Dear All,

BİLGİ’s European Institute and Akdeniz University’s EU Centre are organising a conference entitled “Turkey’s EU Accession – Contribution and Role of Euro - Turks and of EU Citizens in Turkey to the Accession Process” in Antalya, on 14-15^th February 2008. please find the invitation letter and the conference programme attached.  

The conference will focus on the role and the possible contributions of both communities to Turkey’s EU accession. This conference is also supported by Turkey’s EU Communication Group Initiative (ABİG)-Ankara. 

The Conference will gather academicians, members of European and Turkish Parliaments, journalists, diplomats, representatives of the business community, EU analysts and representatives of NGOs. 

The themes to be discussed at the panel meetings during the conference include:

·        Turkey’s EU accession process:  what needs to be done, a critical assessment,

·        Europeans in Turkey and Turks in Europe: public opinions and images,

·        European citizens in turkey, profile, demographic and cultural analysis, role of media, NGO’s and citizens groups,

·        Intercultural dialogue between citizens in Europe. 

The speakers invited to the Conference include: Bekir Ağırdır (Director General, KONDA Public Opinion Analysis), Mevlüt Çavuşoğlu,  (Antalya MP, Justice and Development Party), Oğuz Demiralp (EU Secretary General, EU Secretariat General, ABGS ), Şirvan Ekici (Member of the Vienna Parliament City Council, the Austrian People's Party), Prof. Dr. Faruk Durbin ( Chairman, Initiative of European Turks in Berlin, B.A.T.I.), Dr. Rainer Hülsse (Ludwig Maximilians University Münich, Chair of International Relations at G.School Institute of Political Science), Dr. Antonia Ruiz Jimenez (Pablo de Olavide University, Seville), Dr. Bianca Kaiser (Jean Monnet Chair, Istanbul Kültür University, International Relations Department), Dr. Bahadır Kaleağası (Turkish Industrialists' & Businessmen’s Association ,TÜSİAD, Permanent Representative to the EU),  

Dr. Ingmar Karlsson (Swedish Consul General, Istanbul), Dr. Peter Kolb (German Consul General, Izmir), Reverand  Rainer Korten (Antalya), Prof. Dr. Jean Marcou (Senior Researcher IFEA, Universite de Grenoble)

Dr. Nicolas Monceau (Institute d’Ecole Politiques de Grenoble), Gülseren Onanç (Turkish Women Entrepreneurs Association, KAGİDER, President, Istanbul), Dr. Kemal Ramoğlu (Ministry of Labour, Ankara),

Günter Seufert (Berliner Zeitung, Istanbul Representative, Writer), Ahmet Sever (Spokesman and Adviser to the President of the Turkish Republic), Prof. Dr. Burhan Şenatalar, (Bilgi University, Economy Department) Dr. Harry Tzimitras (Bilgi University, International Relations Department) and Volkan Vural (Ret. Ambassador, Adviser Doğan Group). 

The attendance of the conference is free of charge and there will be Turkish-English simultaneous translation for all sessions.   

Please contact to refika@saldere.edu.tr for registration. 

Assoc. Prof. Dr. Ayhan Kaya                                                             Ass. Prof. Dr. Erol Esen

Director                                                                                                   Director

European Institute                                                                                 European Research Center

İstanbul Bilgi University                                                                      Akdeniz University