ERBIL, Kurdistan Region – University students in Erbil felt a little closer to their culture after a festival showcasing Kurdish traditions on Thursday. 

"We are very happy to see the festival here today," Frmesk Hatem, a fourth year Water Resource Engineering student at the University of Kurdistan-Hewler (UKH), told Rudaw English. "It's like a motivation for us and it shows us our culture like it was in the past so that we will not forget out culture, especially the new generation."

UKH hosted the Kurdish Festival as a reminder to the younger generation not to forget their culture and language and to introduce it to other nations.

"We usually do such kinds of events almost every year," Ahang Kawany, event coordinator at UKH told Rudaw English. "We do this to promote the Kurdish culture since it was in the ancient years."

The festival showcased a variety of cultural items such as rugs, traditional dress, and jewelry as well as foods such as dolma, a mix of vegetables stuffed with rice and meat which is popular in the Kurdistan Region.

"It's an awareness not to forget our culture and language, especially for the younger generation," Kawany explained.

In addition to cultural items and dresses, rugs and other handicrafts which were put on display as well as being sold. Traditional music was played as well and some danced. 

Some students also put on a skating show for the guests.

Traditional art and photography were also on display.

Event coordinator Kawany added that the university staff wanted to create an atmosphere for the students, the employees, and the guests, showing that Kurds have their own special language, culture, types of food, and even jewelry.

She is concerned that with the popularity of the English language, which is used in teaching all subjects at UKH, that it is replacing the Kurdish language more and more in recent years.

Srwa Muhammad, who studies Petroleum Engineering at UKH, said this was the second time that she's attended such an event at the university.

"It's wonderful," she told Rudaw English. "I see very different things that I haven't seen before like different cultural styles and foods."

"This reminds us that we have a different culture that we can introduce to different countries and our nationality," she added. "This is important for every nation to show that we [Kurds] exist."