Turkey’s 36th International Children’s Festival on April 23, 2014 |12 December 2013

Seychellois children invited to showcase traditional dance

Following the success of Seychelles’ participation at the 4th International Children’s Friendship Festival held in Seattle, USA on April 27-28, 2013, the Office of the Ambassador for Women and Children has once again received an invitation from Turkey to attend the 36th International Children’s Festival to be held there on April 23, 2014.

Auditions will be held during this month of December 2013 and children aged 10 to 13 years are being called upon to step up and audition for a chance to visit Turkey, the birthplace of the International Children’s Friendship Festival.

The founder of the Republic of Turkey, Mustafa Kemal Ataturk, was the person who declared April 23 to be International Children’s Day and the festival has been celebrated in Turkey since 1979.

The Ambassador for Women and Children’s Affairs, Dr. Erna Athanasius, said that the children who successfully audition will be hosted in Gaziantep, the 6th largest city of Turkey and they will also get the chance to visit Ankara, the capital city.

The 36th International Children’s Festival will be held in Gaziantep, from April 16-23, 2014. It is an annual event held in different cities around Turkey, where over 30,000 children from 116 different countries have been hosted over the last 35 years, sharing their cultural heritage with others from around the world in the form of unique national dances.

Gaziantep, which is located between Mesopotamia and the Mediterranean, is a city of beauty, history and culture with one of the world’s few mosaic museums, namely the Zeugma Museum.

During this 36th edition of the festival, Seychelles is expected to perform our folkloric and traditional dance, through which the children will showcase not only Seychelles’ joie de vivre and cultural harmony, but also its natural beauty. They will also benefit from the exposure to the culture and history of that region.

Parents are being encouraged to collect audition forms at Ray’s Music Room in Victoria as the deadline for submissions is December 31, 2013.

Dr Athanasius mentioned that she is immensely grateful for the pledges received already from some organisations, but mostly the wonderful collaboration of the Seychelles Children's Foundation and The Playroom at Eden Island thus far since the first festival earlier this year.

The ambassador is urging others to support this noble cause, as so many did for the participation in Seattle, Washington.

She added that any and all contributions would make a difference and help make a few more Seychellois children's dreams come true.

Ambassador Athanasius has said that as Seychelles’ participation was so successful earlier this year, she is encouraged that, with this second invitation, this will become an annual event on the calendar for Seychellois children to aspire to.