The DEM Party will organize the “International Conference on Peace and Democratic Society” on 6–7 December 2025 in Istanbul, featuring speakers who have been directly involved in global conflict-resolution initiatives and who have contributed to efforts for resolution and lasting peace in our country.
Simultaneous interpretation in Turkish, Kurdish, and English will be provided during the conference.
The conference will be broadcast on the DEM Party YouTube channel.
The program of the conference is as follows:
Day 1 – Saturday, 6 December 2025
09:30 – 10:00: Registration
10:00 – 10:30: Opening Speeches
– Tülay HATİMOĞULLARI ORUÇ, Co-Chair of the DEM Party
– Veysi AKTAŞ – Former political prisoner in Imrali Island Prison
Session I: Perspectives for Social Peace – 10:30 – 13:00
Moderator: Cengiz ÇANDAR – DEM Party MP for Diyarbakır
• “The Role of Abdullah Öcalan and the Right to Hope in the Resolution of the Kurdish Question and Building Social Peace” – Özgür EROL (Lawyer and Member of the Imrali Delegation)
• “On Embedding Peace within Society” – Emeritus Prof. Louis LEMKOW (The Autonomous University of Barcelona)
• “Living Together but How?” – Prof. Cihangir ISLAM (Politician)
• “Regional and Global Implications of a Social Peace and Durable Solution in Türkiye” – Assoc. Prof. Arzu YILMAZ (University of Kurdistan Hewler)
• Women’s Full Participation in peace-building work – Tawakkol KARMAN – (Nobel Peace Prize Laureate, Yemeni Journalist) – video message
– Q&A at the end of the session
Break – 13:00 – 14:00
Session II: Experiences in Conflict Resolution – 14:00 – 17:00
Moderator: Gültan KIŞANAK –(Politician)
• “The Role of Leadership in Building the Law of Peace” – Mohamed BHABHA (Lawyer, Former Senator, and Chair of the Constitutional Committee of the Parliament, South Africa)
• The Experience of the Irish Peace Process – Declan KEARNEY (MLA and Sinn Féin National Chairperson – Ireland)
• The Catalonia–Spain Negotiations: Lessons from Asymmetric Conflicts – Pere Aragonès i GARCIA – (Former Catalonia Prime Minister)
• Basque Experience – Igor ZULAIKA – (Member of the Basque Parliament and International Relations Coordinator of EH Bildu – Basque)
• Bringing Social Peace into Prisons: A Roadmap for Transforming the Prison Regime – Azime IŞIK (Politician)
• “De-militarization and Erasing the Effects of Conflicts” – Jody WILLIAMS – (Nobel Peace Prize Laureate, U.S. Activist) – by Zoom connection
– Q&A at the end of the session
Day 2 – Sunday, 7 December 2025
Session III: From Nation-State to Democratic Nation – 10:00 – 12:45
Moderator: Ebru GÜNAY – (Deputy Co-chair of the DEM Party)
Keynote speaker: Dilshad SHAHAB (Spokesperson of the Kurdistan Region Presidency)
• A New Social Contract in Light of Constitutional Citizenship and Identity Definitions – Dr. Orhan Gazi ERTEKIN – (Lawyer and writer)
• The Importance of Historical Experiences in Building a Democratic Nation – Prof. Mohamed REFAAT – (Professor of Modern and Contemporary History, Former Dean, Faculty of Arts, Damanhour University, Egypt)
• Strengthening Local Democracy Against Centralization and Resisting Hegemonic Relations – Prof. Norman PAECH – (Scholar, Lawyer, and politician, Germany)
• International Contributions to Sustaining Non-Conflict and Building Peace – Georges DALLEMAGNE – (Member of Parliament, Belgium)
• Freedom of the Press for Truth, the Language of Peace and Discourse – Nadire MATER – (Journalist and writer)
– Q&A at the end of the session
Break – 12:45 – 14:00
Session IV: Freedom, Peace, and Future Perspectives – 14:00 – 16:30
Moderator: Eren KESKİN – (Human Rights Activist and former president of the Human Rights Association)
• Turning Transnational Labor Struggles into a Dynamic of Regional and Global Peace – Arnljot ASK – (International Committee Member of the Red Party of Norway)
• A Light Shining in the Dark – John HOLLOWAY – (Irish Marxist lawyer, Sociologist, and Philosopher, Mexico)
• Transforming Europe’s Perception of the Kurdish Question: From Individual Rights to Collective Rights as a Ground for Freedom and Peace – Laura BOLDRINI – (Chair of the Human Rights Committee, Italian Parliament)
• Öcalan’s Manifesto: The Perspective of Peace and Democratic Society – Haydar ERGUL – (Editor, Democratic Modernity Journal)
• Video message by Shirin EBADI – (Iranian Nobel Peace Prize Laureate and Lawyer)
– Q&A at the end of the session
Closing Forum: Joint Declaration for Peace – 16:30 – 17:30
• Presentation of the Joint Declaration
Note: Messages from international figures will be screened at the end of each session.