PHOTO // Promotion of Gagauz language supported through new educational measures

Preserving the Gagauz language and learning the Romanian language must go hand in hand in order to ensure both identity and development opportunities, President Maia Sandu said at an event dedicated to the promotion of the Gagauz language, held today in Chisinau. The head of state emphasized that the country’s European path offers opportunities for all citizens and no one should be left behind, regardless of their mother tongue or ethnic background.

“A strong country can only be built from strong communities. No community can live in isolation. Development involves dialogue and active participation in the life of the entire society. Therefore, we must understand that preserving the Gagauz language and learning the Romanian language are two sides of the same coin: identity and opportunity, roots and openness, belonging and future. They must go in parallel so that the Gagauz autonomy and its people can fully enjoy the opportunities offered by our European path, a path on which no one, regardless of their mother tongue or ethnic affiliation, should be left behind,” Maia Sandu said.

At the initiative of President Maia Sandu, the Ministry of Education and Research has approved the National Plan for the promotion of the Gagauz language, a document that provides measures to support and develop it.

“I welcome the fact that in recent years the Ministry of Education and Research has intensified its efforts in this direction, and the adoption of the National Action Plan for learning and promoting the Gagauz language in the autonomy for the period 2026–2027 is part of this series of measures. The only real chance for the Gagauz language to endure for future generations is a profound change in paradigm and mentality. Everything starts at home. The mother tongue is learned from parents, from the very first words. Then we must continue this at kindergarten and later at school, placing real emphasis on its study. Only in this way can we preserve it—through people, through family, through education,” the head of state noted.

Minister of Education and Research Dan Perciun underlined that the plan will allow financial support for activities such as teacher training, curriculum updating and adult education, thus contributing to strengthening Gagauz identity and passing the language on to new generations.

“The Gagauz language has been preserved and carried forward from generation to generation through stories, through songs. Today it is present in schools, kindergartens and universities, and within these spaces there are dedicated people—teachers, writers, researchers, parents—who believed that the mother tongue deserves to live and develop, and today’s conference celebrates the contribution of these people who have preserved and developed the Gagauz identity over the decades. Our responsibility is to continue this effort, to preserve the Gagauz language and make it more relevant and more attractive for children and young people, and a language that truly lives is a language that is spoken every day,” Dan Perciun said.

Support for the development of education and the linguistic heritage of Gagauzia was reconfirmed by the Ambassador of Turkey to Chisinau, Uygar Mustafa Sertel.

“We are ready to provide the necessary support. In this regard, the Embassy of Turkey and the Consulate in Comrat are open to contributing to the development of partnerships between the Ministry of Education and Research, the Executive Committee, the universities in Comrat and the educational institutions in Gagauzia and at the central level where the Gagauz language is studied. We are also prepared to support libraries by providing materials and book resources, including donations to the Comrat Library and other libraries. Our doors remain open to any initiative aimed at supporting and developing this important field,” Uygar Mustafa Sertel said.

According to the 2024 Population and Housing Census, presented by the National Statistics Bureau, the population of Gagauz ethnicity numbers 97.2 thousand people, representing 4% of the population of the Republic of Moldova.