President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan and his wife, Emine Erdoğan, attended the "TRT 23 April Children's Festival" held in Istanbul's Başakşehir People's Garden. The President was welcomed by the children.
After watching the children's show, Erdoğan delivered a speech at the event. Starting his speech by celebrating the holiday of all children, the president announced that the guest children's hosting programs, which were suspended due to COVID-19, will begin next year.
"Children are the most important source of motivation for our efforts to end wars, crises, and expand the climate of security and peace. Children's ears should not ring with the sound of bombs, but with the cheerful voices of their peers, as in here. Their hearts should be filled with love, enthusiasm, not with anxiety." he said.
"We are deeply saddened for the children living in our surroundings, when we hear the incidents happen there. A tragedy continues in which tens of thousands of children lost their lives in, hundreds of thousands of children became orphans and tens of thousands of children disappeared all over the world, especially in Europe," he added.
"I am following the events with concern that the war in our north, which has completed its second month, continues with painful results. I believe that we need the pure love in the hearts of children and their smiles, joy and touch, which make our lives beautiful, more than ever," Erdoğan said.
"They should sleep in the embrace of peace, not in the grip of fear. This was the belief and dream behind the gift of April 23, the opening date of the Grand National Assembly, the most critical turning point of our national struggle. Likewise, we base on this approach that we protect everyone who took refuge in our country, but especially the children," he added.
"You know, a deceased artist says, 'If the world is to be burned, it will be burned by destitudes'. In fact, the reverse of this saying should be 'If the world is to be beautified, children will make it." he said.
The President also quoted Nazım Hikmet's poem “Let's give the world to the children just for one day, like a balloon in bright and striking colors to play with, let them play singing among the stars, let's give the world to the children, like a huge apple like a warm loaf of bread, at least for one day let them have enough, let's give the world to the children, at least for one day let the world learn friendship, children will get the world from our hands, they'll plant immortal trees."
"Yes, on the day we give the world to children, we will see that everything is more conscientious, more compassionate, more loving. Today's children, when you have a voice, influence and authority in different areas of life tomorrow, yet don't fall prey to time," he added.
"Use the possibilities of technology but don't be a prisoner of it. Take what you were taught in school, but do not be limited to it. The best teacher is life. Never break your ties with life. I know you couldn't leave the house for months during the epidemic. Now that these troubled days are over, I hope you can meet with your friends at every opportunity, in parks, gardens, wherever possible, with fresh air, nature. Apart from your curriculum, be sure to do what makes you feel happy, regardless of sports, music, painting or literature. We have not only strengthened the infrastructure of our education system in the past 20 years. We have also taken steps to facilitate your efforts like this." he said.
"The most enjoyable and productive jobs for us are the services we do for you. Just as we work to inherit the 2053 vision for our youth, we are designing the 2071 vision for you. I hope you will pass this trust on to the next generations by constantly raising the bar and enriching our legacy." he said.
The President remarked his speech by commemorating the Turkish heroes, especially Gazi Mustafa Kemal Atatürk, with gratitude, and wished God's mercy on those who were martyred in the claw operation and in northern Syria. After the speech, Erdoğan and his wife took a souvenir photo with the children and sang the children's song.
