ANKARA

 Thousands of people are expected to attend the international children’s theatre festival “Little Ladies, Little Gentlemen" in Ankara starting this Friday.

The festival will stage around 87 performances from 12 foreign and 14 local theatre groups.

Bulgaria, France, Croatia, Norway, Italia, Slovenia are some of the participant countries.

Puppet shows, shadow plays, musicals and dance shows will not only entertain the children, but will also serve to educate them, festival organizers say. The festival will last for around a week and will end next Wednesday.

The Turkish State Theatres has been organizing the festival for the past 11 years on April 23 to mark the National Sovereignty and Children's Day.

With the festival, the state-owned body aims to contribute to the development of theatre and the arts in the country, and build cultural exchange programs.

On April 23, 1920, during Turkey’s War of Independence, the Grand National Assembly met in the capital, Ankara, and laid down the foundation of a new, independent, secular and modern republic from the ashes of the Ottoman Empire. The founder of the Turkish Republic, Mustafa Kemal Ataturk, then dedicated the day to the children of the country to emphasize that they were the future of the nation.

According to the State Theatres website, the name of the festival came from one of Ataturk's speech addressed to children. “Little ladies, little gentlemen. You are all the roses, the stars and the sparkling joy of our future, the ones who will elevate the nation. Always be aware of your value and significance! And work hard...We have great expectations from you.”

Since the festival began 11 years ago, more than 200,000 have viewed 201 plays from 36 different countries.