth present:

You are not just students.
You are a strategic generation, called to play a role between Europe and your home countries.

At the end of the Forum, she is immediately surrounded by a circle of students.
She does not speak fast. She listens. She advises. She takes her time.

A student from Ghent says:

“Her presence made me realise that my studies truly matter.”

A student from Leuven adds:

“She makes you want to go further.”

END OF THE GRAND REPORTAGE