National Sovereignty and Children's Day (23.04)

Today, April 23, this is the first and only Children's Day celebrated on an international level.

Every year in Turkey we celebrate this "Sovereignty and Children's Day" as a national holiday. It was a gift from the founder of the Republic of Turkey Mustafa Kemal Ataturk addressed to all the children of the world. On this day, on which the National Assembly of Turkey was founded on April 23, 1920, only the Soviet Union, Iraq, Italy, Romania and Bulgaria participated in the first year. In the capital Ankara from 1979 to 2000 celebrations were held. In the following years, celebrations took place in the various large cities of Turkey such as İzmir, İstanbul and Antalya. With the participation of nearly 50 countries, these days in every city of Turkey we are celebrating more enthusiasm in Turkish homes and find an important opportunity to get in contact with the Turkish children and to learn about each other's countries and cultures. The foreign children's groups also attend the special session of the Grand National Assembly. In the early morning we do a traditional walk with the children of the host countries. We set up tents with various activities for children during the day and make sure they spend the festival having fun. Then we organize nature walks and picnics for them and of course traditional Turkish cuisine throughout the festival.

The International Children's Festival on April 23 gathers children from all over the world under the motto "Love, Friendship and Peace". The World Peace Festival seeks to increase the participation of more children in the country year after year.

This year I volunteer in Poland and of course I congratulate to this special and meaningful festival with the children of my kindergarten in Poland, where I work voluntarily. It was a perfect feeling for them and for me such a nice and funny experience. I work with children from 2 to 6 years old. I mentioned art and science works from national and international dance performances, various concerts that also offer dough and sculpture activities for children. with the faces of children with their favorite game heroes. After the presentation of the festival I also prepared the traditional Turkish shadow play Hacivat and Karagöz for them. I think they enjoyed it for hours, and I help them develop new perspectives in different cultures.

"Sovereignty belongs unconditionally to the people."

"Peace at home, peace in the world." Mustafa Kemal ATATÜRK.