The 33rd International Kurdish Culture Festival will be held in Dortmund, Germany, on 13 September. The event, at Remydamm/Victor-Toyka Str. 44139, will bring together the culture, art, and spirit of resistance of Kurds living in Europe.
KON-MED co-chairs Ruken Akça and Kerem Gök made statements about the festival’s preparations and program.
Ruken Akça emphasized the historical and cultural importance of the festival, saying: “The struggle initiated under the leadership of Leader Apo and continuing for more than forty years has taken its place in history as the Kurdish people’s struggle for freedom and existence. This struggle is growing not only in Kurdistan but also across Europe with the will of our people. Our duty today is to strengthen our national unity, to more strongly embrace our culture and language under diaspora conditions. Because our culture is not only our identity, it is also the guarantee of our free future.”
She noted that each year the festival is organized under a slogan, and this year’s theme is “peace and democratic society.” She stressed that the festival is not just about music but is also an expression of culture, art, identity, and the will of the people.
The event will include sections ranging from stands offering traditional Kurdish cuisine to displays of national dress, books and children’s activities, and dengbêj tents.
Akça said: “The festival in Dortmund on September 13 will be a strong demonstration of national unity and our people’s determination. To all our people and friends in Europe, our call is this: Come, let us meet in Dortmund with our culture and our national dress. Let us strengthen our struggle for freedom and equality.”
Kerem Gök said that preparations for the festival had been carried out carefully months in advance, with bureaucratic processes completed, transport and security arrangements made.
Alongside cultural and artistic programs, the festival will include book-signing stands, areas displaying national clothing, and spaces for faith institutions, leftist-socialist organizations, and civil society groups.
Gök explained: “We have prepared a rich stage program with many esteemed artists presenting works in Zazaki, Kurmanji, and Sorani. A tent called Konê Amele will showcase Kurdish culture. For children, the Zarok Ma tent will host its own program. With govend and other cultural activities, the festival will be full, organized, and complete.”
Pointing out that the Kurdish people have long faced assimilation policies, Gök emphasized that under diaspora conditions the festival carries political meaning as well as cultural.
He said: “The Kurdish people were banned in their own country, their villages evacuated, their language and culture targeted for destruction. With assimilation policies, our people’s values were to be erased. But those who came to the diaspora resisted these policies. Participation in the festival means saying: ‘I do not accept assimilation, statelessness, and oppression.’ That is why we call on all our people: defend your future and the future of your children. Especially our youth and our women must flow into Dortmund in their national clothes and give a strong response to Leader Apo’s call for peace and democratic society.”