Welcome to our 24th International İstanbul Büyükçekmece Culture and Art Festival
Our Festival, where different colors from various countries of the world come together, new friendships are formed every year, and culture and art meet together, turns 24 this year. And this year has a very different significance for us. Our Republic, entrusted to us by the Great Leader Mustafa Kemal Atatürk, the founder of our country, has completed its 100th year and turned over a century. As a modern country in line with his principles, we put human values at the top of the rules. Mustafa Kemal Atatürk’s principle of “Peace at home, peace in the world” always enlightens our path.
In this context, we attach high importance to the festivals. Because festivals have a significant role in social cohesion and cultural integration, building trust among people, and bringing our rich cultural heritage to the international arena by blending it with science, culture, art, and local values. Festivals are the meeting point for people from different locations.
On the other hand, festivals make change in our monotonous daily life goes on with difficult living conditions. It offers our guests local beauties, different cultural experiences, and the opportunity to participate in unique activities and collective experiences. Thus, one of our main goals is to reach the world and bring the people of the world together. Because culture and art serve both individual development and social peace.
For this reason, every year we shout ‘Love for each other, peace to all’ from Büyükçekmece, where world culture and art meet, and dedicate our festival to world peace. In addition to culture and art, we draw the world’s attention to important values with content themed on nature, the environment, society, and people.
I would like to express my sincere thanks to the ones who walk on this way with us on this journey, our sponsors who have the most important part in the world’s countries recognizing our culture and promoting their culture, and to our public institutions and organizations that contributed to the success of our festival in numerous fields, neighborhood representatives, CIOFF, FIDAF and FIAP, ANELSANDER, and my Büyükçekmece family, the representatives of NGO’s, the national and international jury members who closely follow our festival, and our young people who work actively by taking part in the festival. Stay with art, stay with love.