The 3rd Paris Kurdish Cultural Festival is currently underway. It started on 25 May and will continue until 1 June. The festival offers a rich and varied programme, and provides the opportunity to discover and enjoy Kurdish culture.
The festival began with a parade through the streets of Paris, where Kurds from different regions of Kurdistan presented their traditional dress, music and dances, giving performances at the end of the day.
The second day of the festival included a brunch with a variety of Kurdish dishes, a street concert and a presentation of traditional handcrafts and Kurdish traditional Deq Tattoos. The day ended with the dance group Rojbîn performing Govend dances, which are group dances specific to different regions in Kurdistan.
An impressive concert of Dengbêj, a Kurdish music genre that tells stories through song, was held on 27 May, and was accompanied by a buffet of Kurdish culinary specialities.
On 28 May, there was a musical evening with the participation of multiple artists singing songs in different Kurdish dialects. It was dedicated to Mîr Perwer, a Kurdish musician that was assassinated in Paris in 2022, alongside women’s rights activist Emine Kara (Evîn Goyî) and political activist Abdurrahman Kızıl.
Yesterday, 29 May, there was a colourful and rich programme especially for children to invite them to get to know Kurdish culture. It included a game to learn basic expressions in the Kurdish language in a playful way, and the children eating together while they exchanged views on Kurdish culture and learned about their cultural heritage. The cultural education of Kurdish children growing up in the diaspora in Europe is considered particularly important, as they grow up far away from their homeland and are therefore more susceptible to losing the connection to the culture of their ancestors.
The festival will continue for two more days, with a photo exhibition on 30 May and a final concert on 1 June with famous Kurdish artists including Koma Amed, Iraqi Kurdish singer Chopy, and Deza Amed.
