The first meeting of BIPHEC took place at the University of Istanbul, from 23 to 25 February. The main objective of the meeting was to discuss the key concepts of the project and the details of its implementation as well as to establish a synergy between the investigators of the project. The meeting provided the participants with the opportunity to exchange theoretical and methodological considerations in order to review and update their own case studies. During the meeting Dr Filiz Göktuna Yaylacı presented her research on refugees, focused on three dimensions: problems of refugees; media representation of refugees; education and integration. She also introduced a case study which could contribute to the network: a study that aims to bring Turkish and foreign university students together and explore perceptions of one another through photography. Dr. Zeynep Özde Ateşok gave a presentation on Syrian refugees’ access to and participation in education in Turkey. Elif Esen, Chairwoman of ÇOGEL, introduced the NGO’s latest project. 360 Degrees Friendship Project: Supporting Social Communication Skills of Turkish and Refugee Children (10-12 age group) and their mothers, Strengthening the Culture of Living Together Project. This NGO runs projects which address the needs of youth and their parents, and reaches out to youths who have no opportunity to access higher education. The project team also enjoyed a visit to the Music Studio, the case study site of Istanbul University. Dr. Ubeydullah Sezikli, a member of the department of Religious Education in the Faculty of Theology, made a presentation on the role of religious music as an intermediary tool among students of different backgrounds. He also showed videos of Syrian students in Istanbul University who had previous musical experience, and with colleagues, performed examples of common songs in Turkish and Syrian culture. Dr. Marta Moskal presented her research on critical ethnography and community learning with immigrant and refugee students and youth (Shadduck-Hernández 2006). She also presented Frimberger’s project (2016) based on Language Fest—a public educational event celebrating the diversity of languages in Glasgow. The participants at the meeting included:
Project Team
Professor Prue Holmes –Durham University [Principal Investigator]
r Ayşe Zişan Furat – Istanbul University [Co-Investigator]
Dr Beatriz Peña Dix – University of the Andes – Colombia [Co-Investigator]
Professor John Blair Corbett – University of Sao Paulo [Co-Investigator visor]
Dr Marta Moskal –Durham University [Co-Investigator]
Dr Nazmi Al-Masri – Islamic University of Gaza [Co-Investigator]
Dr Filiz Goktuna-Yaylacı – Anadolu University [Advisor]
Other Participants
Professor Ayşegül Komsuoğlu Çıtıpıtıoğlu – Istanbul University
Dr Ali Faruk Yaylacı – Kütahya Dumlupınar University
Dr Mahmut Salihoğlu – Istanbul University
Dr Özgü Yolcu – Istanbul University
Dr Ubeydullah Sezikli – Istanbul University
Dr Zeynep Özde Ateşok – Istanbul University