Int’l Festival of Language and Culture takes stage at European Parliament


Date posted: June 3, 2016

Fifty children from different countries took stage at Espace Leopold, the European Parliament’s main complex in Brussels, Belgium, as part of the 14th International Festival of Language and Culture on Thursday.

A number of European Parliament (EP) deputies and bureaucrats, including Gabriele Preuss, attended the event organized under the patronage of the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO).

Speaking during the event, EP deputy İsmail Ertuğ said that the festival has a key role in establishing peace across the world. “Hosting this event is a source of pride for me, because it [the festival] unites students from around the world and they form a dialogue here. We can see that their performances today embraced all the principles of the European Union,” Ertuğ said.

Antonio Tajani, a vice-president of EP, sent a message to the event, stating that it is an outstanding example of mutual understanding and tolerance. Tajani also hosted the children who performed there in his office and gave them presents.

The International Festival of Language and Culture first started in 2003 in Turkey as Turkish Olympiads. The festival is dedicated to the cultivation and education of youth and the creation of a platform to share cultural heritage with peers around the world.

The first 11 editions of the event were hosted in Turkey, but due to government hostility and the ongoing persecution of the Gülen, or Hizmet, movement — that is involved in organizing the culture festival — the organizers have decided to hold the event in various countries since 2014 to avoid potential problems.

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan has accused the Hizmet movement of attempting to overthrow his Justice and Development Party (AK Party) government, but has failed to present evidence to support his allegation.

The International Festival of Language and Culture first started in 2003 with the participation of only 17 countries. Last year, however, more than 2,000 participants from 145 countries took part in the event.

The festival brings together hundreds of students from around the world each year. In 2014, the festival changed its name from International Turkish Language Olympiad to the International Language and Culture Festival.

Source: Turkish Minute , June 2, 2016


Related News

Before the Lights are Out…

You know how the poet that says, “Bleeding a thin line, my chest/Watched in wonder, amazed!” This was the exact situation I found myself in. It was a sorrowful moment, one that weighs you down, when the tears that have welled up in your eyes push themselves down your cheeks… It was as full of […]

German Lawmakers Call for Probe on Imams Suspected of Spying for Turkey

German lawmakers have called for an investigation of Turkish intelligence operations in their country, specifically charging that Turkey is spying on suspected followers of exiled cleric and accused coup mastermind Fethullah Gulen.

Lahore High Court orders protection for Turkish teachers in Lahore

The Lahore High Court on Tuesday sought records from the Civil Aviation Authority regarding the arrival of a special Turkish plane late on October 13 to take a Turkish teacher back to his home country. The court had stayed the deportation of Mesut Kacmaz of Pak-Turk Schools and Colleges, who was among dozens of Turkish school staffers that had been granted temporary refugee status.

Police rescue 8 students, staff of Nigeria-Turkish International School from kidnappers

‘The pupils and staffs of Nigeria Turkish international school kidnapped on Friday 13th January have all been rescued unhurt this evening. Details later,” the police said Tuesday.

2,500 schools confiscated, 30,000 teachers dismissed over Gülen links

Turkish Education Ministry Undersecretary Yusuf Tekin on Sunday said they have completed a purge of Gülen movement members and institutions in his ministry, the DHA news agency reported.

Gulen movement participants have been serving in Iraq Kurdistan for 19 years

Ruşen Çakır If there is a Turkish factor in Iraq Kurdistan (North Iraq), Gulen movement volunteers made an enormous contribution to this for almost 20 years.  In spite of terrible conditions, they founded the first [Gulen-inspired] school in 1994 in Arbil. Today they run 18 schools in Iraq Kurdistan, one of which is Ishik University that was founded in 2008. […]

Latest News

Fethullah Gülen’s Condolence Message for South African Human Rights Defender Archbishop Desmond Tutu

Hizmet Movement Declares Core Values with Unified Voice

Ankara systematically tortures supporters of Gülen movement, Kurds, Turkey Tribunal rapporteurs say

Erdogan possessed by Pharaoh, Herod, Hitler spirits?

Devious Use of International Organizations to Persecute Dissidents Abroad: The Erdogan Case

A “Controlled Coup”: Erdogan’s Contribution to the Autocrats’ Playbook

Why is Turkey’s Erdogan persecuting the Gulen movement?

Purge-victim man sent back to prison over Gulen links despite stage 4 cancer diagnosis

University refuses admission to woman jailed over Gülen links

In Case You Missed It

Erdogan’s parallel state in Kosovo functions despite PM Haradinaj

Australian Relief Organization completes orphanage refurbishment project in Malawi

A Forum On Africa in Turkey (II)

Turkish schools are being closed down

Assassination plot against Fethullah Gülen

Secular Pakistanis resist Turkey’s ‘authoritarian’ demands

Will you overthrow the government or not?

Copyright 2024 Hizmet News