BST Grantee Works to ‘Conquer Mountain’ between Armenia and Turkey

To this day, the history of conflict between Turkey and Armenia remains a sensitive and painful subject. One location near their shared border, Mount Ararat, carries symbolic importance for both societies.

In an attempt to open up the dialogue between Turkey and Armenia, the Black Sea Trust for Regional Cooperation (BST) recently awarded the Civilitas Foundation a $64,200 grant for a program called Climbing the Mountain. The initiative promotes better mutual understanding between Armenians and Turks by organizing a series of traveling programs for eight intellectual leaders, writers, and business representatives from Armenia and Turkey.

“There is a mountain that separates us — Mount Ararat — which is in fact on Turkish territory but is Armenia’s symbol,” said Salpi Ghazarian, the Director of the Civilitas Foundation, based in Armenia.

Although the pairs don’t physically climb the mountain, their discussions are designed to bridge the distance on either side of Mount Ararat. Paired in groups of two, one Armenian and one Turkish, these well-known and respected people demonstrated to a wide audience how they are dealing with the historic and political tensions surrounding Turkish-Armenian relations.

The first of these public discussions took place on September 4, when Civilitas organized a discussion featuring Fethiye Çetin and Arsinee Khanjian, in Berlin, home to a large Turkish community.

“Both women are courageous, intelligent, committed activists, each a celebrity in her own way and their names alone helped to give the discussion resonance,” said Ghazarian.

Fethiye Çetin was born in Eastern Turkey, and is a lawyer, an internationally renowned human rights activist, and an award-winning writer. As an adult, she learned that her mother’s family was Armenian. Arsinee Khanjian, born in Beirut, Lebanon, to Armenian parents, is an actress who has won Canadian film accolades such as the Gemini Award and the Genie Award for her performances.

Çetin and Khanjian’s wide-ranging discussion on how they have been personally affected by the lack of dialogue resonated with the 70-person audience.

“This project intends to broaden the scope of [the Turkey-Armenian] dialogue and make it public at all levels of Armenian and Turkish societies and the international community. Although the fundamental issues between Armenia and Turkey must be resolved by the governments, there continues to be a sustained exchange and dialogue among a small group of concerned, thoughtful individuals on both sides.”

The Civilitas Foundation, in partnership with Anadolu Kultur, will organize the next debates in Yerevan and in Istanbul. The discussions will be videotaped and made public on their website.

Rather than Turkey-Armenia being solely a regional issue, Ghazarian believes the international community should also take note of developments between the two countries.

“If there is sufficient public discourse about the possibility and inevitability of recognizing the past and moving forward, perhaps the EU will be able to comfortably and legitimately expect, demand that of Ankara,” she said. “Of course, both sides must be willing to move forward. Armenia has thus far indicated such willingness.”

She said that while BST’s financial assistance was welcome, “the BST name and recognition that this Armenia-Turkey situation has implications for the entire region gave the project more regional resonance.”

Alina Inayeh, director of the Black Sea Trust for Regional Cooperation, said that projects like Climbing the Mountain hold promise for the future of the Turkish-Armenian relationship.

“Having public discussions like the event that took place in Berlin, gives a platform for those affected to share their views, find consensus and hopefully move on from the tragic and complex past that Turkey and Armenia have gone through,” Inayeh said. “Having two popular figures who have first-hand experience of the challenges openly discussing their feelings gives a fresh perspective on the situation and hopefully will capture the attention of a younger generation to make them aware of their past.”

Click here to watch a recording of the discussion and view photos from the event.

Capturing-the-Mountain Project Fosters Turkish–Armenian Bonds

Tensions between Turks and Armenians largely center on collective memories of conflict, and one Black Sea Trust for Regional Cooperation (BST) grantee decided to address those tensions in a unique and neutral way.

Convinced that historical differences could be discussed constructively and lead to mutual understanding, Turkish Policy Quarterly and the Imagine Center for Conflict brought together six Armenians and six Turks in Gudauri, Georgia, a region that is neutral to both Turks and Armenians. The organizations used a $30,000 BST grant to fund the project.

From June 8-14, 2012, the group participated in a project called “Capturing the Mountain,” which combined conflict-resolution trainings with analytical discussions, team-building activities, and fostering mutual empathy through sharing of personal stories, the team focused on history to present day relations and prospects for the future.

