Investigative Author  Beşir Ayvazoğlu, Prof. Dr. Ali Şükrü Çoruk of Istanbul University, Prof. Dr. Vahdettin Engin of Marmara University, Prof. Dr. Özlem Fedai of Istanbul Medeniyet Universit participated as speaker in the panel which was moderated by Prof. Dr. Nihat Öztoprak of Fatih Sultan Mehmet Vakıf University.

Rector Erol Özvar said his opening speech that “We are saying Independence March  while other nationalities describe their marches as national anthem. Our  marche is without gender, economic and racial discrimination. Turkish anthem covers our nationality as a whole. Is there any thought more valuable than this? Because it was introduced by Mehmet Akif Ersoy and adopted as a national anthem by our ancestor, I remember  them with respect.

Beşir Ayvazoğlu mentioned the effects  of the character of Mehmet Akif Ersoy on the anthem, besides giving information about the writing process of it with the audiences. He stated that this poem, indeed, did not write in 48 hours but it represents a process of formation with nearly ten years.  If it needs to talk about the character of Mehmet Akif, he is a unique  from the point of the character that Nihal Atsız described in his novel. “He is not fluid composite that takes the shape of any container which in it is placed; it is a solid matter which does not flow to take on the shape of its container; very firm and stable”.

Lecturer Ali Şükrü Çoruk of Istanbul University talked about  the first reading of Ersoy’s patriotic poem – İstiklal Marşı- by our peoples in Istanbul and how it was greeted by the occupation forces.