President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan received the children participating in the TRT International Children’s Festival at the Presidential Palace. Parliament Speaker Cemil Çiçek, his wife Gülten Çiçek, Minister of National Education Nabi Avcı and Family and Social Policies Minister Ayşenur İslam attended the event.

President Erdoğan said he wants to see hope in the eyes of the children and not fright yet every minute, every hour and every day sees children shedding tears and made the appeal “Gentlemen, please spare the children!” 

Addressing the children after their performances ended President Erdoğan said “valuable guests who have come from other countries, we thank you for sharing the joy of the April 23 jubilation with us.”

President Erdoğan said he is happy that we are sharing this “wonderful festivity” with children from other countries and celebrated the festivities of all the world children. Saying children are the symbols of innocence throughout the world “your innocence encourages and steers us to work to build a brighter and more prosperous future.”

President Erdoğan said the expression of a smile looks better on the face of a child rather than anxiety and added “those little hearts should be packed with love and affection and not bitterness. We do not want to see fight in their eyes, we want to see hope in them. Unfortunately every passing minute, every passing hour and every passing day brings more tears and grief to the children and opens new wounds in their hearts.”

Calling on the international community “Gentlemen, please spare the children” and wanted the children to repeat his words. President Erdoğan told the children “I want you to convey my messages to your parents, to your teachers, to your officials. Do not forget that you are the future of the world. I trust in you and believe in you.”

“The most important target was the future of our children”

President Erdoğan said the April 23 festivity is not only a special annual occasion that has been a gift of the nation to the children but it also marks the time when the foundations of national sovereignty were laid and he went on to say:

“The War of Liberation is a war where every citizen from the young to the old from men to women participated hand in hand in the struggle. This day which is extremely important for our country belongs to the children. Do you know why? Those who undertook this struggle wanted a free and prosperous future of their children and the future generations in their mind. They inaugurated our Parliament with the children and for the children. The children were on the forefront, you were on the forefront when the Republic was founded. We mobilize all our limited means to secure a better future for our children. Especially in the past 12 years we brought education to the forefront and we established a strong structure. Thanks to this Turkey is looking to the future with confidence and hope.”

“Never give up on nice dreams for the world” 

Saying those who cannot dream cannot have a future President Erdoğan told the children: “I want you to dream wonderful things for the world, for yourself, for your family, for your loved ones and for your country. Never give up on nice dreams. Do not hesitate to dream of a blue lake in the middle of a desert. Always envisage the beautiful colorful flowers in the midst of the stones. Those beautiful hearts you possess can turn all the dreams into reality. You are very strong. Do not be deterred by the evil you see in the world, believe me that the world revolves around goodness and beauty. All I want is that do not forget all these when tomorrow you become leaders and executives in your respective countries. I wish all your dreams to become your goals and that you achieve your goals.” 

President Erdoğan said as a member of nation that opens its heart and embraces its friends with affection he wants to see the friendship established between the children that have come from all over the world to be permanent and added “I want to see all of you as a cultural envoy of my country. I also call upon the children of my country, get the phone numbers of your foreign friends and keep in contact with them.”

Recalling the words of great mystic philosopher Yunus Emre “come let us meet, let us makes things easy, let us love and be loved, this world will not be left to anyone” Erdoğan told the children “love is the key word to solve the problems of the world. If love cannot open a door nothing can. I wish the friendships you have established here will flourish amid the atmosphere of affection here and engulf the whole world.”

Erdoğan presents the “Blue Cloud” song to the children

The “Blue Cloud” song which was ordered by Erdoğan for the children was played at the occasion for the first time. The song written and composed by Sinan Akçıl and sung by the TRT İstanbul Radio Children’s Chorus was presented with a clip that showed Erdoğan with the children. Atatürk’s motto “peace at home, peace in the world” was also repeated in different languages in the song.

After his speech President Erdoğan and First Lady Emine Erdoğan sung the song with the children on stage.