Izmir, 23 April 2016. National Sovereignty and Children's Day, in Turkey is a unique event. The founder of the Turkish Republic, Mustafa Kemal Atatürk, made a present of April 23 to all the world's children to emphasize that they are successor of the future.

Acting LANDCOM Commander Lieutenant General Paolo Ruggiero along with Chief Of Staff LANDCOM Major General Salih SEVIL attended the ceremonies in Cumhuriyet Square in Alsancak-Izmir. During the ceremonies students performed folkloric dances, they read poems.  Teams from Georgia and Albania were among the students from different elementary and secondary schools of Izmir.

 It was on April 23, 1920, during the War of Independence, that the Grand National Assembly met in Ankara and laid down the foundations of a new, independent, secular, and modern republic from the ashes of the Ottoman Empire.