"Istanbul: Truth, fear and hope" - Film screening at the Crowne Plaza Europa Hotel in Brussels

"Istanbul: Truth, fear and hope"
(52 minutes, in English)

Return to Europe Series
Winner of the 2008 Erasmus EuroMedia Award

"The struggles of contemporary Turkey"
(Panel discussion)

on Tuesday, 27 January 2009, at 14:30

A joint event of the European Stability Initiative (ESI) and the
European Policy Centre (EPC), supported by the Open Society Institute

In August 2008, Turkey narrowly averted a political and constitutional crisis that was threatening its transformation. The crisis brought to the fore the many contradictions that run deep in Turkish politics and society. How to reconcile secularism with religion? How to overcome the bitter power struggle between the new and the old elites? And how to deal with a complicated multi-ethnic and multi-religious society?

The film Istanbul: Truth, fear and hope seeks to answer these questions. It is part of the award-winning TV documentary series Return to Europe, which former Italian Prime Minister Giuliano Amato qualified as "documentaries all of us citizens of the European Union should have the opportunity to see".

The series is supported by ERSTE Stiftung and has been jointly produced by the German-language satellite channel 3sat, Austria's public broadcaster ORF and the TV production company pre-TV, in cooperation with the European Stability Initiative (ESI), upon whose research and analysis these films are based. The Serbia film has recently been shown at international events in Barcelona, Istanbul, Tirana and Berlin and has received very positive feedback. It will be broadcast by a number of TV stations throughout the Balkans in coming months.

The film screening will be followed by a panel discussion, including Nigar Göksel, Editor of Turkish Policy Quarterly and ESI Senior Analyst, Soli Özel, Istanbul Bilgi University and Columnist of Turkish Daily Sabah, Heather Grabbe, Member of the Cabinet of Olli Rehn, and Gerald Knaus, Chairman of the ESI. The dialogue will be chaired by Antonio Missiroli, EPC Director of Studies.

Please confirm your participation by completing the reply form or by e-mail to Valérie Gilles.