SATR Conference
GPoT Center’s staff participated in the conference “Support to Armenia-Turkey Rapprochement (SATR) Project: Highlights and Prospects” from October 22nd to 23rd, 2012. The goal of the conference, held in Istanbul, was to prepare grounds for stakeholders in Armenia and Turkey to pick up and capitalize on the achievements of the SATR project.
A two-day conference brought together more than 60 participants, from SATR Consortium members and SATR key local and international partners in Armenia and Turkey, as well as representatives of the Turkish and Armenian civil society and expert community who were not directly engaged in the SATR project, and representatives of the US Missions in Armenia and Turkey. The participants summarized project achievements and lessons learned, discussed further strengthening of the established partnerships and future joint programming, and addressed current and future potential of non-state actors in promoting Armenia-Turkey normalization.
GPoT Center’s Director Dr. Mensur Akgün opened the conference with welcoming remarks and facilitated the afternoon plenary session about SATR’s support to media cooperation between Turkey and Armenia. During the session, GPoT Center’s Deputy Director Dr. Sylvia Tiryaki presented achievements and lessons learned from SATR’s support activities in this area.
SATR project aimed at supporting Armenia-Turkey rapprochement through developing of new business partnerships and regional professional networks, engaging civil society in alliance-building to further contribute to Armenia-Turkey normalization, and establishing a favorable environment for state-to-state dialogue and interaction. GPoT Center participated in a project as a member of this multi-partner Consortium from October 2010 until October 2012 by conducting various activities, such as holding policy and media discussions, facilitating television media coverage in Armenia and in Turkey of the SATR project and Turkish-Armenian relations, conducting a pre-election journalism exchange, and organizing the selection of the Armenian and Turkish recipients of the Turkey-Armenia Journalism Award.