GPoT Center presents with pleasure the Turkish version of Lt. Gen. Şadi Ergüvenç's paper, which he wrote in support of the "Smart Defense: Can a Lean NATO Meet the Challenges of the 21st Century?" conference.
GPoT Center hosted a group of 15 students from the Foreign Politics Association of Sodertorn University in Stockholm, Sweden on May 18th, 2012 during their short study visit to Istanbul.
GPoT Center Director Dr. Mensur Akgün welcomed the group, explained the scope of work of the Center and also took part in the question and answer session. Later on, GPoT Center staff Sofia Hafdell, Lenka Peťková, and Can Yirik addressed topics such as EU-Turkey relations, the Cyprus issue, the role of Turkey in NATO, and the latest developments in the Middle East.
GPoT Center’s Deputy Director Dr. Sylvia Tiryaki participated in the conference entitled "The geopolitical re-configuration of the Middle East", organized by the FRIDE and the Fredrich Ebert Stiftung on May 17th in Madrid. Dr. Tiryaki was a speaker in the conference’s second session, on the role of Turkey as a regional player.
The event focused on the changing Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region as an opportunity to evolve towards new political, economic, social, and geopolitical systems after the “Arab Spring” uprisings.
On May 12th, 2012, the Director of GPoT Center, Dr. Mensur Akgün, moderated a panel at the conference entitled "Arab Spring, Eastern Mediterranean and the Cyprus Problem" organized by Insight Turkey in cooperation with the Academy Cyprus at the Yakın Doğu University in Nicosia.
Dr. Akgün moderated the second panel, in which speakers focused on the public opinion in Cyprus and the Cyprus question in the light of the recent developments in the Eastern Mediterranean.
From the 26th to the 28th of April 2012, Dr. Mensur Akgün attended the workshop entitled Governance for a Changing World that was organized by the The Hague Institute for Global Justice (THIGJ), in close cooperation with the Netherlands Ministry of Foreign Affairs and The Netherlands Institute for International Relations ‘Clingendael’.
On the 18th of April 2012, GPoT Center, in collaboration with Boğaziçi University's Mithat Alam Film Center, organized a screening of films made by Turkish and Armenian students.
The event took place with the participation of Boğaziçi University's students along with the makers of the films and the coordinators of the Dialogue-Building between Turkey and Armenia Project. The audience also had the chance to express their comments and pose questions about the films and the project during a short discussion session.
Dr. Tiryaki, together with other representatives from the NGO and media sectors in Turkey, participated in a meeting organized by Jessica Hand, the British Consul General in Istanbul, to commemorate the International Women's Day.
Sofia Hafdell's article entitled "Turkey's Strategic Role in NATO" was published on the blog FUF-korrespondenterna, which is bound to the Swedish Development Forum. To read the article of GPoT Center intern - Sofia Hafdell - in Swedish, visit FUF-korrespondenterna or continue reading below.
Turkish Economic and Social Studies Foundation published Dr. Akgün's article in which he foresees what could possibly happen if no solution to the Cyprus problem is found.
To download the piece click here.
On the 18th of February, 2012, Turkey commemorated its 60th anniversary of NATO membership. To mark this occasion, NATO has created a dedicated module in Turkish in close cooperation with the Turkish Delegation to NATO and a range of activities will take place around the event.
You can visit the website here.