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GSÜMED, Istanbul Accueil and Institut Français Turkey brought together the French and Francophones living in Turkey with the Marché de Noël event. Regarding the event they traditionally organize every year, GSÜMED President Elif Uzuner said, “As in the world, the number of Francophones is quite high in Turkey. With our event, we get the chance to spend time together as Francophones.”

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ISTANBUL (TR) - Galatasaray University Alumni Association (GSÜMED), which was established in 2002 to strengthen the solidarity among Galatasaray University alumni, aims to strengthen the communication between its alumni through its work. The association brings together not only graduates and their families, but also Francophones, whose numbers are increasing in Turkey, at the annual New Year's Eve event, which is traditionally organized under the name of Marché de Noël. Regarding the activities of the association, GSÜMED President Elif Uzuner said, “We aim to keep strong ties between the graduates of Galatasaray University, which was established in 1992 with the international agreement signed by the presidents of the two countries. We create an environment of intercultural solidarity by bringing together our graduates and French people living in Turkey at our annual Marché de Noël event.”

Healthy and safe event environment

Özlem Erel, President of the Istanbul Accueil Association, whose members are French, Turkish and Francophones from various nationalities living in Istanbul, said, “We think that our Marché de Noël event, which we held with Institut Français Turkey in the past years, has become more colorful and enriched with the cooperation of GSÜMED this year. We would like to thank Olivier Gauvin, Consul General of France in Istanbul, and the French Consulate General in Istanbul and Institut Français Turkey team for their support in this organization as they did until today. We were very happy to come together again in a healthy and safe environment at our event, which we could not organize last year due to the pandemic.”

New year's excitement

Providing information about this year's event, GSÜMED President Elif Uzuner said, “We hosted approximately 1,600 people with the Marché de Noël event, which we organized in cooperation with Istanbul Accueil and Institut Français Turkey, at the Turkish French Cultural Center in Beyoğlu between 11-12 December. We strengthened the bonds of friendship between the Turks and the French with our fun and colorful events.”

At the Marché de Noël event, where the excitement of the New Year is kept alive, workshops for children and adults, film screenings, and various games that everyone can participate in were organized. In the event, where the bingo draw was held in addition to a photo shoot accompanied by Santa Claus, a market place consisting of 27 stands where brands and entrepreneurs put their products for sale was set up. The event, which was canceled last year due to the pandemic, offered a healthy and safe environment to its guests with its indoor and outdoor areas. Gizem Gündoğdu Trio gave a mini concert at the event, which was sponsored by Bioderma and accompanied by the rhythm of music for 2 days.