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Citizens’ Assembly (Yd) and the Helsinki Citizens' Assembly (hCa) Vanadzor / Armenia office are organizing summer schools for the young attendants from Turkey and Armenia to support the effort of trust-building and process of reconciliation between Armenian and Turkish societies. 2017 summer school will take place between 10th and 16th of July in Istanbul. Academicians, educators, writers, journalists, researchers and filmmakers from Turkey and Armenia will make thematic presentations every day in the framework of summer school program that has been prepared regarding teachers, who are one of the most influential actors in social transformation processes, can contribute the building and strengthening of communication channels between two countries.

Due to the extraordinary conditions in Turkey, we have postponed Yavaş-Gamats Summer School, which was planned to be held on August 1-7 2016, to a later date. The summer school is organized to support the intercommunal process of building trust and reconciliation between communities of Turkey and Armenia. The new date will be announced.

1-7 August 2016 in Istanbul

Helsinki Citizens' Assembly (hCa) in Istanbul, Turkey & Vanadzor, Armenia organise YavasGamats Summer Schools for teachers and teacher candidates from Armenia and Turkey. The 7-day programme includes thematic lectures by scholars from a range of disciplines, authors, journalists and film-makers from Armenia and Turkey. A major part of the program is made up of workshops, roundtable discussions, group work sessions, a language “crash-course” in Armenian/Turkish and film screenings aimed to widen the perspectives of participants, while strengthening their skills in conflict transformation.

Who can apply?
→ Teachers in active, professional practice up to 5 years, in primary & secondary education (class teachers or branch teachers)
→ University Students in the Education Faculties
from Armenia and Turkey.

Support to the Armenia-Turkey Normalisation Process is a programme implemented by a Consortium of eight civil society organisations from both countries with the financial assistance of the European Union under the Instrument for Stability.

The overall objective of the programme is to promote civil society efforts towards the normalisation of relations between Turkey and Armenia and towards an open border by enhancing people-to-people contacts, expanding economic and business links, promoting cultural and educational activities and facilitating access to balanced information in both societies.

The Consortium partners include Civilitas Foundation (CF), Eurasia Partnership Foundation (EPF), Public Journalism Club (PJC), Regional Studies Center (RSC) from Armenia; and Anadolu Kültür, the Economic Policy Research Foundation of Turkey (TEPAV), Helsinki Citizens’ Assembly (hCa), and Hrant Dink Foundation from Turkey. The programme will include a series of activities such as media support, TV talk shows and citizen reporting to contribute to better mutual understanding.

The programme will also include travelling discussions; workshops and trainings for youth and teachers; exchange of artists, architects, and entrepreneurs; fellowship opportunities and travel support to enhance encounters and cooperation across the border. Research on business and economic opportunities; celebrity discussions about the past; and opinion exchanges of high-level former officials will also be a part of the programme.

One of the main pillars of the Programme is inclusiveness – to engage and support new actors in the dialogue process. To this end, the Consortium created a Grant Scheme to invite individuals and civil society organisations from Armenia and Turkey - other than the Consortium members - to propose and implement their own project ideas, which will contribute to the overall objective of the Programme and multiply the shared outcomes.

The results of all activities will be shared with the public through the trilingual website, which will serve as a networking tool featuring the overall picture of the past, current, and future developments in Armenia-Turkey dialogue initiatives.

For further information, please contact This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.