https://www.iha.com.tr/haber-hayalle-baslayip-avrupanin-en-iyisi-oldular-927271/

Kenan Yavuz Museum, which was established in Beşpınar village of Bayburt, which has the least population in Turkey, to carry the cultural heritage of Anatolia to the future, is the best in Europe in the European Museum of the Year Award (EMYA) competition organized by the European Museum Forum (EMF). Silletto won the grand prize. Kenan Yavuz, the founder of the museum, said, “We were proud to start with a dream and become the best in Europe.”

Silletto won the grand prize in the competition organized by the European Museum Forum under the auspices of the Council of Europe, which was founded by businessman Kenan Yavuz in the village of Bayburt Beşpınar, where he was born and raised.

In the award justification of the statement made by the European Museum Forum, “The cultural studies carried out with the support and participation of the local people, based on the richness of rural life, signing very successful and exemplary projects in the revival of social and economic life, to bring it to the agenda, to introduce the life and stories of the local people with a corporate identity, to bring the historical and cultural heritage of the region to the world by exemplifying and to contribute to the socio-economic life.

Expressing that Kenan Yavuz Ethnography Museum, which was opened as a Culture House in 2012, has started to grow day by day, Furkan Yavuz said, “As visitors from Bayburt and neighboring provinces come, we realized how much the project could grow. Participating in the competition organized by this European Museum Forum in the past years, getting to the finals and receiving an award has become a dream. We started to apply for the competition 1.5 years ago.

It has been a long and difficult process for us. Jury members came from abroad and visited our museum. Then we created a promotional film. In doing this, we have always remained true to our core. Later, we learned that we were finalists in the competition. The ceremony was to take place in England last year, this year in Russia.

The ceremony took place online this year due to Covid-19. When we heard the name of Kenan Yavuz Ethnography Museum, we were very excited and happy. As the Silletto award winner, we have now become an incredible center of attention to have such recognition under the umbrella of the European commission. I invite everyone to see our museum, ”he said.

Kenan noted that the museum, which he built within an area of ​​8000 square meters in the village called Beşpınar, in the Demirözü valley, 40 kilometers from Bayburt, is the name of the lands adorned with sweat, sharing, love and handicraft. The founder of Yavuz Ethnography Museum, businessman Kenan Yavuz said, “I am proud that the museum, which I established with my family as a social responsibility project to pay my debt to the land where I was born and grew up, has been crowned with such a great award in the international arena.

Our aim; It is to carry the cultural heritage of Anatolia and the traces of our great civilization from the past to the future. We have to protect our beauties that should not change and keep them alive in the minds of new generations in the relationship between time and space. Because without space, it will not be possible to imprint our civilization in the memory of new generations. Based on life, we built a village with a size of 15 thousand square meters, consisting of 26 different spaces, with the stones and woods we collected from the ruined houses in our villages. Due to the intense interest and demand we see, we will raise an accommodation facility in the form of an ‘inn’ with its Seljuk architecture for the upcoming tourism season.

We named our facility, which will lead the culture and experience tourism, as ‘The Place Where Stones Speak, Loru Han’. We will introduce Bayburt’s ancient culture, Dedem Korkut, Poet Zihni, Ağlar Baba, share all the subtleties, texture and scent of our local folklore with museum visitors and guests, and endeavor to ensure that they leave Bayburt as cultural ambassadors. said.

Noting that they are very happy to be chosen as the best museum in Europe, Kenan Yavuz said, “The European Museum Forum determines and defines the award processes of the best museums in Europe every year under the umbrella of the Council of Europe. The process works in 5 main categories. The awards in the main category are awarded as a result of applications made throughout Europe. In addition, an incentive award is given. This year we received the Silletto award, which is one of these 5 main categories. We are very happy. Silletto means this. This is an award focused on world cultural heritage. Producing projects that have met with the roots of cultural values ​​in the region where they are located and brought them to the agenda of the society by exemplifying them. In this sense, we have been chosen as the museum of the year in Europe. In addition, in this process, our country received the incentive award and special award of Troy 2020 and the Odunpazarı Museum of 2021. We congratulate them too, ”he said.

Kenan Yavuz’s wife Sibel Yavuz said, “We are very happy to receive this award, family. On behalf of both our country and Bayburt and our village. I hope many more. The formation of this museum was originally my mother-in-law and father-in-law.