The fifth annual Minstrel Art Symposium, hosted by Cappadocia University and now a tradition, was held this year with the theme "Europe." The symposium, held at the Mustafapaşa Campus on July 17-18, 2025, was attended by academics, researchers, and minstrels from Turkey and abroad.

Minstrel art, which uniquely interprets the rich oral culture of Anatolia, was explored at this year's symposium with a specific focus on the Balkans, Hungary, and Northern Europe. Presentations on European folk storytellers, bard traditions, and the minstrel tradition kept alive by Turkish immigrants in the countries they reside highlighted the international dimension of cultural transfers.

Throughout the symposium, papers were presented on topics such as "Singer Storytellers in Hungary," "The Relationship Between Northern European RAP Music and the Minstrel Tradition," "Possibilities and State Support for Minstrel Art in Europe," "Nature in Minstrel Art," and "The Minstrel Tradition and the Media." The sessions comparatively evaluated the relationship between minstrelsy and similar oral narrative traditions in Europe.

The symposium, which attracted considerable interest from participants, aimed to open the tradition of minstrelsy, considered not merely as a musical performance but as a cultural carrier, to international discussion, to establish connections with similar traditions in Europe, and to bring together artists and researchers working in this field.

Each year, the symposium's sessions, each with a different theme and focus, explored the relationship between the narrative figures shaping European folk culture and music, words, and tradition, inspiring new research.