How have you impacted your community?

I hold a BA (Hons) in Science of Education – Primary Education from Atatürk Teacher Training Academy and a Master of Arts in International Studies in Education from the University of Birmingham. Since the early 2000s, I have been engaged in civil society which focuses on historical inquiry, contemporary understanding, conflict resolution, and peacebuilding.

I was involved in various international and multi communal projects in Cyprus and abroad. I have been active as a board member in Cyprus Turkish Teachers Trade Union, promoting peace, democracy, social justice, and equality through the development of education and the collective strength of teachers and education employees. I recently collaborated with TheatrEtc and contributed as a facilitator at Crossroads Youth Theatre Camp, which uses theatre as a tool for creative expression and communication, multicultural awareness and coexistence. I was elected as a board member of the Association for Historical Dialogue and Research in the previous term. I currently live in Nicosia, where I work as a teacher.

I partnered with Nat for our GATHER Fellowship, during which we set out to scale the work that we have been doing for years in Cyprus at the Crossroads multicultural youth camp. Through the Fellowship, we developed new business models and created partnerships that are aimed at bringing our theatre-based conflict transformation work to new audiences and to ensure the financial sustainability/independence of our work long-term.