Ali Nihat Gökyiğit, the Founding Honorary President of Tekfen Holding and one of the founders of TEMA, received the "Galatasaray Award", awarded annually since 2012 by the Galatasaray Alumni Association and delivered this year under the theme of "environment".
Ali Nihat Gökyiğit, who has devoted the last 30 years of his 96-year life to embedding environmental awareness in Turkey, participated to the online ceremony with a video message and while he received his award at his home presented to him by Fidel Berber, President of the Galatasaray Association.
In his video message, Gökyiğit expressed his happiness to be the recipient of an environmental award especially from such a respected community as Galatasaray, and reminden that everyone should do their part to protect the environment. He continued his words as follows:
“Mankind has begun to destroy nature in a more violent manner. Natural resources, primarily soil, water, air, green cover, and biodiversity, began to be consumed, polluted and destroyed faster than their rate of formation and regeneration. As groundwater recedes, rivers fail to reach the sea. Forests the size of Austria disappear from our world each year. Some species are extinct on a daily basis even before being discovered. As a result, troubles are raining on us. You see, water distress, concerns for food security, climate change, and the increase in the number and severity of natural disasters are now part of our daily lives. The main reason for all these is the destruction of nature. I have always believed that in seeking solutions to these problems, rather than blaming others, one should rather him/herself -what can I do-”
To watch the entire ceremony speech of Ali Nihat Gökyiğit click here.