Hrant Dink Memorial Workshop 2010

The third Hrant Dink Memorial Workshop titled “Silenced but Resilient: Language and Memory in Anatolia and Neighboring Regions” will take place 27-30 May 2010 in Istanbul, Turkey. The workshop, is organized by Sabanci University in collaboration with the International Hrant Dink Foundation and Anadolu Kültür.

The organizing committee is composed of Fikret Adanır, Ayşe Gül Altınay, Burcu Gürsel, Banu Karaca, Gülayşe Koçak, Leyla Neyzi, Işık Özel, and Akşin Somel.

The event’s announcement is as follows:

The early 20th century witnessed the dissolution of multiethnic and multilingual empires in Eastern Europe and the Middle East. Incipient nation-states aspired to create homogeneous identities whereby new cultural hierarchies emerged and languages were suppressed in favor of a single national language.

Similarly, the construction of a single historical narrative affected the transmission through memory of other histories and identities. In the context of transnationalism, democratization, and identity politics, however, the recent emphasis on other memories and languages is making it possible to reevaluate the role of language politics as well as the relationship between the past and the present.

Our purpose in this year’s Workshop is to offer a platform for exploring and discussing recent approaches to issues of language and memory. At the turn of the 21st century, the relationship of language and memory with history, the law, politics, and culture constitutes a site of vibrant debate in Anatolia and neighboring regions.

We would thus like to encourage proposals for papers on topics including (but not limited to):

> Linguistic erosion or extinction; interrupted linguistic and cultural transmission in the private and public sphere; forms of resistance to attempts at interruption and extinction

> Law and language: Freedom of speech; discriminatory legal language; linguistic multiplicity and constitutional language(s)

> Discriminatory language and the language of violence in politics, education, and the media

> The role of the public intellectual in language (of) politics and engagement with memory

> Political translation and communication between different forms of identity politics

> Official, popular, and oppositional representations of violence, conflict, trauma, and loss

> Political mechanisms to address wrongdoing in the past and their use of linguistic and memorial representation

> The encounter, distinction, and interpenetration between history and memory

> (Re)constructions of class, gender, “race” and ethnicity in recent works of memory

> Rearticulations of the past through literature, the arts, music, cinema, and other cultural forms

> For registration and further information, please click here to go to the workshop website.

Artsakh Conference on Ethnic Cleansing

An international conference titled ‘Azeri terror and policy of ethnic cleansing in Karabakh’ has been announced for 23 March 2010. The event will take place in Artsakh (de facto independent republic of Nagorno-Karabakh). The conference is organized by Artsakh Ministry of Education and Science, Artsakh Ministry of Culture and Youth Affairs, Artsakh State University, Kachar Scientific Center, and Shushi Museum of History.

The conference will mark the 90th anniversary of 23 March 1920 Shushi Massacres and the 20th anniversary of Baku Pogroms.

According to News.am online news agency, the event is aimed at uncovering and providing scientific credence to the reasons behind these tragic events. It will also discuss and propose methods of prevention against the policy of ethnic cleansing.

The organizers have also specified that the conference will call for “giving political assessment” to these massacres and the ethnic cleansing policy conducted by Azerbaijani authorities in the 20th century in Ganja, Nagorno-Karabakh, and other regions of Eastern Transcaucasia.

Let’s hope that the conference organizers will ensure that all contributors meet strict standards of scientific inquiry and deliberation. Given the sensitivity of the proposed themes and the tradition of using academic endeavors for political propaganda purposes in the region, particularly in Azerbaijan, I am afraid such an expectation can be hardly met.

The conference will be held in Armenian with handouts in Russian and English.

Georgia to Stimulate Soldierly Spirit among Pupils

Another bright idea from Mr. Mikheil Saakashvili, President of Georgia, whom we have previously categorized as an inconsistent democrat and a fake pro-European: Georgia will introduce military classes in schools in 2011.

