Tomorrow,
recognize our future
Isil
Sumertas Rahmanian
We
have Mothers Day, Fathers Day, and Valentines
Day. Why not have a Children's Day? After
all children are a nation's most precious
resource. Indeed many nations like Japan,
Korea and Turkey do celebrate a children's
day. Turkey has designated April 23 Children's
Day, a national holiday.
The
founder of the Turkish Republic, Ataturk,
dedicated April 23 to the children of the
country to emphasize their role as the future
of the new nation. In unprecedented moves,
he dedicated the nation's sovereignty to
the children and entrusted the protection
of this sovereignty and independence to
the youth.
Every
year, the children in Turkey celebrate this
"Sovereignty and Children's Day"
as a national holiday. Schools participate
in weeklong ceremonies marked by performances
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, including the President,
the Prime Minister, and the Cabinet Ministers.
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 aforementioned festivities.
During
their stay in Turkey, children from different
countries 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 groups
of children who come to Turkey celebrate
this day by performing national anthems,
folk dances and sharing many other things
that are related to their countries.
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 international community has recognized
the importance of April 23 as a special
day for children. UNICEF decided to recognize
this important day as the International
Children's Day. It would be very appropriate
for the United States to set aside a day
where we reflect upon our investment in
our future: our children. This will help
us to put aside our daily struggles and
think what we are doing and not doing for
our children.
I
hope this idea of Children's Day takes a
hold in the United States. Until it does,
I invite you to celebrate April 23 as the
International Children's Day and give the
children love, understanding and spiritual
values. Teach them peace, show them how
important they are and resolve to take action
to make the world a better place for all
the children.
Isil
Sumertas Rahmanian is a master's of economics
student and the president of the Turkish
Student's Association.
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