CULTURE

Latest News

• Kurdish Language and Culture Network to hold rallies in 3 cities for mother tongue 

  The Kurdish Language and Culture Network has launched a campaign to promote the Kurdish language as an education and official language. The preparatory work for rallies has already begun in three Kurdish cities; Cizre, Van and Diyarbakır.
• Eric Fassin gives lecture at Kobanê University 

  French sociologist Eric Fassin gave a lecture at Kobanê University entitled "Democracy and Minority Politics - Gender, Race and Intersectionality." The event can be viewed on Youtube.
• First examination in mother tongue in Cizre Region 

  Students at secondary schools and high schools in Cizre region will experience examinations in their mother language for the first time after Syrian revolution.
• Demonstrations for Kurdish Language in Amed, Van and Cizre 

  The 21 February Committee will organise meetings in Amed, Van and Cizre to support the Kurdish language.
• Diyarê Felekê: Yazidi cemetery in Rojava 

  The Diyarê Felekê cemetery in northern Syria is a sacred place for the Yazidi population of the surrounding villages. In addition to Yazidi sheikhs, people who were killed in the invasions of Shengal and Afrin are buried here.
• 500-year-old Armenian church in Amed about to collapse 

  The 500-year-old church Surp Sarkis is living its last days. The special stones of the church, which is about to collapse due to unrepair, were removed from their places and stolen.
• Musician Aysel Borak: We can't make art detached from our society 

  Aysel Borak, one of the young names in Kurdish music, said: “There is war and we are in the Kurdish society. It is impossible for us to make art detached from our society.”
• Kurdistan Report magazine also available in English 

  The Kurdistan Report magazine will be published in English again. The magazine has existed since 1982 and is the oldest magazine published in Europe that deals with political, social and cultural developments in Kurdistan and the Middle East.
• Nûbihar magazine share video with 89 children' messages to mark Kurdish Language Day 

  Nûbihar magazine published a video containing the messages of 89 children to mark 15 May, Kurdish Language Day.
• Today is Kurdish Language Day 

  In 2006, 15 May was declared Kurdish Language Day, however the pressures on the Kurdish language and culture continue today.
• Van Bar Association launches Kurdish language course for its members 

  The Van Bar Association will inaugurate a Kurdish language course to teach Kurdish to its member lawyers.
• Hozan Mizgin commemorated in Aleppo and Kobane 

  Kurdish artist and guerrilla Hozan Mizgin was commemorated in Aleppo and Kobane on the 29th anniversary of martyrdom.
• Koma Botan releases new song and video about guerrilla resistance 

  The song and the video tell of the guerrilla's resistance against the Turkish army’s attacks in Zap, Avashin and Metina in southern Kurdistan
• The last Armenian house in Muş resisting destruction 

  The region between Van, Muş and Bitlis was home to a large Armenian population before the 1915 genocide. In Muş, the owner of the last Armenian house is resisting demolition in the course of urban renewal.
• ‘Çîrokên Gulê’ Kurdish book series for kids 

  Kerem Tekoğlu, who wrote a Kurdish book series for kids, said “In order to keep Kurdish, one of the richest and the oldest languages of the Middle East, alive, we aim to add a drop of water into the ocean of this language."
• Nine churches and monasteries in Mardin enter UNESCO's World Heritage Tentative List 

  Nine medieval churches and monasteries in Midyat and the surrounding area in the province of Mardin have been added to the UNESCO’s World Heritage Tentative List. 
• MED-DER: You cannot make us step back 

  A press conference was organised for 11 people who were detained within the operation launched against Mesopotamia Language and Culture Research Union in Amed on Monday.
• Ji Bo Azadiyê gets Audience Award at IFFG 

  The Audience Award IFFG 2021 went to the Kurdish film The End Will Be Spectacular by director Ersin Çelik.
• PEN International calls for conviction of Kurdish member to be overturned 

  PEN International called for action for Kurdish member and writer Gulgeş Deryaspî who was sentenced to six years and three months in prison in Turkey for ‘membership of a terrorist organisation’ in December 2020.
• German artist Kilpper: Isolation imposed on Öcalan is "a crime against humanity" 

  German artist Thomas Kilpper, a professor at Bergen, one of Norway's leading universities, said isolation imposed by the Turkish state on Kurdish people's leader Abdullah Öcalan on Imrali Island is "a crime against humanity".
• Zizek gives guest lecture at Kobanê University: “You Kurds are my model” 

  Slavoj Zizek gave a guest lecture at Kobanê University. The lecture met with lively international interest.
• Political reading circle invites people to join in 

  Since February, there has been an online reading circle in which the book "Sociology of Freedom" by Abdullah Öcalan is read and discussed. The weekly sessions are open to all interested newcomers.
• London Kurdish Film Festival online kicks off  

  This year marks the 20th anniversary of London Kurdish Film Festival and to celebrate it the organisers of the 12th edition have decided to partner with 10 other renowned Kurdish film festivals around the globe.
• Lake Van photo wins NASA competition 

  A satellite image of Lake Van in Van province has won NASA's Tournament Earth photo competition. The photo was taken on board the ISS and was shot by US astronaut Kate Rubins.
• All ready for the opening of London Kurdish Film Festival on 16 April 

  The London Kurdish Film Festival will celebrate its 12th edition online with the first ever Global Kurdish Film Festival.