The second session of the panel titled “Fuat Sezgin’s Legacy: Building Bridges through Science Diplomacy,” organised by our Directorate, has been held.
In the panel titled “Transcending Borders through Science Diplomacy with Fuat Sezgin’s Legacy of Islamic Science”, moderated by Coşkun Yılmaz, PhD, President of the Manuscripts Institution of Türkiye, the speakers were Prof. Mahmud Erol Kılıç, Nihal Fırat Özdemir, PhD, Zahide Özkan, PhD, and Hüseyin Şen, PhD.
Prof. Mahmud Erol Kılıç drew attention to Fuat Sezgin’s contributions to both the positive sciences and normative sciences, stating: “Fuat Sezgin devoted great effort to the classification and study of materials. He particularly emphasised the necessity of working on positive and normative sciences together.”
Nihal Fırat Özdemir, PhD, highlighted that Sezgin was a pioneer in bringing Türkiye’s scientific heritage to the international stage, saying: “What Professor Fuat Sezgin did was to showcase Türkiye’s scientific CV to the world. His most significant trait was his unwavering love for his homeland.”
Zahide Özkan, PhD, underlined the deep respect and devotion Sezgin had for his wife, Ursula, and noted: “He always placed his faith in his wife, Ursula, who contributed to his work, above everything else, and showed her great reverence.”
Hüseyin Şen, PhD, emphasised that Fuat Sezgin left a mark not only in the field of science but also in people’s hearts, stating: “Professor Fuat Sezgin was a science diplomat, but beyond that, he was a cultural diplomat and a diplomat of hearts.”
At the end of the session, moderator Coşkun Yılmaz reminded everyone that June 30 marks the anniversary of Fuat Sezgin’s passing and said: “On this date, we will make all 181 of his works publicly accessible at yek.gov.tr.”
