Kurdish youth in Europe are preparing for the 20th Mazlum Doğan Youth Festival. This year, the festival will be held on 15th July in Blegny, Belgium. This year’s youth festival will be held under the slogan of ‘Azad Bike’ (To Free).

The Mazlum Doğan Sports and Culture Youth Festival is a leading Kurdish youth event in Europe, standing its twentieth consecutive year. The festival which is attended by thousands of Kurdish youth every year, hosts cultural activities besides being home to sports competitions. The festival to be held in Blegny, Belgium this year brings together professional and amateur athletes from Europe.

Competitors from the Martyrs of May tournaments held in many centres throughout Europe commencing from the beginning of May, will face competition in various sports branches such as, football, volleyball and athletics at the festival. At the festival where there will be activities for children, the two teams qualifying to the final will play for the championship title.

Besides the sports activities, the cultural programme of the festival will be enriched with the attendance of Seyda Perinçek, Pınar Aydınlar, Nuarin, Celoviz, ZaZlooZ (internationalist band), Wascha (German leftist band) and Koma Erbane on stage. On the other hand, Kurdish boxer Öcalan Hussein and Benfica goalkeeper Julio Cesar will be amongst the attendees of the festival. Moreover, performing folklore groups will bring vividness to the festival with their traditional outfits and various shows.

The festival’s steering committee stated the importance of the event by emphasising the event’s twentieth anniversary, and noted: “In 20 years our festival has ritualised. Especially, the dedication of the event to the martyrs who fought in the mountains of Kurdistan, in Europe, at the heart of capitalist modernity, adds more value to the festival.”

The steering committee noted the duty of all youth to protect and further the struggle by attending the festival and said:

“We are the children of a people whose language, culture and identity has been forbidden. We must participate in the 20th Mazlum Doğan Sports and Culture Youth Festival taking place on 15th July in Blegny, Belgium much stronger, in remembrance of our comrades and martyrs of Kurdistan alike Lecwan Munzur, Çekdar Botan and Tijda Ekecik.”