Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan announced that Türkiye will designate 2026 to 2035 as the "Decade of Family and Population" during his speech at the International Family Forum held in Istanbul.
On Friday, Erdogan criticised the modern lifestyle that prioritises individual comfort over familial and social bonds, stating, “A mindset that builds modernisation on the notions of being without family and isolation cannot bring peace to either individuals or society.”
“This lifestyle is rapidly infiltrating the fabric of our society, starting with the youth,” he said.
Turkish president stressed the importance of preserving the traditional family structure, arguing that global market actors do not favour strong familial solidarity.
“A person detached from their family and weakened in their national identity cannot truly be free or authentic,” he said.
“Everywhere in the world, the erosion of the institution of family has turned people into mere consumers of popular culture.”
Erdogan also made strong remarks against the LGBT ideology, saying that public figures are being ostracised for criticising it.
Ankara has declared 2025 the “Year of the Family,” launching sweeping reforms to support familial and societal cohesion. Key measures include interest-free marriage loans, birth incentives, and expanded care services.
“Artists, businesspeople, politicians, and scientists are being socially lynched, turned into the walking dead, just for opposing the LGBT plague,” he said.
“The fight against LGBT perversion is also a fight for freedom, dignity, and the future of humanity.”
Raising alarm over Türkiye’s plummeting fertility rate, Erdogan warned, “Our fertility rate has, for the first time in our history, dropped to 1.48. This is a disaster. It’s far below the critical threshold of 2.1.”
Türkiye has already declared 2025 the “Year of the Family.”
Closing ceremony
Türkiye’s First Lady Emine Erdogan attended the closing ceremony of the International Family Forum in Istanbul and toured several exhibition booths.
Erdogan also toured an interactive exhibition prepared by the Family and Social Services Ministry, titled “All happy families are alike,” and examined several products featured at the booths.
Organised under the theme “Safeguarding and Strengthening Family in the Face of Global Challenges,” the two-day event brought together policymakers, experts and civil society representatives to explore the evolving role of the family and the threats it faces in modern society.
The event featured a ministerial session and four panel discussions: “Highly profitable: The cost of global challenges to individuals, families and society,” “Between fiction and reality: Family in culture, art and media,” “Being a family in the age of screens,” and “The Myth of overpopulation: How a global agenda contributed to decline of populations.”
