Our Speakers

Prof. Dr Belma Tuğrul was born in 1960 in Istanbul. She studied Child Development and Education at Hacettepe University in 1983. She has taught more than 5000 children aged 3-6. She is currently working as a lecturer at Istanbul Aydın University, Faculty of Education, Department of Preschool Education and also lectures at International Final University in Northern Cyprus. She is one of the members of the World Games Association (IPA- International Play Association) and is the representative of its Turkish branch. She is the representative of Turkish branch of the Outdoor Classroom Day (Okul Dışarıda Günü) which is celebrated all around the world. She is a member of more than ten national and international professional associations and non-governmental organizations and a member of the scientific board. She worked as a field specialist in the development of Ministry of National Education Preschool Education programs. She worked as a consultant, executive, coordinator and assistant in more than 20 projects such as the Ministry of National Education, TUBITAK, UNICEF, Development Agencies, European Union, Scientific Research Projects of Universities (BAP: Bilimsel Araştırma Projeleri). She has also authored several children's books and practice books for children and families. She designs educational materials for children. She has written content and scripts for television shows. She works on playing games with children, creativity, philosophy with children, mathematics, and alternative education models in early childhood. She is recognized as an advocate for children's play rights.