Cologne Yunus Emre Institute organized a rap contest, on the occasion of the 60th anniversary of the Labor Migration Agreement signed between Turkey and Germany. The contest featured images of a peaceful world and cultural diversity.

In the contest held under the title "Young Poet! You are Germany", the participants were asked to talk about a peaceful life, diversity and dreams of future.

Young people from different age groups applied to the Institute with their rap music, in which they expressed their perspectives on their own lives and their future in society.

The songs “We Are Germany”, “Sixty Years” and “From Cologne to Bosporus” were deemed worthy of awards in the contest.

YOUNG POETS: GERMANY IS OUR FUTURE 

Sefa and Roni from Turkey, Zairan from Iraq, Younes from Tunisia, Iman from Lebanon and Frankie from Serbia gave a universal message and emphasized that they are all together in Germany’s future with the lyrics “We are Germany, no matter your skin or religion, we are Germany, no matter where you are from or where you come from,” in their song “We Are Germany” (Wir Sind Almanya).

YOUNG PEOPLE EXPRESSED THEMSELVES WITH RAP MUSIC

The migration adventure which started with the first generation made Germany a second homeland for the next generations. Immigration has cultural reflections in many fields such as art, culture, literature and music in the societies of both countries. Rap music emerged as one of the means of self-expression loved by young people in Germany.

The works and young people that were awarded in the competition are listed as:

1. Wir Sind Almanya! (We Are Germany) - Enbe Jugendzentrum Neubrück Köln (Ages between 10-14): Zairan, Sefa, Roni, Younes, Iman, Frankie

2. 60 Jahre (Sixty Years)– Ahmet Deveci, Metehan Selvi & Eslem Aysıla Belek

3. Von Köln bis zum Bosporus (From Cologne to Bosporus) – Ozan Ağlamış

The songs that won awards are available on Cologne Yunus Emre Institute’s YouTube channel: 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qr7AtW7Ol5o