A special celebration for a special occasion: to mark the 60th anniversary of the German-Turkish recruitment agreement, Lower Saxony is celebrating with music and talks. "We are delighted that Salzgitter has been chosen as one of eight cities in Lower Saxony for this event," says city councillor Jan Erik Bohling. Integration has a very high priority in and for the city of Salzgitter. He is therefore delighted about the performance by the band Shanaya, which has made a name for itself with its migrant pop, which the band itself calls "Mig-Pop". His thanks go to the FÖTEV-Niedersachsen e.V. (Federation of Turkish Parents' Associations in Lower Saxony). Seyhan Öztürk, chairwoman of the association and initiator of the event series, will open the concert in Salzgitter together with Doris Schröder-Köpf, Lower Saxony's State Commissioner for Migration and Participation and patron.
Hartmut Schölch, Head of Cultural Services for the City of Salzgitter, is looking forward to this concert, which has an integrative character. The aim of this series of events is to pay tribute to Turkish citizens. "They are important for Salzgitter and our society." With 4,875 Turks, they are the largest group of foreigners in Salzgitter. The series of events aims to value German-Turkish coexistence and friendship. The aim is to celebrate together on this evening.
The singer Ayda already performed in the city last year and established contacts that were intensified by the Salzgitter native Seyhan Öztürk.
"The band is characterized by German-language pop with oriental ethnic sounds," says Natalia Schmidt, the organizer in the cultural department. Guests can look forward to German lyrics and Turkish melodies. Singer Ayda gives a vivid and witty account of the life of a migrant born and raised in Germany. The band released their album "Gastarbeiterkind" at the end of May 2022.
Gurbet means "the foreigner". This term characterized several generations of people of Turkish origin in the 60s, 70s and even in the 80s. They had come as "guest workers" and felt themselves to be "foreigners". It took a long time for them to become part of Germany.
This year's series of events is therefore entitled "Gurbet - 60 years "AT HOME" in Lower Saxony".