The traditional Children's Festival festivities are bringing the students from the "My Choice is Turkish" project for the seventh time in Bosnia and Herzegovina.

During the event, the first of which had been conducted by Yunus Emre Institute in 2013, 6,000 students will come together and have fun to their hearts' content at Zenica Arena, one of the biggest venues in Bosnia and Herzegovina, this year.  The program will start at 14:30 in Turkish time on April 25, 2019, with the participation of the students who are learning Turkish as an optional course at the state schools in Bosnia and Herzegovina.  

The festival seeks to contribute to socialization of students and boost their motivations, and during the event, the children will engage in culture, art, sports and Turkish contests in a friendly manner and the winners will be given trips to Turkey, tablets and laptop computers.

Sponsored by various municipalities, district and provincial governorates and companies from Turkey, the festival program will be Civil Affairs Minister Adil Osmanovic, Federation Education and Science Minister Elvira Dilberovic, Canton Prime Ministers, Canton Education Ministers, mayors, school principals, parents and press members from Bosnia and Herzegovina as well as representatives of Turkish institutions and organizations in Bosnia and Herzegovina.

Renowned Bosnian singer Dzenan Loncarevic will take the stage during the program. Selçuklu Municipality's children folk dances group will perform selected folk dances from various regions in Turkey, and the Children Mehteran Band, again from Selçuklu Municipality, will give a mini concept during the event. The video messages from the Turkish celebrities who are famous in Bosnia and Herzegovina will be aired during the event which will also feature colorful performances by wizards and acrobats. The presents sent from various institutions, organizations and municipalities in Turkey will be distributed to all participants.

"My Choice is Turkish"

Turkish language is being taught as an optional foreign language at schools in Bosnia and Herzegovina within the framework of the "My Choice is Turkish" project, which as been implemented by Yunus Emre Institute since the 2011-2012 academic year. Started with 1,100 students in the 2011-2012 academic year, the project is currently conducted with 8,522 students in the 2018-2019 academic year.

The project has reached out to a total of 12,197 students with 3,675 students who have graduated by learning Turkish during their four-year secondary school education.