Symposium Agenda



Symposium Agenda

The Symposium featured five workshop periods with eight simultaneous sessions in each period. Participants were able to choose from successfully implemented tactics representing a wide range of human rights areas and regions of the world. The featured tactics included human rights promotion, prevention, intervention and restoration tactics.

Wednesday, September 29

16:00 - 19:30 Opening Plenary
Chairperson:
Dr. Murat Belge, Chair of the Board of Directors, Helsinki Citizens Assembly, Turkey

Welcome Remarks:
Dr. Turgay Ergun, General Director, TODAIE, Turkey Opening Remarks Abdullah Gül, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs, Turkey
Eric S. Edelman, U.S.A. Ambassador to Turkey
Piet De Klerk, Human Rights Ambassador, the Kingdom of the Netherlands
Hans Jörg Kretschmer, Representative of the European Union Commission to Turkey

Plenary Speakers:
Mariclaire Acosta Urquidi, Former Undersecretary of Foreign Relations for Human Rights and Democracy, Mexico; Member, New Tactics Working Group
Douglas A. Johnson, Executive Director, The Center for Victims of Torture Panelists
Salma Khan, Former Chair and current member, United Nations Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination Against Women; board member, Women for Women, Bangladesh; Member, New Tactics Working Group
Morten Kjærum, President, International Association of National Human Rights Institutions and Director, Danish Institute for Human Rights, Denmark; Member, New Tactics Working Group

Thursday, September 30

09:30 – 11:00 Second Plenary Session
Chairperson:
Dr. Murat Belge, Chair of the Board of Directors, Helsinki Citizens Assembly, Turkey

Moderator:
Salma Khan, Former Chair and current member, United Nations Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination Against Women; board member, Women for Women, Bangladesh; Member, New Tactics Working Group

Plenary Speaker:
Mary Lawlor, Director of Front Line - the International Foundation for the Protection of Human Rights Defenders, Ireland

Panelists:
Dr. Ali Bayramoglu, New Tactics Program Director, Helsinki Citizens Assembly, Turkey
Liam Mahony, Board Member, Peace Brigades International, USA; Member, New Tactics Working Group
Kailash Satyarthi, Chairman, South Asian Coalition on Child Servitude, India; Member, New Tactics Working Group
11:30 – 13:30 Workshop Session I Seven parallel workshops.
13:30 – 15:30 Lunch
15:30 – 17:30 Workshop Session II Seven parallel workshops.
17:30 – 18:00 Coffee break Regional Caucuses I
Regional caucuses will give participants the opportunity to build networks in their regions and make plans for using the principles of the New Tactics project after the Symposium. During the first session, participants will introduce themselves and comment on what they hope to gain from the Symposium. Choose one of the following regions. Locations will be posted. Anglophone Africa Francophone Africa Middle East and North Africa Asia Central and Southern Europe Eurasia Northern and Western Europe Latin America and the Caribbean North America Turkey

Friday, October 1

09:30 – 11:00 Third Plenary Session
Chairperson:
Dr. Murat Belge, Chair of the Board of Directors, Helsinki Citizens Assembly, Turkey

Moderator:
Douglas A. Johnson, Executive Director, The Center for Victims of Torture

Plenary Speaker:
Sofia Macher, former Commissioner, Truth and Reconciliation Commission and Executive Director, Coordinadora de Derechos Humanos, Peru; Member, New Tactics Working Group

Panelists:
Yilmaz Ensaroglu, President, Mazlumder, Turkey
Mufuliat Fijabi, Senior Programme Officer, BAOBAB for Women’s Human Rights, Nigeria
Somchai Homlaor, Secretary General, Forum Asia, Thailand
11:00 – 11:30 Coffee break
11:30 – 13:30 Workshop Session III Seven parallel workshops.
13:30 – 15:30 Lunch
15:30 – 17:30 Workshop Session IV Seven parallel workshops.
18:00 – 20:30 Visit to the Anatolian Civilizations Museum Reception Hosted by the Ministry of Culture & Tourism

Saturday, October 2

09:30 – 11:00 Fourth Plenary Session
Chairperson:
Murat Belge, Chair of the Board of Directors, Helsinki Citizens Assembly, Turkey

Moderator:
Morten Kjærum, President, International Association of National Human Rights Institutions and Director, Danish Institute for Human Rights, Denmark; Member, New Tactics Working Group

Plenary Speaker:
Jody Williams, Nobel Peace Prize Laureate (1997); Ambassador, International Campaign to Ban Landmines, USA

Panelists:
Berry A. Kralj, Rule of Law Expert, Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe, Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights, Poland
Joseph Otteh, Director, ACCESS for Justice, Nigeria; Member, New Tactics Working Group
Denise Searle, Senior Director for Campaigns and Communications, Amnesty International, United Kingdom
11:00 – 11:30 Coffee break
11:30 – 13:30 Workshop Session V Seven parallel workshops.
13:30 – 15:00 Lunch
15:00 – 16:30 Regional Caucuses II

This second regional caucus session will give participants the opportunity to share tactics and insights they think will be valuable in the region, and discuss how they might increase tactical innovation in the region. Choose one of the following regions. Locations will be posted. Anglophone Africa Francophone Africa Middle East and North Africa Asia Central and Southern Europe Eurasia Northern and Western Europe Latin America and the Caribbean North America Turkey

16:30 – 17:00 Coffee break

17:00 – 19:00 Closing Plenary
Chairperson:
Dr. Murat Belge, Chair of the Board of Directors, Helsinki Citizens Assembly, Turkey

Moderator:
Dr. Gencay Saylan, TODAIE, Turkey

Panel Speakers:
Mariclaire Acosta Urquidi, Former Undersecretary of Foreign Relations for Human Rights and Democracy, Mexico; Member, New Tactics Working Group
Dr. Murat Belge, Chair of the Board of Directors, Helsinki Citizens Assembly, Turkey
Jon Benjamin, Head of Human Rights Policy Department, Foreign and Commonwealth Office, United Kingdom
Maina Kiai, Chairman, Kenya National Human Rights Commission, Kenya Michael H. Posner, Executive Director, Human Rights First, U.S.A.
Jody Williams, Nobel Peace Prize Laureate (1997); Ambassador, International Campaign to Ban Landmines, USA

Closing Remarks:
Recep Tayyip Erdogan, Prime Minister, Turkey
Dr. Gencay Saylan, TODAIE, Turkey
Dr. Murat Belge, Chair of the Board of Directors, Helsinki Citizens Assembly, Turkey
Douglas A. Johnson, Executive Director, The Center for Victims of Torture
21:30 – 24:00 Closing Festivities Party featuring the Pire Mehmet & Romanlar Band, Faces Bar