DPI Roundtable Meeting, ‘The Role of Women in Conflict Resolution: Reflections on the Turkish Experience III’, Istanbul, 29 February 2020

On 29th of February 2020, Democratic Progress Institute held a planned Roundtable meeting in Istanbul with a diverse group female participants from different regions and representing the broad spectrum of different political affiliations in Turkey. They included elected representatives and members of political parties, heads and representatives of human rights organisations and think tanks, lawyers, businesswomen, media professionals and academics. During the meeting, participants engaged with speakers, Bronagh Hinds and Emma Pengelly-Little, who shared their knowledge and experiences from Northern Ireland. Participants reflected on their own previous contributions and those of women in Turkey to the now ‘parked’ resolution process and the lessons learnt from past experiences. The meeting provided a valuable platform for this group of diverse, committed and influential women to engage in an open and frank discussion about past experiences and to explore commonalities as the basis for identifying possible opportunities to work together to strengthen women’s role in conflict resolution in Turkey. The RT forms part of a larger series of activities planned in the context of the project: “Supporting inclusive dialogue at a challenging time in Turkey”, supported by the EU and the Norwegian government.