The 2027 pilgrimage draw was drawn in the presence of a notary in Ankara. Speaking to the pilgrim candidates who continued their excited wait before the draw, President of Religious Affairs Arpaguş said, “The pilgrimage journey first begins in the heart. What matters is the emotion and excitement we feel in our hearts. The joy of those whose names are drawn in the draw and the sadness of those who carry this hope for next year are very valuable in the sight of Allah. Because what is important in all the worships we have done and will perform are our faith, intention and sincerity. Therefore, regardless of the result of the draw, if our intention is sincere, it will lead us to the will of Allah.” The Presidency of Religious Affairs held the draw for the 2027 Hajj organization. This year, a total of 1 million 878 thousand 46 citizens experienced the excitement of the draw, including 252 thousand 708 people who pre-registered for the first time and 1 million 625 thousand 338 people who were registered from previous years and completed the registration renewal process.

GOOD NEWS AFTER 17 YEARS
Those whose names appeared in the drawing shed tears of joy. This year, Saudi Arabia allocated a quota of 84 thousand 942 people to Türkiye for the 2027 Hajj organization. Mehmet Bal, whose name was included in the draw, said, “It’s out, thank God. Thank God, it’s been 17 years later. We’ve been waiting since 2011. May God grant it to everyone. We will go with my wife, if possible. It can’t be explained, it can be experienced. It’s a great feeling.” Birgül Bal, one of the pilgrim candidates, stated that they had never participated in the draw until today and said, “There is a good thing in coming here today. We have never come here before. We were invited, we came.” Bal, who then video-called his children, shared his excitement. Meryem Çınar, who noticed that the name of Sevda Artuç, who was both her teacher and her friend, appeared in the pilgrimage draw, gave the good news by phone.

HE WILL GO WITH HIS WIFE
A couple, who had been waiting for their names to be drawn in the pilgrimage draw for nearly 16 years, experienced the joy of being entitled to go to the Holy Land. The pilgrim candidate said, “It has been 16 years. I am very happy. My wife waited a long time. We will go with my wife. I came with my grandchildren. Thank God, may God grant it to everyone.” The draw results can be inquired via the e-Government Gateway starting from 20:00 on July 22.

With the start of the agricultural season, thousands of seasonal workers came to Konya Plain with their families. Seasonal workers, especially from the Eastern and Southeastern Anatolia region, do hoeing work in the beet fields, working under the heat and shedding their sweat. Children either help their families by working in the fields or spend time creating their own games. The teams of the Provincial Directorate of Family and Social Services step in at this point and do not leave the families working abroad alone even for a moment. With the participation of Konya Provincial Director Arif Topal and many staff, a social support event was organized for seasonal agricultural worker families with the project ‘Standing with the family in the pursuit of abundance’.

The teams visited the families and listened to their demands and requests. Many activities were carried out at the event, which was also supported by non-governmental organizations, from health screening to personal care, hygiene training, workshops and games with children. The teams made the children happy by giving them various gifts. Provincial Director Topal informed families about the services offered by the Ministry of Family and Social Services and said, “We will continue our work to increase the social welfare of our children and families with determination. We are always on their side.”

OUR STATE IS WITH US
Stating that they are satisfied with the work done by the state, the agricultural workers said, “Thanks to the teams, they came and shaved us. They also organize events such as games and open-air cinema for our children. Our state is always with us, we thank the authorities.”

Reactions to former graduate Tijen Mergen, who targeted Muslim students and their families with her post after Boğaziçi University’s Graduation Ceremony, are continuing. Mergen’s use of the words “I would like to see a contemporary portrait”, targeting families wearing chadors and skullcaps, was met with great reaction from all segments of society. Social media users stood as one against this indigestive approach that humiliates Muslim families by hiding behind the guise of “awareness”. Minister of Family and Social Services Mahinur Özdemir Göktaş, in her post on her social media account, said, “Targeting mothers and families who share the joy of their children’s graduation is not modernity, it is blatant discrimination. This old tutelage mentality, which humiliates people based on their clothing, looks down on our nation’s values and belittles a segment of the society, has no equivalent in Türkiye anymore. We will not remain silent when anyone is belittled, targeted and marginalized because of their belief, identity, clothing or lifestyle. “We will never give up our fight against those who try to divide, polarize and pit our nation against each other,” he said.

“A DISCRIMINANT UNDERSTANDING”
Women and Democracy Foundation (KADEM) also stated on its X/Twitter account that the concept of classifying women as “contemporary”, “acceptable” or “belonging” based on their clothes is a discriminatory approach and said: “The modernity of a society is not measured by how everyone looks the same, but by the ability of people with different beliefs, preferences and lifestyles to live together with equal rights and dignity. Whether or not a woman covers her head is the measure of her mind, effort, merit, success or freedom.” “Inclusion is not only about accepting those who are similar to us, but also about defending the equal existence of those who are different from us. Every public space should be free from discrimination.”

IT’S POLARIZING

A user from BÜMED Student Team said, “Such generalizations polarize us instead of moving us forward.”

