The Presidency of Koya University is significantly commemorating the prominent figures of Koya and Kurdistan in general, and they want to demonstrate the true value and the texts as well as works of famous figures from the researchers’ perspective based on the scientific methods. Hence, the third conference on the well-known figures from Koya has been dedicated to the famous poet Dildar, who is the author of (Ay Raqeeb), which has been the national anthem of Kurdistan for more than half a century. 

From the special website of the conference it has been mentioned that “To commemorate the 100th birthday of the Kurdish nationalist poet (Younis Rauf- known as Dildar), which coincides with the (Mother Tongue’s Day), Koya University is to hold a scientific conference on the 20th- 22nd of February. 2018 under the title of: Dildar; the poet of authenticity, language, poetry and nationalism. 

Dildar was a prominent and talented poet and he was the lover of his nation, homeland, language and Kurdish vocabulary. He was the painter of the social conscience of his nation in the realm of literature, poetry and the love of language as well as in developing the soul of national struggle and revolution in addition to cultivating and promoting nationalism and the Kurdish issue in the second quarter of the twentieth century. 

Although Dildar lived a short life with full of misery and had a few literary works, he was an inventor and a pioneer in the fields of politics, poetic invention, patriotism, and promoting his Kurdish literature, cultural heritage and language.” 

To see the special website of the conference, click here. 
The first day of the conference on February 20, 2018 

The scientific conference of the 100th birthday of Dildar will be held in three days; today is the first day of the conference has been run at Koya University with the presence of a great number of university teachers, students and other guest of the conference. 

At 10 am in the morning, the conference started based on the schedule with the national anthem (Ay Raqeeb). At the beginning of the conference, the Koya University President: Dr. Wali presented his speech about the conference. To read his speech, click here.

Then Dr. Haydar Lashkri the head of the scientific committee of the conference delivered his speech.
After that, Mrs Berivan Ramzi Hasan, on behalf of the Dildar’s family presented her speech and stated that they highly appreciate this conference and thanked Koya University for holding it. She also talked about the famous Poet Dildar and his family and what the importance of his family was in Dildar’s life. 

Later, a documentary film on Dildar was shown, to watch the film, click here. 

The afternoon of the first day was allocated to the key speakers of the conference, as follows: 

The director: Assist. Prof. Dr. Othman Dashti- Koya University 

Mumtaz Haydari: Ay Raqeeb, the national manifest. 

Dr. Kamal Ghambar: the authenticity of Dildar in the field of poetic language and the idea of nationalism. 

Peshraw Saida Brayim: the political life of Dildar. 

Faraidun Saman: Kurdish Dialects and the problems of the standard language. 

Mr. Faraidun Saman the participant researcher, who is also the head of the Khani Organization for intellectual research, focused on the Kurdish language that does not have a standard language and it has a variety of dialects such as the northern dialect, the southern dialect and the middle one. The reason behind having these numbers of dialects is due to the fact that Kurdistan has been invaded by several invaders and thus there are various dialects in the Kurdish language, and the geographical aspect has also had its own effect on it. 

Moreover, the assimilation and the genocide of the Kurdish Culture and heritage have been done by Iran, Turkey, and Syria via forbidding studying, printing and publishing in Kurdish. 

After the conference, the researchers and the conference participants visited the shrine of the Poet (Dildar) in the Kakoon Cemetery near the ancient Koya Qishla and then they recited the Kurdish national anthem (Ay Raqeeb) and ended the first day of the conference. 

Prepared by: Binar Rasheed 

Prepared by: Binar Rasheed 
Translated by : Koya University Translation Unit (TRU)