DPI held a second interactive seminar on 19 October 2022 in Diyarbakır, bringing together women from diverse backgrounds — many traditionally excluded from political conversations — to engage on issues of peace. Led by Dr Marta Welander (external consultant) and Dr Esra Elmas (DPI Senior Regional Strategy Analyst), the seminar followed the same four-session structure as the first seminar, covering visions of peace, opportunities and challenges, communication strategies, and concluding reflections.
While echoing topics raised in the earlier civil society seminar, the women’s group introduced additional priorities, including the need to incorporate gender perspectives, adopt a bottom-up approach, address political prisoners, reform education, and promote freedoms related to gender, nationality, culture, and language. Participants emphasised the importance of mutual respect between Turkish and Kurdish communities, particularly at the local level, and called for a more inclusive, community-driven peace process.
The intimate nature of the event allowed for open and meaningful dialogue, with participants suggesting future discussions extend to other groups, such as children, LGBT+ people, and political opponents, to build broader common ground.