World children flock to Turkey for April 23 National Sovereignty and Children's Day Celebrations

April 23 National Sovereignty and Children's Day is set to be celebrated tomorrow across Turkey, the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus (TRNC), and at Turkish embassies and diplomatic missions around the world. Celebrations will start with a visit of top state officials led by President Abdullah Gul to Anitkabir, the mausoleum of Ataturk, the founder of modern Turkey, and a ceremony will later be held at Ankara's 19 Mayis Stadium where children will perform shows. To mark the day, top state officials, including President Gul, Parliament Speaker Mehmet Ali Sahin and Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan, will symbolically hand over their duties to elementary students from Ankara primary schools. Yesterday children visiting Turkey to attend the Turkish Radio and Television's (TRT) April 23 Children's Day Festival in the Aegean province of Izmir were separately received by President Gul, Parliament Speaker Sahin, and Deputy Prime Minister Bulent Arinc. During these meetings, the young visitors presented Gul, Sahin and Arinc with gifts native to their countries, such as traditional clothes, and got presents and a warm welcome in return. Dressed in a traditional caftan given by a visiting Tatarstani boy, Gul posed for the cameras alongside his visitor. Receiving the children, Arinc expressed the hope that one day friendship and peace will sweep away all the world's problems. "The day will come when no child anywhere starts the day with sorrow, fear, worry or hunger," he said. Conveying his greetings and love to the visiting children, Arinc said, "May this joy in your eyes and smiles on your faces stay with you always. The love in your hearts and the brightness of your faces is the same." May the light in your hearts cover the entire world, he added. Some 850 children from 43 countries, hosted by volunteer Turkish families, will take part in the TRT Children's Day Festival. April 23 National Sovereignty and Children's Day in Turkey is a unique event. Turkish Republic founder Mustafa Kemal Ataturk dedicated April 23 to the children of the country to emphasize that they are the future of the new nation. It later became an event celebrated by children worldwide. The importance of April 23 as a special day of children has been recognized by the international community, and UNICEF decided to recognize this important day as International Children's Day. It was on April 23, 1920, during the War of Independence, that the Turkish Parliament met in Ankara and laid down the foundations of a new, independent, secular, and modern republic from the ashes of the Ottoman Empire. Parliament will hold a special session to mark the day tomorrow.