Aegean Peace and Communication Association's "peace" events in Didim and Lesbos

Source: News Center

The new term of the Aegean Peace and Communication Association (EBİD), which held its general assembly last month, is starting with Peace festivals held in Turkey and Greece on September 1st, World Peace Day.

In the general assembly where 26th term İzmir deputy and Zeynep Altıok was re-elected as president, Osman Özgüven, Mehmet Soysalan, Yıldırım Şahin, Özcan Durmaz, Zeki Gül and Taylan Özgür Üstün were also re-elected to the board of directors.

The 30th Didim Peace Festival, organized by the Didim Municipality from August 31st to September 1st, featured various talks, exhibitions, and concerts under the slogan "Peace, the Heritage of Tomorrow." EBİD President Zeynep Altıok and Mehmet Soysalan participated as moderators and speakers in the panel titled "The Oral History of the Population Exchange" organized as part of the festival . Other guests at the panel, which explored the traces of the population exchange in Didim, were Master Architect Muharrem Çetinel and Historian-Author Mehmet Bilgin. The Didim Peace Festival, first organized in 1996 by Mehmet Soysalan, a founding member of the EBİD association and former mayor of Didim, was revived this year for the 30th time with joint events embracing both sides of the Aegean under the presidency of Hatice Gençay.

Similarly, a group consisting of the president and executives of the EBİD association will participate in the Lesbos Peace Festival, taking place on Lesbos from September 2-7. The Lesbos Peace Festival, held for the first time this year, is a result of the friendship established on both sides by the Siniparxi association and their years of joint efforts for peace, under the leadership of EBİD's founding president and former Mayor of Dikili Osman Özgüven, and the then-Mayor of Lesbos Stratis Pallis. The festival aims to bring together local administrators and NGOs from both sides in the name of peace and communication. The festival was decided upon at a joint meeting of the Aegean Peace and Communication Association from Türkiye and the Aegean Coexistence and Communication Association – SİNİPARKSİ from Greece, which convened in Lesbos in the final days of last year.

Zeynep Altıok and Paris Vounatsis, the presidents of the two associations, who have been working together for nearly 25 years, issued a joint statement after this meeting: "We are not participating in the arms spending competition between the governments of the two countries, and we recognize that the Aegean Sea is a sea of ​​Peace and Friendship between peoples. We do not embrace the discourse of competing for sovereignty or any property regime in the Aegean. We will strive to organize the 1st International Peace and Anti-Racism Festival in Lesbos in 2025. We desire to establish an institution that will embrace the vision of peaceful coexistence among peoples and to receive your support."

As part of the festival program, a roundtable session titled "Intercity Cultural Diplomacy and Peace" will be held on September 6th at 6:00 PM, with the support of EBİD. Mayors from the opposite coast and Türkiye will participate in this session, sharing messages of brotherhood, friendship, and peace.

On the evening of September 7th, there will be a closing concert featuring musicians from both sides. The concert will begin with Burçin Büke and Güvenç Dağüstün, followed by a solo performance by Greek artist Nikos Andrikos, followed by Mehtap Meral from Türkiye joining her on stage, and conclude with Mehtap Meral and Erdem Güreler.