The EUTCC (EU Turkey Civic Commission) announced the programme of its 18th International Conference on EU, Turkey and the Kurds to be heldon 6-7 December 2023 in the European Parliament.

Information can be obtained by writing to the conference’s secretariat: [email protected]

The programme of the conference is as follows: 

Wednesday, 6th December 2023, 16.30-17.00
OPENING SESSION, Room SPAAK 04B01

Interpretation in
English and Turkish (with possibility to speak in German, French and Kurdish)

Opening Speeches and Greetings

•Ms. Kariane Westrheim, Chair of EUTCC, University of Bergen, Norway

•Mr. Dimitrios Papadimoulis, Vice-Chair of the European Parliament, The Left, Greece

•Mr. Andreas Schieder, MEP, Progressive Alliance of Socialists and Democrats, Austria

Wednesday, 6th December 2023, 17.00-20:00
Panel I – Room SPAAK 04B01

Post-election Turkey

Moderator: Ms. Ayça Çubukçu, London School of Economics and Politics, UK

Interpretation in
English and Turkish (with possibility to speak in German, French and Kurdish)

Introduction: How & Why Erdogan Won in the May 2023 Elections
•Mr. Michael Gunter, EUTCC Secretary General, Tennessee Technological University, US

Turkey Has Voted: Quo vadis?
•Mr. Irfan Aktan, journalist, Turkey

Turkey After The Elections: Democracy (Im)possible
•Ms. Çiğdem Kilicgün Uçar, MP, former Co-Chair of the Party of Greens and the Left (YSP)

The (Lack of) Opposition in Turkey
•Ms. Aslı Erdoğan, writer, Germany

Turkey and the European Union: A Critical Approach
•Ms. Ana Miranda, MEP, The Greens/EFA, Spain tbc

Questions and Discussion with Moderators and Speakers

Thursday, 7th December 2023, 09.00-10.15

Panel II – Room SPINELLI 1G2

100 Years of the Treaty of Lausanne: Claim and Reality of a ‘Peace’

Moderator: Ms. Nil Mutluer, University of Leipzig, Germany

Interpretation in
English, Turkish, French, Spanish, German (with possibility to speak in Kurdish)

The Treaty of Lausanne: History and Political Continuities
•Mr. Hans-Lukas Kieser University of Zurich, Switzerland

Reassessing the Republican Practices and the Kurdish Alter-Politics
•Mr. Jan Yasin Sunca, Bielefeld University, Germany

Europe and the Kurdish Question: Historical Responsibility and Expectations
•Mr. Amed Dicle, journalist, Belgium

The European Union and Turkey: At the Crossroads?
•Mr. Brando Benifei, MEP, Progressive Alliance of Socialists and Democrats, Italy

Questions and Discussion with Moderators and Speakers

Thursday, 7th December 2023, 10.15-11.45

Panel IV – Room SPINELLI 1G2

Transition Period in World Politics

Moderator: Ms. Eda Bektas, KURD-AKAD, Germany

Interpretation in
English, Turkish, French, Spanish, German (with possibility to speak in Kurdish)

Ecocide and Climate Change – Local Responses to Multi-layered Crises in North East Syria
•Ms. Şermin Güven, Free University Berlin, Germany

The New World Order: Contradictions and Truths
•Ms. Nursel Aydogan, former HDP MP, Germany

Sweden, the NATO and the Kurds: Challenges and Options
•Ms. Lindsey Snell, journalist, US

The Middle East between Status Quo and Democratic Transition: Obstacles and Perspectives
•Ms. Asya Abdullah, PYD Co-Chair, Syria

Europe and the New World Order: Positions and Perspectives
•Mr. Nikolaj Villumsen, MEP, The Left, Denmark

Questions and Discussion with Moderators and Speakers

Thursday, 7th December 2023, 11.45-13.00
Panel IV – Room SPINELLI 1G2

Lasting Peace: Raising Voices

Moderator: Ms. Kariane Westrheim, EUTCC Chairperson, University of Bergen, Norway

Interpretation in
English, Turkish, French, Spanish, German (with possibility to speak in Kurdish)

Beyond the Island: The Systematics of Isolation
•Ms. Raziye Öztürk, Asrın Law Office, Turkey

The Conditions on the İmralı Prison Island in the Context of Health
•Ms. Dersim Dağdeviren, KURD-AKAD, EUTCC Board Member, Germany

The Causa İmralı: Open the Gates
•Ms. Laura Quagliuolo, Author of children’s books, Italy
•Ms. Zülfünaz Coskun, Kurdish Women’s Movement in Europe, Belgium

Questions and Discussion with Moderators and Speakers

Thursday, 7th December 2023, 15.00-16:30

Panel VI – Room SPINELLI 1G2

Living Freedom – Women’s Perspectives

Moderator: Ms. Shilan Fuad Hussain, Middlesex University London, UK

Interpretation in
English, Turkish, French, Spanish, German (with possibility to speak in Kurdish)

Feminist Foreign Policy: Contradictions and Options
•Ms. Dastan Jasim, German Institute for Global Area Studies, Germany

Women’s Revolution and the Middle East
•Ms. Soheila Shahriari, University of Paris, France

Jin, Jiyan, Azadî: A Call to World Democratic Women’s Confederalism
•Ms. Elif Kaya, Jineoloji Center Brussels, Belgium

Women & Politics: United Against War
•Ms. Özlem Alev Demirel, MEP, The Left, Germany

Questions and Discussion with Moderators and Speakers

Thursday, 7th December 2023, 16:30-17:30

Panel III – Room SPINELLI 1G2

The European Union and Turkey: Cooperation and Contradictions

Moderator: Mr. Naif Bezwan, University of Vienna, Austria

Interpretation in
English, Turkish, French, Spanish, German (with possibility to speak in Kurdish)

Interview with

•Mr. Nacho Sanchez Amor, MEP, Turkey Rapporteur, Spain

Questions and Discussion with Moderators and Speakers

Thursday, 7 December 2023, 17:30-18.00

Closing Session – Room SPAAK 05B01

Conclusions, Recommendations and Final Resolution
Board of EUTCC

Interpretation in
English, Turkish, French, Spanish, German (with possibility to speak in Kurdish)

•Mr. Miguel Urban Crespo, MEP, The Left, Spain
•Ms. Kariane Westrheim, Chair of EUTCC, University of Bergen, Norway
•Ms. Dersim Dağdeviren, KURD-AKAD, EUTCC Board Member, Germany