“Deciding on participants was an issue,” said Nigar Goksel, co-organizer and co-facilitator of the project, and the chief editor of Turkish Policy Quarterly.

“The Turkish and Armenian facilitators decided to make it a diverse group” within the general identities of Armenians and Turks, she said.

The diversity within each group, including Armenians from Armenia as well as from the Diaspora in the United States, Syria, Lebanon, and Georgia, as well as Turks of Kurdish and German origin, and various ideological and professional backgrounds, enabled different layers of identity and collective memory to come to the fore.

“We wanted the composition of the group to bring out the fault lines in Turkish–Armenian relations,” she said.

During the first phase of the project, the participants spent seven days in Gudauri, a mountain resort in Georgia. With the help of three professional facilitators (Armenian, Turkish, and American), the participants were guided through an intense dialogue process of reflecting on historical and present-day relations between Armenians and Turks, current challenges faced by the two nations, the development of personal relationships among the participants.

The discussions were coupled with relationship-building exercises, including a number of hikes in the mountains of Gudauri, that fostered an environment of trust.

“Sometimes the dialogue got intense,” Goksel said. “Breaking out of a dialogue impasse can require a change of environment and mode—climbing a mountain together helped as such.

“Our dialogue composed of getting outside of the room and connecting on a human level, climbing the mountains of Gudauri. The methodology was to bring out the differences, but it was just as much about bringing people together and [building] empathy. It could be draining on a human and emotional level.”

Subsequently, toward the end of the program, each participant shared personal stories about how they had been individually, or as a family, affected by the Turkish-Armenian conflict.

The entire dialogue program was captured on film by one Armenian and one Turkish cameraman, each of them also a participant in the dialogue.

“Two of the Armenians have recently met with their Turkish counterparts in Istanbul, the group dynamic is still very strong,” Goksel said.

The second phase of this innovative project will focus on further deepening this Armenian-Turkish dialogue while climbing Mount Ararat/Agri Dagi, possibly in the summer of 2013, and producing a documentary film about the entire journey. Mount Ararat sits on Turkish land, but has historic and religious significance for Armenians.

“Mount Ararat is symbolic of the problems,” Goksel said. “Armenians see Mount Ararat as their historic homeland, and a holy one as such.

“‘Capturing’ it together and what it symbolizes to both sides – both by climbing and by filming—will be one of the objectives of the future project.”

Click here to download a video of the Capturing the Mountain project.

Imagine Center for Conflict Transformation is an independent, non- political organization, dedicated to positively transforming relations and laying foundations for lasting and sustainable peace in conflict-torn societies, with particular expertise in the South Caucasus.

Turkish Policy Quarterly (TPQ) is an Istanbul-based journal which fosters original thinking and constructive, open policy debates on Turkey and its neighborhood, since 2002.

Bridging the Divide: Taking Stock of Turkish-Armenian Relations

The bridge over the Akhurian River

In response to the ongoing conflict and lack of dialogue between Turkey and Armenia, the Economic Policy Research Foundation of Turkey (TEPAV), a Black Sea Trust (BST) grantee, has carried out an assessment of civil society initiatives aimed at improving Turkish-Armenian relations. The Turkish-Armenian conflict has resulted in closed borders and limited relations, though there have been many efforts in recent years to change this dynamic. Dr. Burcu Gültekin Punsmann, senior foreign policy analyst at TEPAV, in cooperation with Esra Çuhadar, assistant professor with the Department of Political Studies of Bilkent University, conducted as research to gain an overall picture of success factors and areas needing more attention, and the result is the book Reflecting on the Two Decades of Bridging the Divide: Taking Stock of Turkish-Armenian Civil Society Activities.

“The Turkish-Armenian past is a violent one,” said Dr. Punsmann. “Many initiatives have attempted to heal this broken relationship, and this project was aimed at encouraging the reflective self-analysis of the practitioners.”

The study looked at 64 initiatives that have taken place over the last three years, examining general trends and points of convergence or divergence of views. The resulting book highlights the success of these initiatives in the transference of ideas to the policymaking level, and their impact on the process of normalization and reconciliation between the two countries.