Radio Free Europe / Radio Liberty reports that Mr. Saakashvili made the announcement while speaking about problems in the country's education system and the need for reforms at a meeting with teachers and students in the city of Batumi on 12 January 2010.

A similar training was an integral part of the Soviet high-school curriculum. It entailed basic physical fitness and learning to assemble and dismantle a Kalashnikov. Mr. Saakashvili termed its abolition in Georgia, following the collapse of the USSR, "over-hasty." He said "anything can happen" in Georgia, and for that reason all Georgians "should be able to defend their town, their village" as an army of 16,000, or even 30,000 men is not adequate for that purpose.

Mr. Saakashvili's spokesperson, Ms. Manana Manjgaladze, said on the following day that the new course will aim to "stimulate soldierly spirit" and will include courses on civil defense and Georgian military history. She said the courses will be taught by military veterans who will go through teacher-training classes and will be first introduced in Tbilisi schools.

According to Georgian Defense Minister Bacho Akhalaia, high-school students would have a chance to learn the basics of military discipline, major armament, the structures of armed forces, and even the handling of weapons. He added that the lessons would be interactive and "much more interesting and involving" than the military training in Soviet schools.

"This is in order to give younger generations the chance to understand the importance of the military forces for the country, the purpose of military forces in the security of the country, and the duty of each citizen in this direction," Akhalaia, 29, who was appointed in August 2009, declared.

Mr. Giorgi Baramidze, the State Minister for Euro-Atlantic Integration and a former Defense Minister, said more work needed to be done to teach Georgians about their country and the threats it faces.

“The country must sense that great tasks lie before it. Greater mobilization is necessary, and there must be more patriotism in our daily life. You do not see this if you go onto the street, into a restaurant, or a public building,” he said.

A group of experts assembled by the education ministry are due to present a detailed plan.

Injecting Patriotism

According to an article by Anna Kandelaki at Institute for War & Peace Reporting (IWPR), Georgians who grew up in the Soviet era cannot help comparing their Soviet era lessons to the proposed ones.

“They [Soviets] taught us that America is the enemy. Now our children’s brains will be filled with the fact that the enemy is Russia. Today Russia is the enemy of Georgia, but why does a child have to grow up with a constant feeling that someone will attack? Should a child think about enemies, or do his lessons?” asked Vakhtang, a 54-year-old Tbilisi resident.

His opinion finds echoes throughout society and has also been reflected on internet discussion sites like Facebook.

“A child could imbibe the information from these lessons incorrectly and become a racist, a Russophobe or a misanthrope,” said one poster called Marina, although others approved of the president’s plan.

“Russia is our enemy and every Georgian must know this from childhood. I don’t see anything bad in this,” wrote another poster called Lada.

Opinion polls would suggest that Lada’s viewpoint is more widely-held in society than Marina’s more cautious one. Some 64 per cent of respondents to a talk-show on public television said they approved of military-patriotic lessons being taught in Georgian schools.

But teachers were more skeptical of the scheme than the public at large. Levan Gigineishvili, a Georgian-language teacher at the American Academy, was very doubtful of its success.

“You cannot inject children with patriotism,” he said. “We previously taught patriotism as a separate subject, but the methods did not prove successful. It was too artificial, and the children sensed its artificial nature and were disappointed by it.”

And other experts worried that the government, in introducing the ideas of citizens’ defense under the cover of lessons in patriotism, was actually teaching the children its own ideology and militarized propaganda.

Other commentators went even further. “The introduction of military-patriotic training means that the president has finally given up on liberal values,” said Zaal Andronikashvili, a professor of philosophy.

“Military patriotism is a form of extreme nationalism, which uses external threats to mobilise the masses. And military-patriotic preparation is a typical totalitarian practice, which was used by the Nazis and the Bolsheviks with equal enthusiasm.”

