A mobile application called “Masal Masal Türkiye” has been developed within a cooperation protocol signed between the Ministry of Family and Social Services and the Atatürk High Institution of Culture, Language and History to allow children easy access to fairy tales.
According to a written statement from the ministry, the protocol signed in January aims to support children’s psychological, social, emotional and cognitive development, as well as contribute to their socialization through project development and social, artistic and cultural activities.
As part of this, a new application has been implemented in the “Turkish Fairy Tale Compilation Project,” which has been carried out by the Atatürk Cultural Center Presidency of the Atatürk High Institution of Culture, Language and History since 2019.
Within the framework of the signed cooperation protocol, a mobile application was prepared to make fairy tales easily accessible to children. Through the application, named “Masal Masal Türkiye,” children can select and read Turkish fairy tales according to regions or types, and the stories will be narrated in Istanbul Turkish and regional dialects.
Translation and narration efforts continue not only for Turkish children but also for children worldwide, with work being done in English, German, French, Arabic, Persian, Russian, Spanish and Japanese.
So far, 25 fairy tales have been narrated in Istanbul Turkish and the dialects of 21 regions as part of the “Turkish Fairy Tale Compilation Project.” The mobile application will be introduced to caregivers in ministry institutions, ensuring that children under state protection can listen to the tales.
To date, 6,210 fairy tales have been compiled, and 2,333 tales have passed through review and are now accessible to the general public.
Ten fairy tales have been prepared in Braille for visually impaired children as part of the project. Infrastructure work is also ongoing to make the tales accessible for hearing-impaired children through the mobile app.
In addition, fairy tales are being adapted into animations to reach children in line with the needs of the modern age. The project aims to preserve and pass down forgotten Turkish fairy tales to future generations.
Meanwhile, within the scope of the protocol, various events for children, including theater, puppetry, music and other fine arts and literature activities, were organized this year.
In this context, the “Fairy Tale and Storyteller Festival” was held to preserve and pass on the tradition of fairy tale narration and storytelling, important elements of traditional Turkish culture, to future generations.
Efforts are also underway to offer an online and free “Fairy Tale Narration Training Course” for caregivers who look after children under state protection to support the cognitive development of children aged 0-8 under state care.
