Last week Turkish first lady Emine Erdoğan accompanied President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan during his official visit to New York City for the 79th United Nations General Assembly (UNGA). As the Turkish president carried out bilateral meetings and delivered a historic speech on global injustices during his UNGA address, first lady Erdoğan also had a busy schedule. During her visit to New York, first lady Erdoğan attended a luncheon hosted by her U.S. counterpart, Jill Biden, and also met with Ilyasah Shabazz, daughter of U.S. civil rights leader Malcolm X, at the Turkish House (Türkevi). Erdoğan also held bilateral meetings and hosted events on themes that occupied her agenda to raise awareness, promote dialogue and reinforce Ankara’s diplomatic ties.
First lady Erdoğan has been determined to raise awareness and take action with tangible projects on cultural diplomacy, global environmental crises and sustainability of children and women’s rights. In one of the key organizations, the first lady, who chairs the U.N. Advisory Board on Zero Waste, hosted Jeffrey Sachs, president of the U.N. Sustainable Development Solutions Network, at Turkish House and signed the "Global Zero Waste Declaration of Goodwill."
Erdoğan initiated the Zero Waste Project to raise awareness about the importance of waste elimination in addressing climate change. The project, which is managed by the Turkish Ministry of Environment, Urbanization and Climate Change, tackles waste on a multilevel system, from preventing waste, optimizing resource use, reducing waste generation, and establishing effective collection systems to promoting recycling. Across Türkiye, both public and private institutions have joined the project. Legal measures have been introduced, including a nationwide plastic bag ban in 2019, to support these environmental goals. In line with the aims of the project, the "Global Zero Waste Declaration," was launched at last year’s U.N. General Assembly to promote sustainable practices worldwide. The first lady also met with the outgoing U.N. Secretary-General Antonio Guterres to discuss the current status of the Zero Waste Project.
Erdoğan is deeply committed to the issues of sustainability and climate change as they are not only existential threats for today’s generation, but she also sees them as issues that must be tackled for future generations. "Acting in accordance with the laws of nature is possible,” she says in her book, titled "The World is Our Common Home." In other words, her philosophy reflects that human interference and greed have negatively affected the environment and only by transforming this interference we can minimize the disastrous impact of our presence on the planet.
Another event first lady Erdoğan held in Turkish House was, "Flavors of Africa: A Feast of Culture, Cuisine and Friendship," which aims to promote African culture and cuisine.
"For us, who share the same planet and belong to the same human family, we believe that both gain and loss are shared; we understand that Africa's underdevelopment means the world is deprived of the continent's true potential," the first lady said in her opening remarks. In the past two decades, Türkiye has been strengthening its ties with countries in the African continent and Ankara’s initiatives from cultural diplomacy to development cooperation have been welcomed by the nations across the continent.
"As we celebrate the colors, flavors and stories of African cuisine, we aim to embrace, preserve and pass on this cultural heritage together," she said and added: "Let us dream of a world where Africa, with all its resources and people, can realize its potential in a just system."
Ankara's approach to Africa emphasizes a "win-win" strategy that fosters mutual benefit at every level, including cultural diplomacy, trade, energy and security. This attitude, coupled with historical ties free of a colonial past, has facilitated a re-establishment of a sincere dialogue between Türkiye and African countries. During the event, an expanded version of the "African Cuisine" book was also introduced. The updated book, which offers 110 unique recipes from five different regions of Africa, was published under the auspices of the Turkish Presidency and the African Cultural House Association. The spouses of the presidents of Kosovo, Mauritius, Fiji, Ireland, Botswana, Estonia, Nigeria, Bulgaria, Suriname, Gabon, Gambia, Seychelles, Kyrgyzstan, Guatemala, Bosnia-Herzegovina and the European Council were among the attendees of the event. The first lady personally served the distinguished guests Moroccan tea during the event.
As part of her agenda on cultural diplomacy, first lady Erdoğan also hosted an event titled "Bridal Treasures: A Journey Through Ottoman and Anatolian Dowries," welcoming the spouses of world leaders and offering traditional Turkish hospitality with Turkish coffee and sorbet.
During her bilateral meeting, first lady Erdoğan met with Najat Maalla M'jid, special representative of the U.N. Secretary-General on Violence against Children and also attended a UNICEF-organized program, "A Starfish Story: A Global Call to Volunteers of the Heart," where she called for global cooperation in strengthening foster care systems.
"I join this global call for volunteers of the heart and invite every compassionate nation that seeks to protect our children, the future of humanity, to unite in strengthening foster care," said Erdoğan.
Children and women’s rights have also been among the areas to which she particularly pays attention. Among the projects she particularly supports, "Come On Girls, Let’s Go To School," "Mothers and Daughters at School Literacy Campaign" and “7 Is Too Late” deal with problems related to literacy and equitable access to primary education across Türkiye.
As President Erdoğan stands up against injustices for a more just global system that would be more effective in addressing conflicts worldwide, the first lady's efforts in many areas also leave a positive mark on the current and future generations of Türkiye and the whole world. Her emphasis and efforts to raise awareness on women's and children’s rights contribute not only to the disadvantaged segments of the society in Türkiye but also to women and children in other regions from the Middle East to Africa.
