From August 24 until September 1, the nonprofit organization Kurdistan Foundation will launch the “Our Flag” Campaign, which involves the installation of at least 1,200 Kurdistan flags in public spaces across the Erbil and Sulaymaniyah governorates, including 10 large Kurdish flags. 

In a press release, the Kurdistan Foundation said the campaign is a national initiative to demonstrate “respect for and honor the sacred flag of Kurdistan.” 

Moreover, they aim to renew flags in locations where they need to be replaced and raise flags in places where they are absent. 

“Our goal is to encourage citizens to display the flag wherever they live and work — whether at home, at their workplace, in schools or offices, parks and gardens, or on streets and in neighborhoods — and to encourage citizens to replace old flags with new ones,” the Kurdistan Foundation said.

The Kurdistan Foundation also aims to educate people on the story and meaning of the Kurdish flag, since many people do not know the background of the flag.

Read More: The Colors that Define Us

The Kurdistan flag consists of four colors: red, white, green, and a yellow sun with 21 rays. It was originally developed in 1919 by several Kurdish intellectuals and politicians in Istanbul. The first edition of the Kurdish Hawar magazine, published in Damascus in 1932, also used the Kurdistan flag.

The flag, with some modifications, was raised by the Kurdistan Republic in Eastern Kurdistan (northwestern Iran), led by Qazi Muhammad. When the republic fell, Qazi Muhammad entrusted the flag to General Mustafa Barzani. The flag was officially adopted after the Kurdistan Region of Iraq was formed in 1992.

In 2009, the Kurdistan Parliament declared December 17 Kurdistan Flag Day, a time to renew and replace all the flags soaring above the institutions of the region. After all, it was on December 17, 1945, that the Kurdistan flag was raised above the institutions of the Republic of Mahabad.