Following meetings with civil society organisations who responded to Off University’s call in July 2024, we established the Critical Peace Network at a workshop held in Diyarbakır on 12 January 2025. Sixteen rights-based civil society organisations working intersectionally in the fields of peace, human rights, education, research, women’s rights, children’s rights, LGBTI+ rights, memory, cultural heritage, and minority rights took part in its establishment as founding members. The founding members of the Peace Network are listed below in alphabetical order:
- BAK Almanya- Barış Akademisyenleri Almanya Derneği
- Bakad- Barış için Kültürel Araştırmalar Derneği
- BİRARADA -Bilim Sanat Eğitim Araştırma ve Dayanışma Derneği
- DAKAHDER- Dayanışmanın Kadın Hali Derneği
- DEMOS Araştırma Kolektifi
- DİSA- Diyarbakır Siyasal ve Sosyal Araştırmalar Derneği
- DİTAM – Dicle Toplumsal Araştırmalar Merkezi Derneği
- DKVD- Diyarbakır Kültür ve Tabiat Varlıklarını Koruma Derneği
- Hakikat Adalet Hafıza Merkezi
- İHD Genel Merkez- İnsan Hakları Derneği
- Kadın Zamanı Derneği
- Off University
- Rengarenk Umutlar Derneği
- Romani Godi- Roman HafızaÇalışmaları Derneği
- Rosa Kadın Derneği
- TOHAV- Toplum ve Hukuk Araştırmaları Vakfı
The Peace Network was established to support civil society organisations working in the fields of gender, LGBTI+, youth, children’s rights, disability, freedom of belief, ethnicity, cultural heritage, memory, and ecology, with a focus on peace building and human rights. The Network enables these organisations to carry out solidarity, cooperation, advocacy, and awareness activities within a collective structure.The Peace Network takes a critical approach to peace processes, which are usually developed from the top down by high-level actors. It promotes bottom-up peace-building processes involving local people affected by conflicts, opinion leaders, civil society organisations, academics, religious leaders, and other social actors. By adopting a victim/survivor-centred approach to peace, the Network constantly prioritises a critical perspective to ensure the effective functioning of peace processes.
The Peace Network held its first webinar on 7 May 2025, announcing its establishment to the public and discussing the topic of ‘Regional reflections of worldwide authoritarianism and its effects on the Kurdish issue’ as part of the ‘Civil Society Talks Peace’ webinar series. Prof. Dr. Hamit Bozarslan and Assoc. Prof. Dr. Arzu Yılmaz participated in the webinar.
The Peace Network will continue its activities during the summer.
Follow the network:
