GERMANY-BASED DVV INTERNATIONAL IMPLEMENTS PROJECT ON ARMENIAN-TURKISH RECONCILIATION

Noyan Tapan
Feb 9, 2010

YEREVAN, FEBRUARY 9, NOYAN TAPAN. DVV International organization (the
Institute for International Cooperation of the German Adult Education
Association) jointly with its Yerevan office has been implementing a
project on Armenian-Turkish reconciliation since 1 August 2009. The
project is financed by the German foreign ministry. The project’s main
partners are: Anadolu Kultur NGO engaged in culture and art (Turkey)
and Hazarashen Armenian Center for Ethnological Studies.

According to information submitted to NT, the project aims to build
a bridge between Armenian and Turkish societies through education
of adults, cultural exchange, and oral history. The oral history
methodology has been recently used in Armenia and Turkey and is based
on experience and recollections of ordinary people.

The first working meeting of the project was held in Istanbul and then
was followed by a student camp in Dilijan and a research done with
the use of oral history methodology in Armenia and Turkey. Students
of the two countries became acquainted with this methodology and
gained experience for its use by conducting interviews with families
living in Dilijan (Armenia). The course and research were led by
Prof. Leyla Neyzi (Sabanci University in Istanbul) and Prof. Hranush
Kharatian-Arakelian (the Institute of Archeology and Ethnography of
the RA NAS).

Since October 2009 the research groups have conducted interviews
of people of different generations who live in various regions of
Armenia and Turkey, as a result of which a book has been prepared for
publication. The book contains stories about life based on people’s
recollections passed on from one generation to another. The authors
of the project are convinced that by means of a joint presentation
of stories of Armenians and Turks, a dialog on the past, present and
future is initiated between the two societies and peoples.

The project’s materials are available at the official website of the
project:

From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress