turkish-greek civic dialogue - AEGEE Europe

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80 PRESS RELEASE ON KAYAFEST ............................................................................................... by Hilmi Toros Daily Journal from Brussels, 7 August 2003 KAYAKOY, Turkey – While leaders bicker, youth from Greece and Turkey linked hands at a unique cultural festival last weekend to find ways that could bring them together. This was the “Turkish-Greek Civic Dialogue” held at a deserted hilltop village in southern Turkey. The festival was a joyous, if brief triumph over divisive politics. But it also evoked painful memories. Kayakoy, now a ghost town, was a bustling Greek community until 1923 when a population exchange forced all Greeks to leave for Greece. Turks in Greece returned to Turkey in what amounted to government-sanctioned ethnic cleansing. Returning Turks did not move into the Greek houses. Kayakoy, a few kilometers inland from the pristine Mediterranean coast became an abandoned town. Now it is an open-air museum. Over the weekend Kayakoy made room for KayaFest, funded by the European Union. The festival searched for lessons from the past but also looked forward to what unites Greeks and Turks. “This is the first time I see Turks,” 24-year-old Athens University student Yianna Manatki said at the festival. “I am shocked how similar we are.” It helped that Greek students stayed at the homes of Turkish villagers. Manatki sees politics, not people as the problem. And she sees the need for school books to be rewritten to erase teachings of common enmity. As hundreds of Greek and Turkish youngsters sang and danced down the cobbled-stone streets below the ghost town, project manager Burcu Becermen, a Turkish university student, called the festival a long-term investment. “This meeting is the beginning of partnership of the leaders of tomorrow,” she said. The festival marks the first get-together as celebration, but people from the two countries have come together before in difficult circumstances. As a powerful earthquake levelled a large area in north-western Turkey on August 17, 1999, killing some 17,000 people, Greek non-governmental organisations were the first to rush in with assistance. Turkish people reciprocated when a quake jolted the Athens area later that year. Earthquakes knocked down hostility, a psychology workshop concluded later. “The earthquakes began it,” says Serdar Degirmencioglu, a professor of psychology who led that workshop. “Let’s do the rest.” Greeks and Turks, who know of centuries of real and verbal cross-fire, figured at the festival how much unites them, from food, to social habits, even a similar moody temperament. “What if the anise-based national liquor is called ouzo in Greece and raki in Turkey, and cucumber salad with yoghurt is called caciki in Greek and cacik in Turkish,” said Greek university student Andreas Paraskevas. The matter whether the world-renowned sweet should be called Turkish or Greek Delight and the coffee Turkish or Greek coffee can be sorted out later. If medium is still the message, the choice of art and culture was seen as ideal in breaking down barriers. “These are the most powerful and effective tools,” said Gulsun Zeytinoglu, a personal development coach from Turkey. Greek Ioannis Papaioannou sang Turkish songs and Turkish musicians took up Greek music. “We communicate through music,” said Papaioannou. “It is more powerful than any bomb.” In a matter of ten days, a music workshop produced a common Greek-Turkish song, and Greek and Turkish dancers created their own joint show. If it ever came to anyone’s mind, the word “politics” was barely heard. The key words at the festival were “people”, “partnership” and “networking”. They cared little if leaders of both nations, even if courteous in their recent rapprochement, still have to resolve disputes such as Cyprus and sea rights. They did, however, express shock over the story of Kayakoy. “We didn’t know anything about this place,” said Efi Mordou, a student. “We feel sorry about it.” Sometimes survivors, few as they are now, return for a glimpse of their houses with their children and grandchildren. “A few weeks ago, a 93-year-old Greek man came,” said Mehmet Ekiz, a local coffee shop owner born here 68 years ago. “We trekked uphill to see his house, and we cried together.” They now call Kayakoy “the village of peace and friendship.” KayaFest Youth and Culture Festival Association des Etats Généraux des Etudiants de L’Europe
