On Friday, 3 March 2017, the Natolin students, faculty, staff, and guests had the pleasure of participating in an interesting initiative by the Armenian and Turkish students of the College of Europe Natolin campus.
The jointly organized Armenian-Turkish Regional Day certainly had a lot to offer: delicious Armenian and Turkish food prepared by the Natolin restaurant, a wide array of music reflecting the varied cultures of both countries ranging from Aram Khachaturian to Mozart’s Rondo alla turca to Armenian and Turkish folkloric and pop music. Paper doves, newspapers in both languages and photos of the colours of Turkey and Armenia decorated the facilities, while the Natolin choir sang in both languages and students performed Armenian national dances. At the end of the night, there was a quiz about Armenia and the winners were awarded a bottle of exquisite Armenian cognac.
The symbol of this Regional National Day was, appropriately, Mr Hrant DINK, who worked tirelessly for reconciliation between Turkey and Armenia, who was both Armenian and a citizen of Turkey, and was also the patron of the College of Europe 2007-2008 Promotion. His ideas and ideals were reiterated and his passion for reconciliation and fraternity between Armenian and Turkish people inspired the students who organized this event to not be afraid to talk about the past, but also to be hopeful about the future.
