Have a nice day,

if you have children, or love children

remember that you only live on borrowed space and time which belong to them

"Little women, little men!” he said, in an earnest expression of his faith in children,

“Each one of you is a star, a ray of light, a rose of the future! It is you who will bathe the country in light. Never lose sight in your striving of how important and valuable you are. We are expecting great things of you!”

Mustafa Kemal Atatürk

This national day (23 April National Sovereignty and Children's Day) in Turkey is a unique event. The founder of the Turkish Republic, Mustafa Kemal Atatürk, dedicated April 23 to the children of the country to emphasize that they are the future of the new nation.

It was on April 23, 1920, during the War of Independence, that the Grand National Assembly met in Ankara and laid down the foundations of a new, independent, secular, and modern republic from the ashes of the Ottoman Empire. Following the defeat of the Allied invasion forces on September 9, 1922 and the signing of the Treaty of Lausanne on July 24, 1923, Ataturk started his task of establishing the institutions of the new state. Over the next eight years, Ataturk and his followers adopted sweeping reforms to create a modern Turkey, divorced from her Ottoman past. In unprecedented moves, he dedicated the sovereignty day to the children and entrusted in the hands of the youth the protection of this sovereignty and independence.


FROM THE CHILDREN OF TURKEY TO THE WORLD’S CHILDREN

On that first Children’s Day back in 1929, the children of Ankara tramped through the streets of the capital singing marches. The first ‘children’s ball and afternoon tea’ was held at the Ankara Palas hotel with Atatürk himself in attendance. In Istanbul, too, children gathered around the monument on Taksim Square for a long march to the accompaniment of the Navy Band. Children’s plays and other entertainments were staged at the Tepebaşı Theater. Then, in 1935, the celebrations of national sovereignty and of the nation’s children were combined in ‘National Sovereignty and Children’s Day’. When the United Nations declared 1979 ‘The Year of the World’s Children’, an organization was put together by Turkish State Radio and Television (TRT) aimed at encompassing all the world’s children. The first TRT International 23rd April Children’s Festival was celebrated in Turkey in 1979 with the participation of five other countries: the Soviet Union, Iraq, Italy, Rumania and Bulgaria. Now the festival is held annually with the participation of children from approximately fifty countries. The festivals, which were held in the capital Ankara from 1979 to 2000, have spread today to all the major cities including Istanbul, Izmir and Antalya.Invited by the children of Turkey, some twenty thousand children from 100 different countries have taken part in these festivals up to now.

Every year, the children in Turkey celebrate this "Sovereignty and Children's Day" as a national holiday. Schools participate in week-long ceremonies marked by performances in all fields in large stadiums watched by the entire nation. Among the activities on this day, the children send their representatives to replace state officials and high ranking bureaucrats in their offices. The President, the Prime Minister, the Cabinet Ministers, provincial governors all turn over their positions to children's representatives. These children, in turn, sign executive orders relating to educational and environmental policies. On this day, the children also replace the parliamentarians in the Grand National Assembly and hold a special session to discuss matters concerning children's issues.
Over the last two decades, the Turkish officials have been working hard to internationalize this important day. Their efforts resulted in large number of world states' sending groups of children to Turkey to participate in the above stated festivities. During their stay in Turkey, the foreign children are housed in Turkish homes and find an important opportunity to interact with the Turkish kids and learn about each other's countries and cultures. The foreign children groups also participate in the special session of the Grand National Assembly. This results in a truly international Assembly where children pledge their commitment to international peace and brotherhood.
The importance of April 23 as a special day of children has been recognized by the international community. UNICEF decided to recognize this important day as the International Children's Day.

Source : article distributed to the guests of the first April 23 Children's Day on University of Missouri-Columbia Campus, which was organized by the Turkish Students' Association in April, 1992 + completed with other sources