The 23rd April Children’s Festival

The 23rd April Children’s Festival a children’s festival which was gifted to Turkish children by Mustafa Kemal Atatürk, founder of the Republic of Turkey, to mark the opening of the Assembly. The festival has been celebrated internationally since 1979. The Children’s Festival was first celebrated in Turkey on 23 April 1920, when the Turkish Grand National Assembly was opened. The Festival intends to contribute creation of a world where children can live peacefully by developing sentiments of fraternity, love and friendship.

The greatest aspiration of Atatürk, who saved his country from occupations and introduced reforms in all fields hence changing the viewpoint of the nation it was modernization, in other words, an industrialized country that the industry of the Republic which it was founded on was out of date and poorly equipped, Atatürk endeavored to achieve modernization through educational reform, and thus entrusted Turkey to the children and the youth. Atatürk knew that modernization could not be achieved in a rapid way; therefore, he presumed that the Turkish children educated at schools resting upon positive sciences could attain his goals. He believed his nation and lived for what he believed. This is the main philosophy of the 23rd April. As can be seen,the educated children and youth have made great contributions to the creation of modern Turkey. Present-day Turkey has evolved over the years and has attained a level of a modern state.