"Ongoing Yavas-Gamats School" Call For Applicants

Helsinki Citizens' Assembly (hCa) Vanadzor in partnership with Helsinki Citizens' Assembly Turkey (Istanbul), organise YavasGamats School for 20 (10 from each country) teachers and teacher candidates from Armenia and Turkey. The previous Yavas-Gamats summer schools for the participation of young teachers and teacher candidates from Turkey and Armenia were organized in 2014, in Kocaeli, Turkey and in 2015 in Aghveran, Armenia, with the aim to contribute to confidence-building between the two societies. Please see: http://www.yavasgamats.org

Another hCa Yavas-Gamats School will be held on 18-22 November 2015 in Armenia. The 5-day programme includes thematic lectures by scholars from a range of disciplines, historians, authors, journalists and film-makers from Armenia and Turkey. The purpose of the School is to contribute to confidence-building between the two societies and strengthen the Armenia-Turkey reconciliation process at the educational level.

Who can apply?

→ Teachers of history or literature in active, professional practice for up to 7 years,

→ University Students in the Education Faculties from Armenia and Turkey.

Application Period: 25 September – 15 October 2015

Travel and accommodation costs of selected participants will be covered by the organizers.
Simultaneous interpretation in Armenian & Turkish will be provided throughout the full programme.

The application form is attached.

* “Gamats” & “Yavaş” mean “Slow” in Armenian & Turkish respectively. A previous summer school program with the same title “YavaşGamats” was held in 2005, in Antakya/Turkey.

Conditions of application and evaluation

Teachers of history and literature in professional practice up to 7 years across Armenia & Turkey,

and,

University students from across Armenia & Turkey (studying in an history or literature faculty is a preferable asset, solely in terms of project objectives, in the evaluation and identification of participants)

may apply to this program.

- The application deadline of the School is on Thursday, 15 October 2015.

- Upon the review and evaluation of applications, total of 20 participants will be identified, ideally, 10 from each country, observing a balance between professional teachers and teachers-to-be currently studying in education faculties.

- The language of the summer schools will be in Turkish and Armenian. Simultaneous interpretation will be provided throughout the programme. However, the evaluation process will make sure that a sufficient portion of the participants from both countries speak English, in order to facilitate communication amongst participants outside of the programme hours.

- All applicants will be provided a positive or a negative response. The application results will be announced on 18 October 2015.

- Applicants from Turkey should send their application forms to This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. (hCa-Istanbul)

- Applicants from Armenia should send their application forms to This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. Armine Sadikyan (hCa- Vanadzor)

This School programme is implemented by HCA Vanadzor and Turkey. The project is funded by the United Kingdom Conflict, Security and Stability Fund via the British Embassy in Yerevan.

Attachments:
File
teacher application form_eng.docx
student application form_eng.doc

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.