The 14th Annual International Language and Culture Festival

The 14th Annual International Language and Culture Festival, organized by Raindrop Foundation
The 14th Annual International Language and Culture Festival, organized by Raindrop Foundation


Date posted: February 12, 2016

The 14th Annual International Language and Culture Festival, organized by Raindrop Foundation, was held at Hobby Center in Houston on Saturday February 06, 2016. The Raindrop foundation is pleased to entail the tremendous success of the event. With a sold out venue of over 3,000 people combined from all walks of life, everyone enjoyed together this festive atmosphere of live performances in different languages including English, Turkish, Spanish, French, German and many more.

The MC of the program was Rocko Stedy Narvios who also took to the stage with the performers to sing “Language of Love”. Rocko is known to host and perform his inspirational and motivating music all around the country at events as this one and other concerts and festivals being so he made a great fitting for this occasion and did a wonderful job as EmCee . The festival was a group effort and solos of amazing talents organized so wonderfully showcasing the visiting star students from countries like France, Azerbaijan, Kazakhstan, brazil, Georgia, Ukraine, Tunisia, Germany, Senegal, Mexico Pakistan, Indonesia, and also students from visiting southwest states e.g. Arkansas, Oklahoma, New Mexico, Texas. One after another each performance expressed so much passion and love and when the students crossed performed together it was an explosion of delight! They all worked so well together and inspired everyone in the room no doubt to have hope for our future as they each celebrated each other’s difference in culture and language all while knowing we are same.

Even so, having the venue sold out, there were many VIP guests in the audience, who to their surprise, took to the stage as each of them were escorted by a visiting student as part of one big VIP special to sing all together. In honor of such an amazing production and cause for this celebrated event the VIP elected officials presented formal proclamations to the President of Raindrop foundation, Mehmet Okumus, and the President of the International Festival of Language and Cultural Organization, Dr. Ali Ursavas. Many of the honorable elected officials Congressman Al Green, Congressman Pete Olson, Mississippi State Senator Hillman T. Frazier, Texas State Representative Gene Wu, Texas State Representative Gilbert Pena, Houston City Controller Chris Brown, Houston City Council Member Mike Laster, Director of Education, City of Houston (On behalf of Mayor Turner), Juliet Stipeche, board Member of Houston Community College Neeta Sane, The Honorable Consul General of The Republic of Angola, Julia Machado, The Honorable Consul General of Indonesia, Bambang Setyobudhi,The Honorary Consul General of Belarus, Geert Visser, President of American Turkish Association, Ozlem ADRA , and president of IFLC, Dr. Ali Ursavas commemorated the students and festival organizers. As the festival continued with more spectacular performances the audience joined in to dance and sing along till the very end as everyone came together in the room to sing ‘Universal Peace” ! All in all, the program offered a great time in an exciting ambiance to the audience and depicted the multicultural and diverse face of city and our nation.

Source: Raindrop Foundation , February 6, 2016


Related News

We would like to increase the number of Turkish schools

The top advisors on education to the Senegalese president and prime minister are Ousmane Sow and Bouhacar Signine, and both men have only praise for the Turkish Yavuz Selim education organization, which works in Senegal providing important education services to youth. Both advisors highlighted how much they would like to see more Turkish schools in their country, saying: “This is because these schools have succeeded at something we have not been able to do for years.

Gulen has ‘no intention of leaving the US’

The Alliance for Shared Values “rejects the accusation” by Turkish Deputy Prime Minister Numan Kurtulmus that Gulen is planning a move to Canada, it said in a statement on its website. The Alliance also reiterated its call for an end to attempts to stymie voices of democratic dissent, including journalists, academics, Kurds, liberals and participants in the Hizmet movement.

Niagara Foundation Michigan bestows 2013 Peace and Dialogue Awards

On October 24th, Niagara Foundation’s Michigan chapter held its 3rd Annual Peace and Dialogue Award ceremony with the participation of numerous distinguished guests. In attendance of the ceremony were a large number of politicians, religious leaders and prominent figures around the state. Niagara Foundation is a Hizmet (Gulen Movement) initiative, which has headquarters in Chicago.

The Istanbul Cultural Center hopes to build bridges though food

The room at the Istanbul Cultural Center just off the FSU campus is filled with both men and women and lots and lots of children. Many of the women are wearing colorful headscarves and long buttoned coats. And most of the men are their husbands, some associated with the university as teachers or students, and others who have taken time away from their own professions in Turkey to accompany their wives who are completing graduate studies here.

The International Festival of Language and Culture visits UN, Ban Ki Moon sends a message

The International Festival of Language and Culture (IFLC), which is a Gulen-inspired organization was at United Nations headquarters in New York on April 29, 2016. The youth from many different countries showcased their talents at UN. Mr. Ban Ki Moon, UN Secretary General, sent a message to IFLC.

Turkish Cultural Center In Greenburgh Collects Coats, Blankets For Refugees

The Turkish Cultural Center of Westchester is making an effort to collect blankets and coats for refugees who have fled Syria for Turkey due to the violence in Syria. The effort is to help Syrian refugee families in need during the harsh winter weather that will soon be upon them.

Latest News

Turkish inmate jailed over alleged Gülen links dies of heart attack in prison

Message of Condemnation and Condolences for Mass Shooting at Bondi Beach, Sydney

Media executive Hidayet Karaca marks 11th year in prison over alleged links to Gülen movement

ECtHR faults Turkey for convictions of 2,420 applicants over Gülen links in follow-up to 2023 judgment

New Book Exposes Erdoğan’s “Civil Death Project” Targeting the Hizmet Movement

European Human Rights Treaty Faces Legal And Political Tests

ECtHR rejects Turkey’s appeal, clearing path for retrials in Gülen-linked cases

Erdoğan’s Civil Death Project’ : The ‘politicide’ spanning more than a decade

Fethullah Gülen’s Vision and the Purpose of Hizmet

In Case You Missed It

Fetullah Gülen, the preferred enemy – Interview

Turkish schools dominate award ceremony in Bosnia and Herzegovina

Gulen movement sympathizers committed to interfaith dialogue, charity and nonviolence

Islamic scholar Gülen files libel case against PM Erdoğan

The Hizmet movement, social democracy, the religious left

PKK terrorists set dorm on fire, one student injured

Foreign Policy Magazine Interviewed Fethullah Gulen

Copyright 2026 Hizmet News