Another user, a Boğaziçi graduate, commented, “Contemporaryness is not about how people dress; it is about freedom of thought, the value given to science and respect for each other.”

Another comment said: “Fortunately, this understanding cannot pass through the filter of the new generation.” statements were included.

Various ministry representatives, who made presentations at the GNAT School Attacks Investigation Commission, announced revolutionary new practices that will protect children and young people from possible risks. Accordingly, many new measures will be put into effect, from family guides to digital detox camps, from risk detection with e-Government integration to psychological screenings in schools.
With the work of the Ministry of Family and Social Services, every family will have a guide. The family guide will deal with every problem of that family, just like the family doctor. “Digital detox camps” that will enable young people to move away from digitalization will be expanded.
With the work of the Ministry of Youth and Sports, all young people will be considered natural members of youth centers via e-government. Thanks to the developed digital data integration, children in the risk group who are absent from school, are single parents, and are neither in education nor in employment will be instantly identified. Nearly 4 thousand youth workers will go to the field and conduct household visits in coordination with headmen, religious officials and family physicians.
With the work of the Ministry of Health, behavioral risk screening will be implemented in the 10-18 age group. Children will be evaluated without diagnosis with short surveys to be administered in 4th, 7th, 9th and 11th grades. Depending on the risk level, you will be directed to a healthy life center, family doctor or hospital. Risk areas evaluated in the screenings, general mental health, anger management and impulsive behaviors will be questioned. If a high risk is detected in the child, he will be referred to child and adolescent psychiatry. Children’s appointments will be made by the Health Department to avoid any delays.

A new phase has been reached in the investigation carried out by the Istanbul Chief Public Prosecutor’s Office against the “Criminal Organization of Friends”. The testimonies of those who supported the AHBAP Association during the earthquake, when more than 7 billion donations were collected, who assassinated the reputation of state institutions, and who made statements to ensure that millions of dollars flowed to AHBAP, will be heard. First, it was decided to take the statements of announcers Ece Üner and Fatih Portakal, lawyer Feyza Altun, singer Gökhan Özoğuz and presenter Öykü Serter. Serter, Üner and Özoğuz, who testified yesterday, tried to take the blame off themselves by admitting that they had not invested a single penny into the association. When three famous names were cornered, they took refuge in the tale of “we were deceived”. Ece Üner claimed that she gave a message of unity and put the blame on Haluk Levent, saying, “If the aid money is used in this way, I feel deceived too.” Öykü Serter stepped aside, saying, “I do not trust such communities. I did not invest money in the Friends Association.” Gökhan Özoğuz also said, “I had the will not to provide aid to the association. I was very disappointed.”

ANNOUNCER ECE ÜNER: Ece Üner opposed the criticism towards the Dude in the live broadcast and said, upon Haluk Levent’s words “I will explain the account of 850 million liras one by one”, “Why should he have to give such an account? The Dude is ours and AFAD is ours.” He used the following expressions:

ANNOUNCER FATİH PORTAKAL: During the earthquake, he said to the audience, “Dear Haluk Levent, take whatever money they send you, my friend. I do not know where the money going to AFAD or any other institution was spent.” He defended the donations to be made to Dude. He also made a joint donation broadcast with Oğuzhan Uğur.

LAWYER FEYZA ALTUN: She was among the people who supported Ahbap’s charity activities and shared his calls for donations on her social media account. Altun made a scandalous post saying, “I trust Haluk Levent and Dude more than I trust all state institutions.”

SINGER GÖKHAN ÖZOĞUZ: In the video he shared at the time of the earthquake, he humiliated the state institutions by saying “For the first time in my life, I feel the country so abandoned” and mobilized for donations to flow to Dude.

At that time, Özgür Demirtaş asked citizens on his social media account: “Please support AHBAP.” He called for support for the aid campaign.

“There was no state, but there were people, non-governmental organizations, Haluk Levent and Dude and thousands of unnamed heroes, there is a beautiful nation, from the child who sent his piggy bank to the dog waiting for its owner with a slice of bread.” Pelin Batu, who shared the post, expressed her regret.

ALTAYLI IS IN THE LEADING ROLE

JOURNALIST FATİH ALTAYLI:
“Of course, every penny collected by AHBAP will be called to account. Haluk Levent has been giving this account penny by penny for years without anyone asking. Why are those who say Haluk Levent should be held accountable angry with those who want the governments to be held accountable for the trillions they have collected?” he said.

Fatih Altaylı, one of the influential names of the choir that made Levent an “icon”, forgot his previous words about Levent after the operation, saying, “We knew he was addicted to gambling.”