Traineeship Program at the EU Advisory Group in Armenia

Despite its gradual integration into various EU processes, Armenia dramatically lacks competent personnel knowledgeable about EU policies and practices. A new program will be launched soon to partially address this issue. The program will provide Armenian University graduates in 2010 with the opportunity to become directly acquainted with the EU policies and best practices.

According to the Armenian Public Radio, an agreement was recently signed between Armenia and the European Union to this end. On 2 February 2010, Mr. Arthur Baghdasarian, Secretary of the National Security Council, Ambassador Raul de Luzenberger, Head of the EU Delegation to Armenia and Ms. Dafina Gercheva, UNDP Resident Representative in Armenia signed the agreement for placement of trainees with the EU Advisory Group to the Republic of Armenia.

The Program allows young graduates to work closely with the EU advisors in respective fields of their activities such as trade, customs, public administration reform, public debt or human rights. Trainees will have a unique opportunity to learn about European and international standards to be applied in Armenia, and thus become junior experts with skills and knowledge highly desirable in the Armenian labor market.

An independent selection committee will be established to conduct the interviews and decide on the selection of trainees. An open competition shall be announced once a year. Selected trainees will be placed for one year and receive a monthly contribution to their living expenses.

Turkish University in Support of Entrepreneurs

Turkish universities are becoming more proactive in the innovation process. The Middle East Technical University (METU) seems taking the lead in this process by establishing and promoting a new ‘business angels’ network association in Turkey. The new association will provide support to early-stage technology entrepreneurs.

“Our aim is to develop the business angel sector in Turkey and boost technology-based economic development. Turkey should be a technology producer, not a consumer, an important precondition for the welfare of the country in the medium and long run,” Mr. Ahmet Acar President of METU told Hürriyet Turkish Daily in a recent interview.

Once used in the art world to describe wealthy individuals who provided money for theatrical productions, the term business angel now refers to qualified, experienced and affluent businesspeople who provide capital, expertise, managerial assistance and a network for early-stage entrepreneurs to solve their initial financing problems and help establish their firms in the marketplace.

In fact this activity at the University started 3 years ago when METU Technopolis, the University’s incubator arm, established the Association for Business Angels or Metutech-Ban to both help the concept of business angels grow in Turkey and support early-stage entrepreneurs in technology-related fields.

“There are some entrepreneurs who have a start-up with a technological advantage but lack the necessary financial resources or managerial skills to operate the enterprise. For this, business angels in our association play a crucial role,” Acar said.

“During the business’ first phase, the entrepreneur usually gets the required support from family or friends. The business’ second phase, however, is the growth and development phase where the firm needs real, specialized support. The business angels step in at this crucial point,” Acar added.

The investors, who are members of the association, are highly regarded and successful businesspeople from disciplines such computer engineering, electrical engineering, biotechnology, software and banking who share their skills and capital with fledgling entrepreneurs joining the association.

“These investors know business life very well so they are equipped with enough experience and insight to foresee which company will be successful. They lend their support to promising firms accordingly,” Acar said.

These kinds of investors are well established in Europe. There are 75,000 business angels with 334 networks in Europe, according to 2008 data from the European Business Angel Network, or EBAN.

For Acar, the concept of the business angel and the role the association plays are thus vital in terms of encouraging technological innovations and development in Turkey. “Turkey can’t achieve its economic development based solely on raw materials and a cheap labor force. It should have an economy based on innovation and continuously develop its technology base.”

The association was crucial in convincing EBAN to host its next annual congress in Istanbul. The congress, which has been held before in Germany, Italy, France and the Netherlands, will take place 14-15 April with the participation of President Abdullah Gül. Some 500 participants from abroad and Turkey are expected to attend the congress.

“With such an event, we aim to create awareness on the issue and bring together different stakeholders including bureaucrats, politicians, private and public sector representatives, entrepreneurs and bankers. I think the gathering will be an important step to attract attention to the all-important concept of business angels and technology-based development,” Acar said.