NOTES FROM KAYAFEST OPENING CEREMONY ..................................................................................................... Giannis Macheridis Prefect of Dodecanese Islands “Once upon a time, before it was covered in dark, there was a magnificent view behind you. This festival aims at fostering Turkish-Greek friendship; however we will reach our real aim once we see this beautiful village illuminated again. No one can obstruct this Turkish-Greek dialogue and our sole role as local authorities is to provide support to these initiatives and to bring two communities together. This sea is not tearing us apart; in contrary it brings us closer, it connects us. Aegean is the paradise of this world and there are billions of tourists visiting this region. The European Union has a very positive stand towards Greek- Turkish rapprochement and Greece - as your neighbour - will give full support to Turkey’s bid for EU membership. We will cooperate in many fields; we will do our best to bring life and light again to these deserted buildings. We proposed this illumination project to the INTERREG programme of the EU; however we need the support and involvement of young people for its realisation. We are supporting the activities of young people, since they also serve for our dream of lightening up Levissi. A friend of mine complains that there are many tourists going to Rhodes; however there is very little attention in Levissi. That’s not true, our Greek citizens are of course visiting this area; however they are coming directly to Marmaris, as it’s much closer to Rhodes. Once we lighten up this area, there will be much more Greek tourists.” ........................................................................................................ İnci Tan - TÜRSAB Association of Turkish Travel Agencies “We are happy to witness all the recent positive developments in the Turkish- Greek relations in many sectors. All the emotions, longing for peace and Association des Etats Généraux des Etudiants de L’Europe friendship in Aegean as well as the efforts, which brought us together in the Peace and Friendship Village Kayaköy, have started long time ago. Young people and NGOs from Greece, Turkey and Europe paved the way for this meaningful festival by fighting against all the obstacles and they made a remarkable contribution in strengthening the cultural, artistic, scientific and touristic links between the two countries. Joint projects of NGOs will definitely play a significant role in fostering the relations and securing a peaceful future. Turkey’s EU membership will bring more room and flexibility also to Turkish- Greek cooperation. I strongly believe that all these NGOs came together under the common aim “Turkish-Greek Civic Dialogue” will mark role-model achievements for the benefit of both countries and the world. We cannot change the past, yet we can be the architects of the future. And YOU: the young AEGEE members! You are the owner and symbol of democracy, secularism and future of this world. VIVA AEGEE! I am happy that you are in Kayaköy, the village of peace and friendship!” ..................................................................................................... Kostas Katsigiannis EOT President of Hellenic Tourism Organisation “I am very touched to be here with you at the youth and culture festival in Kayaköy. Following the signing of a tourism protocol in January 2000 between the Ministers of Foreign Affairs of Greece and Turkey, we have had remarkable cooperation and have promising projects in the field of tourism. Both Turkish and Greek Ministries of Tourism pay special attention to the programmes to be developed to improve the old houses and historical churches of Kayaköy. Declaration of Kayaköy as the “Peace and Friendship Village” will bring an impetus to the tourism activities. Especially cultural activities of young people as such are playing special role in fostering peace and friendship.” ..................................................................................................... Zeki Haznedaroğlu President of AEGEE-Ankara “In fact following our first visit in 2000 for a case study trip about population exchange, we as AEGEE-Ankara got addicted to this beautiful area, that’s why when a festival idea appeared on our minds, Kayaköy was the first name coming KayaFest Youth and Culture Festival 81
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GREETINGS
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Hereby we would like to present the
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about common affairs is the most im
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academicians, university students,
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12 ASSOCIATION DES ETATS GÉNÉRAUX
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14 PROJECT PARTNER FOUNDATION OF LA
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16 The aim of the workshops was to
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18 Empathy & Sympathy, Peace Educat
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20 AEGEE DECLARATION OF GREEK & TUR
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22 SOCIAL PROBLEMS POLITICS ECONOMY
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24 AEGEE-ATHINA AEGEE - Athina is o
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26 Dijan and Hakan. We might have h
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28 AEGEE-ANKARA PROUDLY PRESENTS OB
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Page 38 and 39: 36 ................................
