The Festival aims to introduce the culture, the city Büyükçekmece, Istanbul and the country to the people who visit our festival, and also aims to introduce cultures and folkloric values from all over the world to the people of Büyükçekmece, Istanbul. The main goal is to contribute to world peace through culture. The festival has 5 branches: International Golden Bridge Folk Dance Competition, International Golden Bridge Contemporary Dance Competition, International Güler Ertan Photography Competition, International Handicrafts Festival and International Sculpture Symposium. Different types of exhibitions and workshops are organised within the festival.

The ICH Winter School is a 5-day event organized for the experts on ICH and the representatives of the UNESCO Associated Schools Network. The main aim of this initiative is to further raise the awareness among and strengthen the capacity of these experts in the fields related to ICH thereby also contributing to enhancement of the Convention’s visibility.

Şeb’i Arus (Night of Reunion) Week is an international event, annually held on between 7 and 17 of December with the broad participation of people from Turkey and abroad. In this week many activities and events are organized, and the Konya Turkish Sufi Music Group, established under the auspices of the Ministry of Culture and Tourism, perform Mevlevi Sema ceremonies. The main Mevlevi Sema ceremony is held in Mevlana Culture Center on 17th December, which is the anniversary of Rumi’s death and recognized as the night on which the servant Rumi met his God. The Mevlevi Sema ceremony originally proclaimed in 2005 Masterpiece of the Oral and Intangible Heritage of Humanity was inscribed in 2008 on the Representative List of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity

The ICH Winter School is a 5-day event organized for the experts on ICHand the representatives of the DEvelopment Agencies. Te main aim of this initiative is to further raise the awareness among and strengthen the capacity of these experts in the fields related to ICH thereby also contributing to enhancement of the 2003 Convention’s visibility.

The ICH Winter School is a five-day event organized for young professionals. The main aim of the initiative is to further raise awareness among and strengthen the capacity of these young experts in fields related to ICH, thereby also contributing to the enhancement of the Convention’s visibility.
With a view to enhancing interdisciplinary work, the attendees would be selected from different fields of expertise related to ICH. Through the programme, the attendees would be involved in both courses and discussions on current debates in a participatory manner.

The ICH Winter School is a five-day event organized for young professionals under the age of 35. The main aim of the initiative is to further raise awareness among and strengthen the capacity of these young experts in fields related to ICH, thereby also helping to increase the visibility of the Convention.
With a view to enhancing interdisciplinary work, the attendees would be selected from different fields of expertise related to ICH. Through the programme, the attendees would be involved in both courses and discussions on current debates in a participatory manner.

The Turkish National Commission for UNESCO, in cooperation with the NGO named Institute for Intangible Cultural Heritage and the Turkish Folklore Research and Application Center (THBMER), is planning to organize a one-day expert meeting on The Convention for the Safeguarding of the Intangible Cultural Heritage and Education: North and West Africa Experience from 31 March to 2 April 2015 in Istanbul.
The goal of this expert meeting is to consider the current situation of ICH in formal and informal education, with a focus on North and West Africa, promote awareness about and cooperation in education on ICH, and convert the findings of the meeting into a road map for ICH and education.
A workshop during which experts from Africa and Turkey would share their experiences and a strategic roadmap and communication network would be created is being planned.
The participation of the following is expected: Benin, Burkina Faso, Algeria, Morocco, Ivory Islands, Gabon, Gambia, Senegal, Cameroon, Congo, Mali, Mauritania, Namibia, Niger, Nigeria, Toga, Tunisia, Democratic Republic of Congo and the Regional Centre for the Safeguarding of Intangible Cultural Heritage in Africa.