Every year, children in Turkey celebrate National Sovereignty and Children's Day as a national holiday. Similar to other April events, Children's Day celebrations are often held outdoors. Students decorate their classrooms with flags, balloons and handmade ornaments.
Anıtkabir is visited by children and politicians every year. Among the activities on this day, the children send their representatives to replace state officials and high ranking civil servants in their offices. The
President, the cabinet ministers, provincial governors, and mayors all turn over their positions to children's representatives in a purely
ceremonial exercise. On this day, children also replace the parliamentarians in the Grand National Assembly and hold a ceremonial special session to discuss matters concerning children's issues. After
UNESCO proclaimed 1979 as the
International Year of the Child, the
Turkish Radio and Television Corporation (TRT) organized the first
TRT International April 23 Children's Festival. Five countries participated in this first holiday. Over the years, this number grew steadily, resulting in children from about 50 countries coming to Turkey in an official ceremony every year to participate in the festival. During the time, children stay with Turkish families and interact with the Turkish children and learn about each other's countries and cultures. Foreign children also participate in the ceremonial session of the Grand National Assembly. ==Celebration gallery==