Page 40 and 41: 38 ................................
Page 42 and 43: 40 Once upon a time, there were two
Page 44 and 45: 42 After the meeting, Mr. Tükmen w
Page 46 and 47: 44 Then I came back to Greece and w
Page 48 and 49: 46 Ever since our launch date, AKUT
Page 50 and 51: 48 allow for the pursuit of these n
Page 52 and 53: 50 identify the good and the bad. S
Page 54 and 55: 52 The role of the NGOs is to bring
Page 56 and 57: 54 want to be a citizen of the coun
Page 58 and 59: 56 VIDEO DOCUMENTING THE OPERATION
Page 60 and 61: 58 in. As a last activity, the work
Page 62 and 63: 60 an unfortunate period. RD period
Page 64 and 65: 62 countries and either publishing
Page 66 and 67: 64 WORLD ENVIRONMENT WEEK Sharing e
Page 68 and 69: 66 People of my age did not present
Page 70 and 71: 68 We can say that all these effort
Page 72 and 73: 70 THE LASTING PEACE DEPENDS ON FIV
Page 74: 72 JOINT DECLARATION OF TURKISH & G
Page 78 and 79: 76 kayafest youth & culture festiva
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Page 84 and 85: 82 to our minds to realise this eve
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Page 88 and 89: 86 At the end of the festival, they
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Page 92 and 93: 90 story of “Lütfiye Nine” abo
Page 94 and 95: 92 dancers, and artists from both c
Page 96 and 97: 94 LOVE AT FIRST SIGHT ............
Page 98 and 99: 96 DANCE THEATER PEOPLE ...........
Page 100 and 101: 98 trying, loving and loving. That
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Page 104 and 105: 102 All during the festival for six
Page 106 and 107: 104 AIESEC ANKARA Turkish Cypriot C
Page 108 and 109: 106 audience. Mahşer-i Cümbüş h
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Page 114 and 115: 112 GÖZDE BAYKARA Born in Aydın i
Page 116 and 117: 114 fact that Kayaköy was under 1
Page 118 and 119: 116 S.G: Was there any love story b
Page 120 and 121: 118 MOVIE REBETICA You fed me with
Page 122 and 123: 120 know for ages. I trust them. We
Page 124 and 125: 122 And everything should be perman
Page 126 and 127: 124 KAYAFEST PHOTO ALBUM KayaFest Y
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Association des Etats Généraux de
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To understand this, recall some rec
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”While Greeks name the persons di
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and Literature between 1996-2000. S
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1924, 1.500.000 émigrés had moved
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The religion constituted a basic el
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From the novels of this second peri
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your government?” The peasant rep
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effort, we still see a decrease in
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MOUDAINA BAND & ÇAKMAKLI CLARINET
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Yet he was his happiest when we fin
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158 TURKISH-GREEK CIVIC DIALOGUE PR
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160 AYSIM TÜRKMEN Aysim Türkmen g
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162 WHEN • DEVELOPING A PROJECT
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164 DISCUSSIONS IN WHICH GREEK STUD
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166 Second exercise was a journey o
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168 (M)ASK YOURSELF (M)ask Yourself
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170 MÜFIDE PEKIN VICE-PRESIDENT OF
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172 Civil society needs political f
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174 Pekin and Sefer Güvenç- tryin
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176 FURTHER THOUGHTS AND ELABORATIO
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178 YES. If they say NO, they will
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180 we have a look at the poster of
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182 COMPULSORY EXCHANGE OF POPULATI
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184 2. STEREOTYPE EXERCISE Material
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186 There are past reflections in d
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188 THIS IS THE FINAL CUT I P R O M
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NGO DATABASE
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NGO DATABASE FORM 1 Name of the org
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196 PRESS MIRROR Turkish-Greek Civi
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198 T H E TEAM THE TURKISH-GREEK CI
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200 T H E TEAM Press Mirror Associa
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