Strasbourg – Public ESI event at the University of Strasbourg: Europe, Turkish democracy and the future of religious minorities

 

24 October 2011, 16:00-18:30

University of Strasbourg – MISHA
5, Allée du Général Rouvillois
67083 Strasbourg

Europe, Turkish democracy and the future of religious minorities

Turkey has been undergoing tumultuous economic, social and political change in the past decade. What has this transformation meant for Turkey’s religious minorities?

Against the background of wider trends affecting Turkish democracy, a panel of experts will examine recent trends, and also look at what remains to be done for full equality of non-Sunnis (non-Muslims but also Alevis) to be realised in Turkey. In light of debates on pluralism in Europe, and the future of religious tolerance in the Arab world following recent changes, the case of Turkey is even more interesting and important.

16:00 – Introduction
16:10 – ESI documentary (in English) on Istanbul ("Istanbul – Truth, fear and hope")
17:00 – Discussion with:

Orhan Kemal Cengiz is one of the leading human rights activists in Turkey, and a regular columnist writing on human rights issues in different media.

Samim Akgonul is a senior lecturer at Marc Bloch University in Strasbourg and a researcher at the French National Centre for Scientific Research (CNRS). His work focuses on the religious minorities in Turkey and in Europe.

Gerald Knaus is chairman of ESI and associate at the Carr Center for Human Rights Policy in Harvard. ESI is a leading European think tank that has published widely on Turkish developments since 2004.

This event is jointly organized organised by the
Research center PRISME from Strasbourg University, CNRS and ESI
The EU is funding this event