Also considered is what needs to be done in the future to implement projects more effectively. Two workshops took place in Ankara and Istanbul in the middle of the project, allowing civil society representatives from Turkey and Armenia to meet and discuss common challenges made clearer from the research.

Punsmann said that the main problem faced by the organizations involved was a lack of impact at the political level. “There is a disconnect between what’s happening on the ground and the effect this has on policymakers,’’ she explained. ‘’Some of the practitioners involved in these initiatives hadn’t even had this in mind.’’

Punsmann said she also believes there is an urgent need to increase the impact of these initiatives in Turkey in particular, with more advocacy work required to raise public awareness, as Armenia remains in danger of being overlooked in the Turkish consciousness.

Ozgur Unluhisarcikli, director of GMF’s Ankara office, says that BST decided to support this project due to an obvious need for more research on the impact of Turkish-Armenian rapprochement projects. “This assessment shows us what has made these projects successful or not successful, and gives a clear idea of what needs to be done in the future.’’

The Economic Policy Research Foundation of Turkey is a non-partisan, non-profit think tank based in Ankara. For more information on TEPAV, visit www.tepav.org.tr/en.

Civic Participation

The $23,500 grant will help establish the course as part of a “Languages for Peace” program, which will also see the university offering Greek, Russian, Arabic, Farsi, and potentially Kurdish.

The course, to be taught by an Armenian doctoral candidate, is primarily aimed at business people, representatives of the media and NGOs, and post-graduate students specializing in regional studies. Dr. Mustafa Aydin, university rector and professor of international relations, says teaching people regional languages can act as a means of enhancing cooperation and cultural exchange – particularly important in the case of Armenia, which currently has no diplomatic ties with Turkey.

Currently, Kadir Has is the only university in Turkey planning to offer Armenian as a language option. “Many universities offer English, but English is already widely spoken in Turkey,” says Serdar Dinler, director of the university’s Lifelong Learning Center. “There are 8-9 million [people in the] Armenian diaspora around Europe, and most would have a basic knowledge of Turkish, whereas Armenian is barely known here.”

“Turkey is becoming a focal point in the region and now has more extensive relations with its neighbors than ever before,” Dinler says. “We had 3% trade with neighbors 10 years ago; now we have 40%. It is important that we also develop cultural ties.”

The university is seeking partners for the other languages to be offered. Armenian instruction will commence this fall, and interest is already proving to be strong. Kadir Has is a private university established in 1997 and named for its founder, a businessman and automotive magnate.

BST is a grantmaking initiative promoting regional cooperation and good governance in the wider Black Sea region.

Free Thought University

WWW.AZADFIKIR.ORG

BAKU – The Free Thought University (Azad Fikir Universiteti) in Azerbaijan became the first recipient of the USOSCE Ambassadorial Award for Freedom of Expression over the Internet. Ambassador Ian Kelly of the US Mission to the OSCE presented the award to university representative Vugar Salamli on Nov. 27.

The university is an initiative of the OL! Azerbaijan Youth Movement, which received a grant from the Black Sea Trust for the project. GMF and BST were also among the first international donor organizations to support the youth movement when its founder, Adnan Hajizade, was one of two Azerbaijani youth leaders, along with Emin Milli, arrested last summer.

The thrust of Azad Fikir is to involve youth in events organized around topics usually left out of higher-education curricula in the country, and to bring participants in contact with prominent public figures whose critical views are not usually welcome in universities. The forum also gives students from different universities and organizations a chance to meet and network. As of June 2010, Free Thought University had held around 100 interactive lectures, seminars, discussions, and other events since September 2009.

Lectures at the university are grouped in six categories – Human Rights, Democracy, Global Politics, Economics, Social Studies, and Philosophy, with Media being a late addition – and multimedia excerpts from lectures and seminars are available on the website, www.azadfikir.org.

The USOSCE presented its first annual Ambassadorial Award for Freedom of Expression over the Internet to Free Thought University in keeping with U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton’s focus on freedom of expression over the internet. The award is designed to recognize the accomplishments of an individual or NGO that has made significant, sustained and innovative use of the internet to promote democratic reforms, civil society, independent media, human rights or the rule of law.

