Queen Rania meets spouse of Turkish PM, visits Institute for Girls in Ankara

Her Majesty Queen Rania Al Abdullah on Wednesday met with Emine Erdogan spouse of Turkish Prime Minister and got a glimpse of Turkey’s expertise in vocational and technical training for girls through a visit to the Institute of Technical Education for Girls in Ankara. Her Majesty, accompanying His Majesty King Abdullah on a working visit to Turkey, listened to a briefing on the activities undertaken at the institute, which is currently operating in 14 provinces in Turkey. The Ankara Olgunlama Institute, founded in 1945, provides vocational training for girls and women of all ages, where they are trained on producing traditional clothes, handicrafts and jewelry, with the aim of preserving the Ottoman culture heritage, while presenting it in a modern style. In order to enroll, students have completed primary school. Most training programs run for two years, after which students are certified as qualified designers. During the tour, Her Majesty paid a visit to the Turkish flag workshop as well as the jewelry, knitting, sewing and traditional clothes workshops. After the tour of the workshops, Her Majesty paid a visit to a museum, hosted at the institute since 1981, where she was able to see products made by the institute on display.