On 21th July 2018, two hundred forty four years since the conclusion of the Kaynardzha Peace Treaty in 1774, , Kaynardzha took place the 1st edition of Kaynardzha Peace Festival carried out in the “Historical Fountain” Park under the theme “In music, speech, painting – the peace shines brightly“. More than 200 people participated in this Festival, 150 of whom were children and young people.
This festival was organized by Kaynardzha Municipality and is one as one of the many events dedicated to the Peace Treaty of 1774. Since 2015, Kaynardzha has been a member of the European Network of Places of Peace (ENPP) which includes municipalities, NGOs and citizens from across Europe living in peace – the places where wars are ended and peace agreements or contracts signed.
At its last European Meeting, held in the city of Bucharest, Romania (where 4 Peace Treaties have been concluded), the European Network of Places of Peace set to work more actively with children and youth to reach the following goals:
- Work to promote and enrich the culture of community peace, including the development of a local organization, to remember and respect the good work done for peace;
- Work with children and young people at any convenient time for the cause of peace, to explore and exchange experiences among the peoples of Europe;
- Draw attention to important historical moments such as the moments of concluding a peace treaty;
- To develop the cultural exchange and tourism of the local communities;
- To restore and develop the infrastructure of the historical places where a peace treaty is concluded, thus contributing to preserving Europe’s cultural heritage.
The event was solemnly opened with the anthem of the Republic of Bulgaria and a welcome speech by Mrs. Valentina Tokusheva, Deputy Mayor of Kaynardzha Municipality. Special guests at the festival were the regional governor of Silistra – Mr. Ivelin Stattev and Mr. Yordan Yordanov – municipal councilor.
From the official stand, Mr. Stattev welcomed the children for their participation and made clear that peace is the most sacred and necessary thing to preserve that we must watch daily and hourly.
The director of the festival read a salutation addressed by Eduard Basso, President of the European Network of Peace Network, with which he strongly supports the first Kaynardzha Peace Festival and encourages his continuation in the coming years, supports the work with children and youth in order to promote the culture of peace among the community.
The curator of the tourist visitor center at the place of peace – Mrs. Dafinka Staneva, told the children curious facts about the history of the 1774 peace treaty and also wished them a cheerful participation in the Peace Festival.
The festival program also included sessions of poetry, music and dance, a lively and very participated regional cuisine contest of the region of Dobrudja and an exhibition of drawings made by children from schools in the region under the theme of Peace.
