Kavkaz Dialogue Group. Apply Now!
Join a bottom-up effort at fostering dialogue and understanding in the Caucasus!
Kavkaz Dialogue Group is a small-scale project aiming to do something about the scarcity of communication and mutual understanding across conflict lines in the Caucasus region. The project will go beyond the usual confines of academia and policy-making, and focus on establish regular and respectful contact in the region. Twelve years after the 2008 Russo-Georgian war, and with tensions running high again on the Armenian-Azerbaijani border recently, this is yet again urgent and necessary. Rather than relying on outside funding and expert knowledge from NGOs, embassies etc., this is an independent effort from the bottom up: a group of young people from the region itself, coming together online, who form a community to discuss both difficult and mundane matters.
The project brings together moderate voices on all sides of all Caucasian conflicts on an online platform (exact format is to-be-confirmed), aiming for a maximum of 10-15 people (but we might start smaller). Once a comfortable community has been formed, we will organise discussion meetings over Zoom, book clubs, online lectures by international experts, and so on. Maybe at some point some members of the group will write things together or organise events, etc., but that’s all for a later stage.
What you contribute: your time and your thoughts.
What you get: interesting discussions with people you can’t meet in person about, say, Azerbaijan’s recent elections, Ossetian pastries, or the similarities and differences between the Cyprus and Abkhazia conflicts.
There will be some requirements for participation, so that this platform can be fruitful and constructive. A general requirement is a willingness to accept, and listen to, differences in interpretations of history, sovereignty, self-determination, and other thorny issues. Since the main aim of this project is to start dialogues, it is in the best interest of everyone participating in it, that the group includes people who agree that different views on history and politics come from different positions, perspectives, and experiences, not from absolute moralities or cultures.
Some further requirements and details below:
- Age range: 19-29.
- Ethnicity/nationality: Abkhaz, Armenian, Azerbaijani, Georgian, Ossetian, and others.[1]
- If interested send a short email to: [email protected], (1) detailing basic facts about you (age, occupation/studies, interests, residence, nationality/ethnicity/ citizenship etc.), (2) explaining your motivation to participate, and (3) providing your thoughts on a Caucasus-related topic of your choice (max. 450 words).
For questions or further information, contact: [email protected].
[1] Young people with a diaspora, refugee or internally-displaced person (IDP) background are encouraged to apply, as well as people with a mixed background (e.g. Russian-Armenian, French-Georgian…), a background from the North Caucasus (e.g. North Ossetian, Ingush, Chechen, Avar…) or smaller ethnic minority individuals in the South Caucasus (e.g. Greek, Kist, Talysh, Lezgin, Kurd…). In addition, although the focus is on dialogue among Caucasian nationalities, interested and motivated outsiders with relevant experience (e.g. having lived in the region) are also welcome to ‘apply’; the project will aim for a balanced group.