Diaries 2005

P10: Female - Arm

11.08.05
Yesterday was the first day of being in Antakya, listening to lecturers. It was very interesting to speak about history, trying to understand some things. I think lot of us had stereotypical thinking about lot of questions. So it was a really chance to break the ice between young people. I was a little bit surprised that we had so common feelings, common expectations.

12.08.05
Yesterday was a very full day. We saw lots of new things. Murat Belge’s lecture was very interesting. I know a lot of things about Turkish writers. It also was very interesting to listen to Sevan Nisanyan about Armenians and Turkish. I was very happy to have a chance to go to walking, shopping.

13.08.05
It was a very long day. We had lecture of nationalism. I heard a lot of Turkish songs. The children were singing yesterday in the reception. I was listening to guitar. It was really great.
I learned interesting things about both Armenian and Turkish armies, military services, and so on…

15.08.05
I can say it was a nice day without lessons. We had rest, walked. It was very sensitive for me to be in Musa Ler, to take part in patarag. It was nice to dance Kochari in the night with our Turkish friends. We also ate oranges from the tree. There was something special in all of it.
We also were in the sea. It was a very dirty beach but it was a sea. All the time salty water was in my eyes but I was enjoying it. It’s impossible to write all the feelings I had during this weekend. But now I really feel that I have found a lot of friends, close friends…

16.08.05
I’m very sad. We are going to leave tomorrow. So I don’t know what to say. There are so many feelings so many thoughts. But in general, I’m very glad that I had a chance to meet Turkish young people, to live with them, to joke with them. We found many similar words, similar dishes, and similar jokes. As Tigran wrote in his article: “we all smile in the same way!”
Now I know a lot about Turkey, about history. I saw Musa Dağ, it was a miracle for me. I still cannot believe it.
I liked künefe very much, although we ate it almost every day! We were joking about nationalities. Most of all I liked Volkan’s version of famous song: “I’m not Turkish, not yet Armenian”!
Mali wrote some funny things on the wall. “To be an Armenian? Why not? Be Armenian, be happy!”
Now I know a lot of Turkish words and some Kurdish words.

Support to the Armenia-Turkey Normalisation Process is a programme implemented by a Consortium of eight civil society organisations from both countries with the financial assistance of the European Union under the Instrument for Stability. 

The overall objective of the programme is to promote civil society efforts towards the normalisation of relations between Turkey and Armenia and towards an open border by enhancing people-to-people contacts, expanding economic and business links, promoting cultural and educational activities and facilitating access to balanced information in both societies. 

The Consortium partners include Civilitas Foundation (CF), Eurasia Partnership Foundation (EPF), Public Journalism Club (PJC), Regional Studies Center (RSC) from Armenia; and Anadolu Kültür, the Economic Policy Research Foundation of Turkey (TEPAV), Helsinki Citizens’ Assembly (hCa), and Hrant Dink Foundation from Turkey.  The programme will include a series of activities such as media support, TV talk shows and citizen reporting to contribute to better mutual understanding.

The programme will also include travelling discussions; workshops and trainings for youth and teachers; exchange of artists, architects, and entrepreneurs; fellowship opportunities and travel support to enhance encounters and cooperation across the border. Research on business and economic opportunities; celebrity discussions about the past; and opinion exchanges of high-level former officials will also be a part of the programme. 

One of the main pillars of the Programme is inclusiveness – to engage and support new actors in the dialogue process. To this end, the Consortium created a Grant Scheme to invite individuals and civil society organisations from Armenia and Turkey - other than the Consortium members - to propose and implement their own project ideas, which will contribute to the overall objective of the Programme and multiply the shared outcomes. 

The results of all activities will be shared with the public through the trilingual website, which will serve as a networking tool featuring the overall picture of the past, current, and future developments in Armenia-Turkey dialogue initiatives. 

For further information, please contact This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.