This project aims to build bridges between Turkey and Armenia’s populations through adult education, intercultural exchange and oral history research. / Twitter: @SpeakTo1Another Since August 2009 dvv international, in close cooperation with its local partners in Turkey and Armenia and funded by the German Federal Foreign Ministry, has been implementing a project with the aim of contributing to the Turkish – Armenian reconciliation process.

In both societies, though in different ways, the destruction of the Armenian communities of Anatolia in 1915 - continues to weigh heavily on the present.

In recent times, the first signs of rapprochement have appeared with the political leadership on both sides making conciliatory gestures. For a normalization of relations to take place, however, it is essential to involve the populations on both sides into this process of rapprochement. After a century of conflict and lack of dialogue both peoples will have to learn about each other all over again and to overcome deeply entrenched prejudices.

This project aims to build bridges between Turkey and Armenia’s populations through adult education, intercultural exchange and oral history research.

The project particularly addresses the young generation in both societies, as they will play a key role in shaping relations between the two neighbouring countries in the near future. It aims at building up and strengthening relations between the youth in order to promote dialogue and bring about mutual understanding.

Moreover, the project focuses on remembering the Turkish – Armenian past by telling individual stories from both societies (by the means of oral history research). Given their interconnected history and the fact that Turkey and Armenia are in the process of coming to terms with a complex, conflicted and intertwined past, the sharing of the memories of ordinary individuals is seen as a valuable contribution to the process of reconciliation and democratization. We believe that remembering the past, accepting responsibility and achieving forgiveness are important means towards a peaceful future for the two neighbouring societies.

The main partners of the project are Anadolu Kültür, a local NGO in Turkey working in the sphere of culture and arts, and in Armenia the Centre for Ethnological Studies “Hazarashen” and the Armenian Actors Union.