Işıkhan spoke at the Digital Transformation in Working Life and Young People Seminar organized by the Turkish Heavy Industry and Service Sector Public Employers’ Union (TÜHİS) in a hotel in Tuzla. Stating that the rapid change in technology directly or indirectly affects many areas, especially working life, Işıkhan said that in this context, digital transformation and fair transition perspective in professions are among the most important topics of today and the future. Işıkhan stated that young people are the ones who adapt to this process most easily, and stated that with this understanding, they are integrating corporate services with digital systems, while also preparing the labor market for this process. Emphasizing that they are trying to provide equipment and experience in the digital professions of the future, especially to young people who will enter business life, Işıkhan continued as follows: “Within the scope of digitalizing our corporate services, we offer fast, safe and accessible services to our citizens in all areas on mobile phones and tablets with our 893 applications. With MEDULA, we offer healthy and sustainable health service monitoring to all our citizens, and with our KADİM PERI application, we ensure the prevention of unregistered employment thanks to fast and safe data flow and digital cross-checks. Veteran and MOSSİP “With our applications, we provide various conveniences to our retirees so that they can follow all processes related to them, and with our OHS KATIP application, we manage the authorization, certification and OHS professional assignment processes effectively and sustainably in a completely digital environment.”

“THE USE RATE OF SSI SERVICES IN E-GOVERNMENT APPLICATIONS IS AT 9.8 PERCENT”

Işıkhan stated that the e-Government system has been at the top of the platform since it was put into effect and continued: “Currently, one of the 3 most serving applications in e-Government belongs to our ministry and its affiliated organizations. We have 234 applications that have been visited 1 billion 600 million times during 2025. In the first 6 months of 2026, our citizens have visited our SSI applications 758 million 197 thousand 668 times, all “It has increased the usage rate of SSI services among e-Government applications to 9.8 percent. İŞKUR, the employment center of our country, continues to digitalize the employment process end-to-end through our e-branch and mobile applications while bringing together job seekers and employers. We match the right talent with the right job thanks to our artificial intelligence-supported matching system by effectively using the modern algorithms you have trained in our digital services.” Stating that İŞKUR will continue to build the future of employment with high technology, Işıkhan noted that he believes that young people themselves will be the architects of the digital ecosystem in the near future. Işıkhan said that they do not see this transformation only as an economic process, but also consider it with its social dimensions. Explaining that they have adopted a just transition approach that leaves no one behind in the transformation process and allows everyone to access new opportunities, Işıkhan stated that strengthening the transition processes from education to employment, developing professional skills and implementing inclusive employment policies are the basic elements of this approach. Minister Işıkhan noted that the sustainability of working life is possible with strong social dialogue mechanisms as well as technological transformation, and at this point, TÜHİS has assumed an important responsibility as one of the most important institutional actors of working life with its duty in the field of public employer unionism. Stating that TÜHİS has 330 members and has successfully managed 383 collective labor agreement processes covering approximately 600 thousand public workers, Işıkhan explained that 33 of the 87 universities that are members of TÜHİS have hospitals, and that the collective labor agreement processes of the workers working in these hospitals are carried out. Işıkhan stated that 120 separate collective bargaining agreements for universities have been successfully concluded in this context, and that the participation of universities that are not TÜHİS members in this structure will enable the sharing of common knowledge and the execution of collective bargaining processes that are more compatible with the framework protocols. Emphasizing that thus, the unity of practice among universities will be strengthened and predictability in working life will increase, Işıkhan stated that this will make significant contributions to further consolidating labor peace throughout the country.

“OUR YOUTH WILL BE PIONEERS IN THE NEAR FUTURE, WHERE THOSE WHO DOMINATE DIGITAL MEDIA WILL HAVE A SAY IN THE WORLD”

Emphasizing that strong institutions, strong social dialogue mechanisms and common sense are among the most important elements that will build the working life of the Turkey Century, Işıkhan said: “As Turkey, which brings a new front to the struggle for growth on a global scale every day, our greatest capital is the human power we have. We see our youth as the most valuable part of this human treasure we have, as the hosts of our Turkey Century march. To date, our country’s local and national development journey has been accomplished with their minds, ideas, intelligence and energy.” “It has always been young people who shoulder and carry out the developments. I believe that those who dominate digital media will have a say in the world and that our youth will be pioneers in the near future, and I would like to express that we are taking all the steps that will prepare them for the competitive world of the future.” Pointing out that the world is passing through an important threshold in political, economic and technological terms, Işıkhan stated that the digital transformation process is a very important window of opportunity that will make Türkiye the shining star of the next century in every respect.

“WE WILL WORK TO INTEGRATE ALL THE POSSIBILITIES OFFERED BY THE NEW ERA IN EVERY FIELD”

While evaluating opportunities, Minister Işıkhan stated that they have the human maturity to preserve the importance of concepts such as labor, sweat and social justice, which are common values of humanity, and said, “No matter how much the working methods and systems change, the value placed on labor, rights, justice and sweat will not change. We will continue to be a supporter of every production and every work that centers labor and social justice in both working life and social life. We will work to integrate all the opportunities offered by the new age we are in, into every field, especially working life. This “We will continue to implement all the necessary policies with determination to turn the transformation into an opportunity that focuses on people, strengthens professions and brings new horizons to working life.” he said. Many guests attended the program, where TÜHİS General Secretary Mehmet Baş and Turkish Employers’ Associations Confederation (TİSK) Chairman Özgür Burak Akkol also spoke.