Black Sea Young Reformers Fellowship

HTTP://WWW.BSYR.ORGThe Black Sea Trust for Regional Cooperation supported the recently launched Black Sea Young Reformers Fellowship program, spearheaded by the Sofia based Institute for Regional and International Studies (IRIS). This project is an effort to support reformist thinking and reformist activities across the region of the Black Sea through identifying and encouraging like-minded, reform-oriented, influential young policy-makers, civil servants and civil society activists at national level from Armenia, Azerbaijan, Bulgaria, Georgia, Moldova, Romania, Russia, Turkey and Ukraine. This network hopes to become a force of change and to be in a position to influence policies and propel institutional and societal changes toward more accountability and transparency in the area. The ultimate goal is movement toward European-style democracy. Much will depend on a shared vision in the Black Sea region. The Black Sea Young Reformers Fellowship hopes to contribute to developing a positive vision that is shared across the Black Sea countries.

On April 15-18 in Varna, Bulgaria IRIS hosted the Fellowship’s inaugural seminar entitled, “Security, Development and Regional Cooperation in the Black Sea Area”. The conference was organised by the Institute for Regional and International Studies in Sofia in partnership with the Centre for Applied Policy Research at the University of Munich. The event brought together young prospective politicians, civil servants and analysts from the civil society sector of Armenia, Azerbaijan, Bulgaria, Georgia, Moldova, Romania, Russia, Turkey and Ukraine. In a series of plenary sessions and workshops, the fellows discussed their views on institutional development, democratization, regional security and cooperation around the Black Sea. They discussed ways to overcome the existing problems and suggest how the European Union can assist those processes. The conference also set the foundation of an active network among young Black Sea leaders and between them and their EU counterparts who will eventually be in position to influence policy decisions both in the countries of the region and the EU. As Ognyan Minchev, director of the Institute for Regional and International Cooperation (IRIS) stressed in his opening remarks, the primary challenge for Black Sea countries is to develop closer ties across the region. This will require that the Black Sea countries act more pro-actively to raise EU interest and involvement in their regional and domestic affairs. An important gateway should be the processes of democratization that are ongoing in the region, which should peak EU attention and interest in “serious political investment”, as one of the participants put it during the debate.

The fellows will convene again in Berlin, Germany later this fall. The workshop will focus on possible ways the EU can support reformist thinking and institutional democratisation in the Black Sea region. Discussions will draw heavily on the conclusions of the first conference and the inter-conference period – the suggestions, experiences and written work of each of the individual participants and his/her specific country background and the policy issues identified by the issue groups and the online presentations.

Civil Development Agency – Rustavi, Georgia

Since spring 2009, Civil Development Agency (CiDA) is implementing a Civil Participation Project (CPP) funded by Black Sea Trust for Regional Cooperation. The project intends to contribute to the improvement of the capacity of local government and civil society organizations (CSOs) as well as to build mechanisms through which the CSOs will be able to communicate and /advocate the needs and interests of the community and monitor the local government’s performance.

Along with the capacity building of local civil society organizations and ensuring their active participation in the decision- making process, CiDA managed to create a pattern of positive and mutually beneficial cooperation with the Rustavi city self-governing bodies.

Within the project it established a Civil Consultation Council that seeks and receives information about the activities of any particular government office, its budget spending records, and past, current, and planned projects. Apart from this, the local government officials, including the mayor of Rustavi, agreed to publish and distribute reports on performed activities and organize monthly public information sharing meetings at CiDA media centre.

To keep the population informed and abreast of the latest developments in the city, the project issues informational newsletter Self-Government Messenger providing Rustavi population with information on current and planned activities of local government and analytical articles.

In addition, CiDA collected, systematized, and published an electronic version of legal acts adopted by the local municipality and city council. The handbook became the only source of reference for local government bodies and representatives of the civil society. The Civil Participation project staff reviews and monitors the application of these legal acts by the different departments of the local government and regularly provides recommendations to the local government bodies on the improvement of practices related to their appliance.
The results yielded by the Civil Participation project showed the local government representatives and the civic activists the need of for continued cooperation within the established framework and urged CiDA to continue such activities in the future. The success of the project helped CiDA to attract additional funding and cover the whole region of Kvemo Kartli, of which Rustavi City is the administrative center.