The media plays an important role in every society. Journalists, through their discretion, tell us stories of collective importance – exposing the voice of struggles and tragedy, carrying us through important social and political moments, celebrating achievements both large and small. The journalists who report the media document and narrate our history and inform […]
HasNa Continues to Train Turkish Citrus Farmers
After a successful training program in 2011 for Turkish citrus farmers in Florida, HasNa is bringing another group of Turkish citrus farmers from Mersin to the United States for training. HasNa’s second Citrus Farmers’ Training Program will take place between August 31 and September 14, 2014. Citrus is among the top exports in Turkish agricultural […]
Amusement Under the Olive Tree: Finding the Pleasure Perspective in Conflict-Ridden Areas
We don’t generally equate pleasure or humor with war-torn areas like Gaza and the West Bank, and yet photojournalist Tanya Habjouqa manages to give us an alternative perspective in this image of three boys cooling off in a kiddie pool. The metaphors in this image are noteworthy—a respite from the heat of war in the […]
Building Bridges, One Word At A Time
In many ways, intercultural exchange serves as a cushion or catalyst for peace. When two ethnic groups are in a state of conflict, there is a breakdown of communication between them. In such situations, inter-cultural activities provide them with a common space to meet, communicate, and interact. Communication includes both listening and expressing oneself so […]
When Youth Programs Work, Peace Happens!
There was an article in the Washington Post newspaper about the New Story Leadership Program that brings young men and women together from Israel and Palestine to the US with the hope that they will build lasting friendships. Although the article began with photos of a pair who seem to get along greatly, the main message […]
The VITA Program – An Introduction
HasNa is back to blogging! We’re excited today to bring you the first of several installments detailing our upcoming VITA Project. VITA, which stands for Volunteer Initiative in Turkey & Armenia, will be bringing together 14 young people from Turkey and Armenia here in DC this weekend. For more information, please check out our official […]
Tuning in to Peace: Bilingual Radio Program in Cyprus Initiated by HasNa Wins Award
This January, Cypriot radio stations Radyo Mayis and Radyo Astra were chosen to receive the famed Kutlu Adalı Award for Talk of the Island, a bi-communal radio program broadcast across Cyprus in both Greek and Turkish. The Kutlu Adalı Award was created in memory of Cypriot journalist Kutlu Adalı, who was assassinated in 1996. The […]
HasNa Article in the Peacebuilding Post
“What happens when you bring diverse individuals from Turkey and Cyprus to the U.S. for training in professional skills, communication skills, and conflict resolution? As HasNa, Inc. has discovered over the last thirteen years, lives change, communities transform, and peace grows…” With all the attention that HasNa’s programs are receiving in Cyprus and Turkey, it […]
Cyprus Friendship Program highlighted in Cypriot newspaper
“This is not a story about the Cyprus problem. It’s a story about the solution.” Writing in the Cyprus Mail, a leading Cypriot newspaper, journalist Poly Pantelides commended HasNa’s Cyprus Friendship Program (CFP) as part of the solution to the ongoing conflict in Cyprus. The author of the article, titled Teen Turnaround, purports that amid […]
HasNa Partner Featured in The New Yorker
You can’t fly very far in Turkey without spotting a HasNa project. “Natural Histories: A journey into the shadow of Ararat,” appears in the October 24, 2011 edition of The New Yorker and follows avid birdwatcher Çağan Şekercioğlu, founder and president of the Turkish environmental NGO KuzeyDoğa. One of HasNa’s partners in eastern Turkey, KuzeyDoğa […]