‘Harmony of the Future’ with Children from Syria and Turkey

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As part of the 3rd Conference on Supporting the Future of Syria and the Region held in Brussels from March 12 and 14, the European Union (EU) Delegation to Turkey organized an event in İstanbul, where children and young people from Syria and Turkey sang songs.

In the "Harmony of the Future" concert held in the Mustafa Kemal Cultural Center in Beşiktaş, İstanbul on March 20, the Children Choir of War Victims as well as amateur music groups of young people from Turkey and Syria took to stage and sang their songs.

The members of the Children Choir of War Victims are refugee children who had to leave Syria due to war and have been living in Hatay since then.

Founded by Hatay Metropolitan Municipality in February 2017, the choir consisted of around 12 children from Syria in the beginning. It now has 50 members. The master of the choir is Yılmaz Özfırat, who is also the master of Hatay Civilizations Choir. The Children Choir of War Victims gave its first concert with the World Children Choir of Refugees in İzmir in March 2017. Since then, the children have been taking the stage on different occasions.

Songs in five languages

Presented by actor Mert Fırat, the event started with the opening speech of EU Delegation to Turkey Chair Ambassador Christian Berger.

After Berger concluded his speech by saying, "Syrians are not solely the victims of war. Tonight, children will show you something about their dreams and hopes", the children and youngsters took the stage to sing their songs.

The Children Choir of War Victims sang songs in Arabic, French, English, German and Turkish.

Short film and photograph exhibition

In the event held in Mustafa Kemal Cultural Center in İstanbul, the short film of "Bana Hikayeni Anlat" (Tell Me Your Story), which was prepared by young people from Syria and students of Bilkent University, was also screened.

Before the event, the guests also visited the social adaptation and development-themed exhibition prepared by the World Food Program (WFP), World Health Organization (WHO) and United Nations Development Program (UNDP) on the stories of medical personnel from Syria. (BA-BÇ/HK/SD)