On Monday 2 January 2024, the third annual Ankawa Christmas Festival concluded its activities, which had lasted for 10 days during the Christmas and New Year holidays, in the gardens of Ankawa’s Social Academic Centre.
The Director General of Syriac Culture and Arts in the Iraqi Kurdistan Region, Kaldo Ramzi Oghanna, gave a speech on the occasion of the festival’s closing, in which he stressed that, “the festival hosted by the city of Ankawa is an affirmation of the civilization and culture of our people,” noting that, “the festival carries within it a humanitarian message of love and peace.”
Oghanna announced during his speech that, next summer, Ankawa will witness the holding of an international version of this festival under the title: “Ankawa International Festival,” noting that Ankawa deserves to hold many festivals annually.
At the end of his speech, Oghanna praised the role of the regional government’s Transport and Communications Minister, Anu Jawhar Abdoka, in supporting and assisting the festival and all activities held in Ankawa. He, in turn, gave a speech in which he extended his appreciation for the role of all the agencies, activities and institutions that participated in holding this annual festival.
In his speech, Abdoka specifically thanked the Kurdistan Regional Government, headed by Prime Minister Mr. Masrour Barzani, the Governor of Erbil and District Governor of Ankawa, as well as the Director General of Syriac Culture and Arts, who bore the bulk of the featval’s organisation.
The closing ceremony included the distribution of appreciation awards to the festival’s supporters and sponsors: Ankawa Social Academic Centre, Ankawa Social Youth Club, Ankawa Radio, MG Automotive Company, West Eye Hospital, Kurdistan Vape, Evident Group, Erbil Fly Company, Galaxy Hall and Hyksos Hotel, in addition to the members of the festival’s organising committee.
The last day of the festival included artistic, musical, and singing performances, as well as traditional dances, which were interacted with by the audience, who were not deterred by the cold weather from participating in the festival’s activities until the late hours after midnight.
On the last day of the festival, the artists George Mansour, who came from Canada, and Zana Majeed, performed a number of songs that the audience interacted with. The Kurdish artist Alend Hazim concluded the concert with a bouquet of Syriac and Kurdish songs, inflaming the young audience present.
It is worth noting that the third annual Ankawa Christmas Festival, the activities of which were launched on the 22nd of last December in the presence of an official delegation from the Kurdistan Regional Government, was held under the auspices of the General Directorate of Syriac Culture and Arts and the Ankawa District Mayor, with the participation of a number of youth and social civil society organisations in Ankawa.
