“Bergman and Women” in Eskisehir, 2-11 May
The Bergman program at the International Film Festival in Eskisehir was opened by the Swedish ambassador Christer Asp on 2 May. The festival, continuing until the 11 May, is organized by Anadolu University that has one of the leading film schools in Turkey.
The ”Bergman package” consists of eight films and the documentary “Bergman Island”. Previously they have been displayed in Istanbul 13.2 – 1.3 and Ankara 5 – 12.3EU-days at Istanbul University, 7-8 May
ILSA (International Law Students Association) of Istanbul University arranges a two-day seminar programme dedicated to EU-related issues on 7-8 May. The EU days, which are supported by the Consulate, were initiated in 2002. Topics on this year’s agenda include climate change and violence in the name of honour. ”Hey Stockholm!” in Istanbul, 20-23 May
After the last years event, ”Young Istanbul” in Stockholm, the organisers behind the much appreciated project, Aylin Güngör Dedeoğlu and James Hakan Dedeoğlu from Bant Magazine, set up a similar programme in Istanbul. The event, “Hey Stockholm!”, will include live performances and one exhibition by very young artists.
The programme kicks of with the indie-pop group The Concretes at the jazz club Babylon on the 20th of May. The following day Blood Music enters the stage at Arkaoda in Kadiköy (on the Asian side).“Hey Stockholm!” ends with an exhibition by the Swedish artists Johan Björkegren and Regnar Persson at Play Studio. The exhibition will open 22 May.
”Hey Stockholm!” – is a joint project of Bant Magazine and the Swedish Consulate General in Istanbul. Public lectures at the Swedish Research Institute, 12th, 19th and 26th of May
12 May at 19:00: Sandra Karlsson, University of Gothenburg, Sweden. “Family Images in Hellenistic Funerary Art”.
19 May at 19:00: Dr Mesut Yeğen, Middle East Technical University, Ankara. “From denial to recognition: the Kurdish question in Turkey” (in the series of “Amnesia, remembrance and identity formation in post-Ottoman societies. Republican Turkey and its minorities.”)
26 May at19:00. Professor emeritus Sami Subaida, University of London, UK. “Shi’ism and Politics – Connections and Contrasts between Iraq and Iran with regard to Sectarianism”.”Political School for Women” at Vår Gård, Sweden, 25-29 May
The Consulate General in Istanbul in cooperation with the Swedish Institute and Ka-Der arranges a seminar on women and politics at Vår Gård, Sweden, from the 25th – 29th of May.
The participants are 20 women from various parts of Turkey representing the main political parties. The seminar is a follow up to the “Political Schools for Women” that Ka-Der has been organising in cooperation with the Consulate General since 2006. The main topics of the seminar are gender quota, the nomination of candidates and planning and execution of election campaigns.
Swedish female politicians will be sharing their experiences with their Turkish counterparts. Moderator is Ann Lönnroth and coordinator is Eleonora Alaoui. “Turkey-Europe Relations: Opportunities During Sweden’s’ Term Presidency, workshop in Lund, 27 May
The workshop is arranged by the Turkish think tank TESEV in cooperation with the Centre for European Studies at the University of Lund.
Participants from Turkey include Mensür Akgün, Kültür Ünversitesi, Semih Idiz, daily Milliyet, and Hugh Pope, International Crisis Group, and from Sweden Christer Asp, Swedish Ambassador to Turkey, Svante Cornell, director for the Institute for Security and Development Policy, Barbara Törnquist-Plewa and Bo Peterson, Lund university. Keynote speaker is Ingmar Karlsson, former Swedish Consul General in Turkey.
The Consulate General in Istanbul, that supports the workshop, will be represented by the Consul General Torkel Stiernlöf."Work and Family Life Reconciliation Policies: towards Gender Equality in the Labor Market". conference in Istanbul, 27 May
The conference will be arranged on the May 27 at Istanbul Teknik University by Women for Women´s Human Rights (WWHR), New Ways in cooperation with Womens Labour and Employment Platform (KEIG) with support from Sida and the Consulate General in Istanbul.
Turkey has one of the lowest rates of employed women in the world. According to UN estimates, the figure was 26% in 2006. The purpose of the conference is to inform policy makers, trade unions, business people and scholars of measures undertaken in various countries, including Sweden, to facilitate for women to reconcile professional activity with family life. The aim is to find out to what extent international measures and reforms can be implemented in Turkey, Construction works at the Consulate General
On May 4, an article by Per Luthander in the Swedish newspaper Svenska Dagbladet, describes the the ongoing construction works at the Consulate General The article points out that the condition of the Swedish Palace was worse than anticipated by the firm contracted to make the building earthquake proof. As the construction was initially planned to end in December 2008, the unanticipated conditions could possibly lead to delays. However, the Consul General Torkel Stiernlöf is keen that the building will be open for business as usual for the next year’s intense activities when Istanbul is one of the cultural capitals of Europe. New colleagues!
Cemal Özkan started his new job as Information Officer at the Section for Turkish-Swedish cooperation at the Consulate General on May 1. He succeeds Aysegül Sungur who returns back to Stockholm. Cemal is a graduate of Södertörn University College.
Amelie Heinsjö succeeds Annika Svahnström on September 1 as the Head of the Section for Turkish-Swedish cooperation. Amelie previously worked for five years as press and cultural attaché at the Consulate General in New York.