International Conference on Educational Exchange, Peace and Development, Held at Bilkent, September 26-27

“International Educational Exchange and the Promotion of Peace, Development, and Intercultural Understanding”

An international academic conference jointly organized by the Turkish Fulbright Commission, the İhsan Doğramacı Center for Foreign Policy and Peace Research and the Hollings Center for International Dialogue was held on September 26 and 27.

The conference, on the topic of “International Educational Exchange and the Promotion of Peace, Development, and Intercultural Understanding,” was held at the C-Block Auditorium. It opened with welcoming remarks by Prof. Ersel Aydınlı, Executive Director of the Turkish Fulbright Commission and Bilkent International Relations department faculty member; Michael Carroll, Executive Director of the Hollings Center for International Dialogue; Prof. Ali Doğramacı, President of Bilkent University; and Ross Wilson, Charge d’Affaires at the US Embassy in Ankara.

The keynote speech was given by Ali Babacan, Deputy Prime Minister of Turkey and a Fulbright alumnus. Topics discussed at the conference by academics from Turkey, Europe, and the United States included “Educational Exchange and Peace/Development Promotion—Understanding the Connection,” “The Role of Language in the Educational Exchange/Peace & Development Promotion Connection” and “The History and Impact of Educational Exchange in Turkey.”