September 23, 2009
Irina Bokova, Bulgarian diplomat and Kokkalis Program Executive Education alumna, becomes first woman to head UNESCO
Former Foreign Minister of Bulgaria Irina Bokova was appointed as director-general of UNESCO. Bokova completed a Harvard Kennedy School-Kokkalis Program Executive Education program in 1999. She is the first woman appointed to the UNESCO leadership, the tenth Director-General of the Organization, the fifth European and the first East European to win the post. For further information on Bokova and her appointment, please visit UNESCO’s site.
You may view her acceptance speech here.
September 8, 2009
Kokkalis Program to host lecture series of eminent Turkish scholar Baskin Oran
Dr. Baskin Oran, one of Turkey’s boldest scholars, will deliver a series of six lectures at Harvard University during the fall 2009 semester. Sponsored by the Kokkalis Program on Southeastern and East-Central Europe, the series—Western Impact and Turkey—will examine a number of issues including modernization and westernization, religion-state relations, identity conflicts, and minority rights.
Oran, professor emeritus at Ankara University, is an outspoken public intellectual advocating a more robust democracy and rule of law in Turkey. In an era of polarization and conflict, Oran stands out as a contrarian whose search for liberal freedoms in Turkey has often taken issue with conventional wisdoms and principles. His fearlessness in sharing his views, even when his career and life were threatened, is an inspiration for a generation of young people and intellectuals in Turkey. In November 1982, he was dismissed from the university on the order of the military junta, and in 1990 was reinstated by a court ruling.
“Under the guidance of one of Turkey’s most probing and insightful scholars, this lecture series will be a rare opportunity to explore some of the most pressing challenges facing contemporary Turkey in a meaningful way,” said Elaine Papoulias, director of the Kokkalis Program. “Dr. Oran’s unique ability to exercise sobriety in the examination of often emotionally-charged topics is certain to be instructive for our entire community.”
Oran serves on the Turkish Prime Ministry’s Consultative Committee on Human Rights, and in 2004 authored the Committee’s “Minority and Cultural Rights Report,” which generated harsh criticism in Kemalist circles. In 2007, he ran for a seat in the Turkish Parliament as a left independent civil society candidate. He has taught courses on Turkish, Kurdish and Middle Eastern nationalisms; Turkish-Greek relations; modernization and globalization; and Turkish foreign policy. Oran is also a prolific author of books and scholarly articles; has served as a columnist to several newspapers; and currently writes for Agos and Radikal Iki.
The lecture series is sponsored by the Kennedy School’s Kokkalis Program on Southeastern and East-Central Europe. All six lectures are free and open to the public. The lecture material will not be cumulative and attendance of all six lectures is optional. For more information, please contact the Kokkalis Program or download a syllabus of all six lectures.
September 3, 2009
Fall Lecture Series Announced
To view the full schedule of the Kokkalis Program Fall 2009 lecture series, visit the Upcoming Events Page.
The fall lecture series will feature presentations on a wide range of topics by prominent leaders, innovative practitioners, and pioneering scholars from across the globe. Highlights include an address by Turkey's Minister for EU Affairs andChief Negotiator Egemen Bagis, Ambassador of Cyprus to the U.S. Andreas Kakouris, and Boris Begovic, president of the Center for Liberal-Democractic Studies in Belgrade.
The Kokkalis Program will also host the Baskin Oran Seminar Series "Western Impact and Turkey," a series of six seminars held across the University from October 19-November 4. Dr. Baskin Oran, emeritus professor at Ankara University and one of Turkey's boldest public intellectuals, will deliver all six seminars, examining a number of issues including modernization and westernization, religion-state relations, identity conflicts, and minority rights. For more information, please visit the News section.
In addition, the Kokkalis Program will continue to collaborate with the Minda de Gunzburg Center for European Studies to organize the annual "Challenges of the 21st Century: European and American Perspectives Series." The series, also sponsored by the Karamanlis Chair at Tufts University's Fletcher School and Harvard University's Weatherhead Center for International Affairs, will host notable figures Javier Solana, Peter Sutherland, Phillippe Maystadt, Karel de Beock, Jonathan Faull, Jean-Claude Piris, and Joseph Weiler in a series of events held at Harvard and Tufts Universities.
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Phone: 1.617.496.0175
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