Southeastern Anatolia Textile and Raw Materials Exporters Association (GATHİB) broke a record again.
1.9 million TL prize money was distributed to encourage young minds in the 4th Worldwide Tissue Fabric Design Competition.
The final of the “Tissue Fabric Design Competition”, organized by the Southeastern Anatolia Textile and Raw Materials Exporters Association (GATHİB) to bring young designers to the Turkish textile industry and with a unique award of 1.9 million TL in the world, was held in Gaziantep.
GAİB Coordinator President Ahmet Fikret Kileci said, “Textile is one of the most important and locomotive sectors for us in Turkey. We are facing some difficulties in our work in the current conjuncture. We need to give up our old things and do new things. The number one way to do this is through design. It goes through sustainability and digitalization. Therefore, I attach great importance to these competitions. “We need to keep up with the changing world order,” he said.
The “Tissue Fabric Design Competition” awards night, organized for the fourth time this year by the Southeastern Anatolia Textile and Raw Materials Exporters Association (GATHİB) with the coordination of the Turkish Exporters Assembly (TİM) and with the support of the Ministry of Commerce, in order to contribute to value-added textile exports, was attended at the ceremony at the GAİB Service Building. Deputy Minister Mustafa Tuzcu, TİM President Mustafa Gültepe, GAİB Coordinator President Fikret Kileci, members of parliament, many Unions, Chamber Presidents, Ministry and Public Institution representatives attended.
Speaking at the ceremony, which was held in 3 categories: weaving, knitting and printing, and a total of 1.9 million TL prize money was distributed, GAİB Coordinator President Ahmet Fikret Kileci said, “Textile is one of the most important and locomotive sectors for us in Turkey. We are facing some difficulties in our work in the current conjuncture. We have some very smart things to do here. We need to give up our old things and do new things. The number one way to do this is through design.
It goes through sustainability and digitalization. Therefore, I attach great importance to these competitions. We need to keep up with the changing world order. We are no longer a third world country, nor should we be. We need to make these innovations in order to move to the next class. We need to be able to get out of this business with minimal damage and transform into a new system. “If we do not pay certain prices today, tomorrow may be too late,” he said.
SUPPORTING YOUTH IS ESSENTIAL FOR SUCCESS
TİM President Mustafa Gültepe said, “Textile is one of the traditional sectors that has embraced an export of over 33 billion dollars, employed over 1 million people, and taught exports to Turkey. We call it added value, that’s why these competitions are organized. We can be successful as long as we keep up with the changes in the world with design, our designers, our youth and innovations. We must increase exports from 1.5 dollars per kilogram to over three dollars, especially by touching our youth. We need to increase exports from 33 billion dollars to 50-60 as soon as possible. “There is this potential in the sector,” he said.
THEY GOT THE OPPORTUNITY TO EDUCATE ABROAD
Textile Fabric Design Competition, in which textile and fashion design students and graduates can participate with their original designs, was organized in 3 separate categories: weaving, knitting and printing, as in previous years. The Doku Fabric Design Competition, in which 30 designers participated and 120 designs competed in the finals, also received the Sustainability Special Award. Emir Nur Sakar in Dokuma; Gizem Akyol in Knitting and Sümeyye Bulut in Printing came first and were entitled to receive a cash prize of 300 thousand TL. In the competition where second place winners were awarded 200 thousand TL and third place winners were awarded 100 thousand TL, the “Sustainability Special Award” worth 150 thousand TL went to Tuğçe Kelemci. The winners of each category will have the opportunity to study at internationally recognized design schools abroad for 1 year, if they are deemed appropriate at the end of the evaluation by the Ministry of Commerce.