October 25-26, 2013, marked Rumi Forum’s 2013 International Symposium on the Hizmet Movement and Peacebuilding. On Friday, October 25, Day 1 of the conference opened with welcoming remarks from the President of Rumi Forum, Emre Çelik and opening remarks from James Harrington, a human rights attorney with nearly four decades of experience and founder and director of the Texas Civil Rights Project. Referencing Mary Anne Evans, one of the leading writers of the Victorian Era who went by the pen name George Eliot, Mr. Harrington opened the Symposium with: “We make a living from what we get. We make a life from what we give. What we have done for ourselves dies with us. What we have done for others and for the world is immortal.”
Day 1 of the Symposium took place at the National Press Club and included four panels, a featured speaker session, lunch at the Press Club and dinner at the Turkic American Alliance headquarters.
Panel I: Educational Paths to Peacebuilding
Dr. Jochen Thies, Germany, moderated Panel I. Speakers included Dr. Eugeniusz Sakowicz, Professor at Cardinal Stefan Wyszyński University, Poland; Dr. Ori Z. Soltes, Professorial Lecturer at Georgetown University, United States; Dr. Harun Yuksel, Australia; and Dr. Almazbek Beishenaliev, Visiting Professor at John Hopkins University, United States.
Feature Speaker Session: Peacebuilding through Relief Work: Kimse Yok Mu
As guests mingled over coffee and tea, an art exhibit showcasing global relief efforts by the Kimse Yok Mu (KYM) Association, a Turkey-based relief organization was accompanied by discussion with Metin Çetiner, Vice Chairman of KYM responsible for its Protocol and International Relations division. “Kimse Yok Mu” is actually an interrogative phrase in Turkish, meaning, “Is anyone there?” The historical significance of this phrase stems from Turkey’s devastating earthquake on August 17, 1999, in which earthquake victims trapped under the rubble of collapsed buildings cried out desperately for help and rescue.
KYM’s mission is to build a more comfortable, serene and peaceful world while fighting poverty and attempting to eliminate social inequalities; to encourage our society to be more understanding and engaged in the notion of “Humanitarian Aide”; to protect innocent people in war-torn areas; and to accept and help people from all races, ages, religions, and social statuses in order to spread kindness around the world and to create and follow social support models.
Panel II: Overcoming “Otherness” and Living Together
Dr. Mohammed Abu-Nimer, Director of the Peacebuilding and Development Institute at American University, United States, moderated Panel II. Speakers included Jessica Rehman, Ph.D. candidate at the University of California, Riverside, United States; Dr. Margaret A. Johnson, Senior Research Associate at the Institute for Islamic and Turkish Studies, United States; and Dr. Sophia Pandya, Associate Professor California State University, Long Beach, United States.
Panel III: The Conceptual Foundations of the Hizmet Movement’s Approach to Peacebuilding
Dr. Ori Z. Soltes, Professorial Lecturer at Georgetown University, moderated Panel III. Speakers included Dr. Abdul Karim Bangura, Professor at Howard University; Dr. Thomas Gage, Professor Emeritus at Humboldt University, United States; and Kajit Bagu, Ph.D. candidate at the University of Edinburgh, Scotland.
Panel IV: Interfaith and Intra-faith Engagement toward Peacebuilding
Dr. Kazuko Shiojiri, Professor Emeritus at the University of Tsukuba and Director of the Institute of International Exchange at Tokyo International University, moderated Panel IV. Speakers included Teshome Berhanu Kemal, author, Ethiopia; Dr. Shanthikumar Hettiarachchi, Lecturer at St. Phillip’s Centre for Study and Engagement, United Kingdom; and Dr. Amidu Olalekan Sanni, Professor at Lagos State University, Nigeria.
Dinner followed at the Turkic American Alliance.
Be sure to check out Rumi Forum’s video coverage of the Symposium here, and Ebru New’s video coverage of the Symposium here. You can also follow the conversation that took place on Twitter at #Hizmet2013.
