26 & 27th of March | European Parliament, Brussels 

Wednesday 26th | 17:00 – 20:00h | SPAAK 04B01

Thursday 27th | 09:00 – 18:30h | SPINELLI 1G2

Interpretation:

  • Day 1: English, Farsi and Turkish
  • Day 2: English, French, German, Italy, Spanish, Swedish and Turkish

This year’s conference comes at a time of increasing wars and political uncertainty in the world. In addition, the conference has a special significance in these historic times when the Middle East is being reconstructed and important steps towards a political solution of the Kurdish question in Turkey are being taken and discussed. In such a critical process, it will be very important to discuss what the wider public, especially the EU, should or can do for peace and democracy. A peaceful and democratic regional process is only possible with broad support.


STREAMING

 

Part 1

 

Part 2


PROGRAMME

Day 1 | 26.03.2025 / 17:00 – 20:00 / SPAAK 04B01

Opening remarks | 17:00 – 18:00

  • Ms. Kariane Westrheim, Chair of EUTCC, University of Bergen, Norway
  • Mr. Andreas Schieder, Member of the European Parliament, S&D, Austria
  • Ms. Jody Williams, Nobel Laureate, US
  • Ms. Shirin Ebadi, Nobel Laureate, UK

Panel 1 – The Middle East in Turmoil: Interactions and Challenges | 18:00 – 20:00

Moderator: Mr. Cahit Mervan, journalist, Belgium

Keynote speech

  • Ms. Ilham Ehmed, Democratic Autonomous Administration of North and East Syria Foreign Relations Representative, Syria

Panel Speakers:

  • Mr. Michael Gunter, EUTCC Secretary General, Tennessee Technological University, US
  • Ms. Czarina Golda S. Musni, Human Rights Lawyer, Phillipines
  • Mr. Ali Duran Topuz, journalist, Turkey
  • Ms. Hannah Neumann, Member of the European Parliament, The Greens/EFA, Spain
  • Mr. Vladimir Prebilic, Member of the European Parliament, The Greens/EFA, Slovenya
  • Ms. Melissa Camara, Member of the European Parliament, 1st Vice-Chair of the EU-Turkey Joint Parliamentary Committee, The Greens/EFA, France
  • Mr. Thijs Reuten, Member of the European Parliament, S&D, Netherlands
  • Mr. Pernando Barrena, Member of the European Parliament, The Left, Basque Country

Exchange of views

Day 2 | 27.03.2025 / 09:30 – 18:30 / SPINELLI 1G2

Panel 2 – A New Chapter in Turkey: Obstacles and Opportunities for Peace and Reconciliation | 09:30 – 11:00

Moderator: Ms. Dersim Dagdeviren, EUTCC board member, Kurd-Akad, Germany

Panel Speakers:

  • Mr. Tuncer Bakirhan, DEM Party MP, member of the Imrali delegation, Turkey
  • Ms. Suzan Akipa, Asrin Law Office, Turkey

Exchange of views

Panel 3 – Turkey in the New World Order | 11:00 – 13:00

Moderator: Ms. Latife Akyüz, Europa University Viadrina, Germany

Panel Speakers:

  • Mr. Sezgin Tanrikulu, CHP MP, Turkey
  • Mr. Ferda Cetin, journalist, Belgium
  • Mr. Hüseyin Cicek, University of Vienna, Austria

Exchange of views

Panel 4 – The European Union, the Kurds and Turkey in the Context of Progress and Democracy | 15:00 – 16:30

Moderator: Ms. Arzu Yilmaz, University of Kurdistan Hewler, Kurdistan Region of Iraq

Panel Speakers:

  • Ms. Meral Danis-Bestas, DEM Party MP, Turkey
  • Ms. Evin Incir, Member of the European Parliament, S&D, Sweden
  • Mr. Jonas Sjöstedt, Member of the European Parliament, The Left, Sweden
  • Ms. Li Anderson, Member of the European Parliament, The Left, Finland
  • Mr. Per Clausen, Member of the European Parliament, The Left, Denmark
  • Ms. Leila Chaibi, Member of the European Parliament, The Left, France
  • Mr. Leoluca Orlando, MEP, The Greens/EFA, Italy tbc

Exchange of views

Panel 5 – Promoting Democracy – Shaping the Future | 16:30 – 18:00

Moderator: Ms. Christine Löw, University of Gießen, Germany tbc

Panel Speakers:

  • Conflict Transformation: Proposals and Prospects
    • Mr. Joost Jongerden, Wageningen University, Netherlands
  • Supporting Women`s Struggle in the Middle East; a European Policy Must
    • Ms. Özlem Alev Demirel, MEP, The Left, Germany tbc
  • Geopolitics and Gender: Women`s Voices
    • Ms. Marlene Schäfers, University of Utrecht, Netherlands tbc
  • From Local to Global: Kurdish Perspectives for Peace and Freedom
    • Ms. Nilüfer Koc, Kurdistan National Congress Foreign Relations Spokesperson, Belgium

Exchange of views

Closing remarks | 18:00 – 18:30

  • Conclusions, Recommendations and Final Resolution
    • Board of EUTCC
//Disclaimer: the programme may be subject to change