Bilal Erdoğan: Gaza's children also have the right to play

The introductory meeting of the Ethnosport Culture Festival, which will be organized by the World Ethnosport Confederation for the 7th time this year, was held at Atatürk Airport. The introductory meeting, where the details of the festival, participating countries and the event calendar were shared with the public, was attended by World Ethnosport Confederation President Bilal Erdoğan, Deputy Minister of Youth and Sports Dr. Enes Eminoğlu, Deputy Minister of Youth and Sports Av. Assoc. Dr. Safa Koçoğlu, Deputy Minister of Culture and Tourism Batuhan Mumcu, Chairman of the Board of Directors of the Turkish Traditional Sports Federation Hakan Kazancı, General Manager of Ziraat Participation Metin Özdemir and many members of the press. The festival, which will be held in Istanbul from May 22-25, aims to bring together traditional sports and cultural events and provide visitors with colorful moments.

'THE PHILOSOPHY OF THIS BUSINESS IS THE TRANSFER OF TRADITION TO NEW GENERATIONS'

World Ethnosport Confederation President Bilal Erdoğan, stating that the 7th Ethnosport Culture Festival will take place at Atatürk Airport between May 22-25, said, “We are talking about a festival with completely free participation, as it is every year. The main task of the festival is to ensure that our traditional sports become popular and widespread. All our people who come will have the opportunity to watch various traditional sports branches of Türkiye and the world. We especially aim to ensure that our children, perhaps most of them, ride horses and shoot arrows for the first time here. We aim to ensure that they watch oil wrestling. Apart from that, we will witness many of the sports branches coming from abroad being introduced for the first time in Türkiye. Our aim in introducing and popularizing traditional sports is to transfer the tradition, which we can call the philosophy of this business, to the new generations. Therefore, when it comes to transferring the tradition to the new generations, the family is actually at the center of this business.”

'THIS YEAR WAS DECLARED 'YEAR OF FAMILY' BY OUR PRESIDENT'

Erdoğan stated that the family is the smallest unit and center of society where cultural transfer takes place, and said, “This year, since 2025 was declared the Year of the Family by our President, we will also aim to celebrate the Year of the Family, that is, to transfer tradition to the future, and to focus on activities with mothers, fathers and children, based on what the family provides. Our free refreshments, Uzbek pilafs, mantıs and keşkeks will be served. In addition to other international flavors, the coffees of the world can be tasted here. Apart from this, there will be folk music groups, singers and evening concerts on the stage for four days.”

Stating that the cultural richness of Anatolia will be presented to the public at the festival, Erdoğan made the following statements:

"We will also be hosting guest groups and artists from abroad. Therefore, it will be a festival with a stronger international aspect compared to previous years, and a festival where family-oriented activities and the message of the Year of the Family are tried to be given strongly. We do not forget the ongoing genocide in Gaza. It was on our agenda last year as well. Children may have fun, but while children are having fun, we do not want anyone to ignore or miss the fact that children in another part of the world are living face to face with death every day. Therefore, we want to voice strongly in this festival that the children of Gaza also have the right to play, and that families in Gaza have the right to life."

DHA

Editor: News Center