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Thursday, 31 July 2008
+++ The Kokkalis Foundation and Istanbul Bilgi University's European Institute announce their cooperation in the field of Greek and Turkish Studies
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The Kokkalis Foundation and Istanbul Bilgi University's European Institute (Division of Turkish - Greek Studies) announce their cooperation in the field of Greek and Turkish Studies. The Foundation and the Institute agreed to engage in cooperation for the period of the academic years 2008-2010 for the mutual advancement of both Institutions' purposes. The Foundation will be supporting Turkish - Greek Studies at Istanbul Bilgi University, providing scholarships and Fellowships for students from Greece pursuing the Master's in International Relations with a concentration on Turkish-Greek Relations at the University.
The project aims at serving as a bridge, facilitating international understanding and friendship in line with the Kokkalis Foundation's stated mission to promote cooperation in countries of Southeastern Europe and the broader region, underwriting related activities, especially educational programs and research projects. The two Institutions have agreed to explore the possibility of further organizing joint seminars, conferences, symposia and other projects, as well as joint research and development activities on topics of mutual interest.
Turkish-Greek Studies was established in 2005 as a teaching and research division under the auspices of the European Institute at Istanbul Bilgi University. It aims at fostering institutional collaboration between the academic communities of the two countries, with a view to contributing to the spirit of rapprochement that characterizes the current state of bilateral relations through joint seminars, conferences, summer programmes, and exchange of students and scholars.
The University and the Institute established at the same time the Master of Arts Program in International Relations with a concentration on Turkish-Greek Relations. The Programme aims at combining a solid foundation in the discipline of International Relations with an area of concentration in Turkish-Greek relations. The curriculum is designed to reflect these two principal objectives by enhancing the students' general knowledge of theory and practice of international relations and by enabling them to specialize in the politics and international relations of Turkey and Greece. This Programme, the only one of its kind internationally, boasts a class composition of Turkish and Greek students in a 50%-50% ratio, comprising the only such curriculum in the world. It also brings together prominent Greek, Turkish and other academics visiting the university to lecture as Fellows and facilitates research on the subject.
Turkish-Greek Studies has established a strategic partnership with The Hellenic Foundation for European and Foreign Policy (ELIAMEP) which extends to the organization of joint events and the recruitment of students and fellows in Greece. In addition, close links have been established with a number of Greek universities and teaching and research centres internationally, such as the Hellenic Observatory at the London School of Economics and Political Science; The Greek-Turkish Network at St. Anthony's College, Oxford; and the Department of Turkish Studies and Middle Eastern Studies at the University of Cyprus.
About the Kokkalis Foundation
The Kokkalis Foundation was established in 1997 by its President Mr. Socrates P. Kokkalis as a non-governmental, non-profit organization in Athens, Greece. The central mission of the Kokkalis Foundation is the promotion of a peaceful, democratic and prosperous Southeastern Europe through the advancement of knowledge and education, the development of public, cultural and scientific life in the region, and the development of human capital. Since 1997 the Kokkalis Foundation has a strategic partnership with Harvard Kennedy School Government to promote its goals in the region through education and research initiatives.
For more information please visit:
http://www.kokkalisfoundation.gr and www.hks.harvard.edu/kokkalis
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