We officially launched the implementation phase of our project titled North Macedonia Inscription with a ceremony held at the historic Mustafa Pasha Mosque in Skopje on 19 December 2025, marking a significant milestone in our sustained commitment to cultural heritage, academic responsibility, and regional cooperation. Carried out by International Balkan University with the support of the Presidency for Turks Abroad and Related Communities (YTB), the Ministry of Culture of the Republic of North Macedonia, and the Islamic Religious Community of North Macedonia, the project reflects our shared dedication to safeguarding the historical legacy of the Balkans through rigorous scholarship and meaningful public engagement. The opening ceremony was honored by the participation of the President of the Assembly of the Republic of North Macedonia, Mr. Afrim Gashi, Member of Parliament Mr. Salih Murat, Rector of Yalova University Prof. Dr. Mehmet Bahçekapılı, alongside numerous distinguished guests and members of the mosque congregation, creating a dignified atmosphere that underlined the importance of preserving the region’s cultural memory.

Following the ceremony, we continued the program with an exhibition and panel discussion organized at the Čifte Hammam in Skopje within the scope of the project, offering the public and the academic community a structured platform to engage with the project’s vision and scholarly value. The panel was moderated by Assoc. Prof. Dr. Seyhan M. Ibrahimi, Secretary General of our University and a faculty member of the Department of Turkish Language Teaching, and featured contributions from Prof. Dr. Mehmet Samsakçı and Prof. Dr. Ertuğrul Karakuş, who played a leading role in initiating and developing this meaningful project for our University and for the cultural heritage of North Macedonia. Through informed discussion and academic framing, we highlighted the intellectual foundations of the initiative, the interdisciplinary nature of the work, and the relevance of inscription studies for understanding identity, continuity, and historical context across the Balkan region.

As part of the exhibition, we introduced to the public and the academic community a book presenting the academic and cultural outputs of the North Macedonia Inscription project, further strengthening the project’s contribution to accessible knowledge and long-term scholarly reference. Through this project, we continue to contribute to the documentation, preservation, and multilingual interpretation of Ottoman-era inscriptions located on more than 120 architectural monuments, while reaffirming our strong commitment to safeguarding the shared historical and cultural legacy of the Balkan region. By combining field-based heritage work with academic production and public visibility, we also reinforce the international profile of International Balkan University and our role as an institution that advances cultural responsibility through research, partnership, and sustained educational impact.