Press Releases

Embargoed! Attend 1st TRNC Women’s Congress - 08 March 2007

Following on from their 2006 The Silent Walk visits to Turkey and the UK, TRNC First Lady Oya Talat and artist Ayhatun Ateþin hosted the First Women’s Congress at Hotel Acapulco, in Kyrenia, North Cyprus. Embargoed! members joined over 100 women at the 3 day event, from 2-4 March 2007, that continued the themes raised on The Silent Walk to build bridges among Turkish Cypriot women worldwide and to help improve their quality of life.

Taking place on the weekend before International Women’s Day (8 March) , 11 women from London, including Suzan Nuri and Ipek Ozerim of Embargoed!, flew out for the Congress. Oya Talat and Ayhatun Ateþin were joined by many notable figures in the TRNC including President Talat addressed the delegates, stressing the importance of women in society, to highlight the active role women had played in Turkish Cypriot civic and political life.

The aim of the Congress was for Turkish Cypriot women’s groups and activists to get together to pool their experiences in finding solutions to diverse subjects such as women’s rights, health, democracy, and lobbying, which impact everyone’s wellbeing. The breaking of the isolation of North Cyprus was also a major topic throughout the three day event.

The Congress opened with a reception on Friday (2 March) and a full programme of speeches, workshops and networking activities on Saturday. The workshops were titled ‘Silent Walk: Community activism, peace, democracy and lobbying’, ‘Women’s Status and Empowerment’, and ‘Women in Politics’. It concluded on Sunday with thoughts on how to form a Foundation that would represent various Turkish Cypriot women’s groups from around the world and bring to life the many projects discussed.

International attendees attended a closing dinner at the Presidency where President Talat gave an overview of current developments affecting the Cyprus Issue. Among the guests were TRNC Prime Minister Ferdi Sabit Soyer, his wife Dudu Soyer, and Deputy Prime Minister Dr Turgay Avcý with wife Özlem Avcý.
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Notes
Picture of First Lady Oya Talat and artist Ayhatun Atesin, courtesy of Suzan Nuri

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