In times of crisis and change, people are finding numerous ways for enabling and creating resistance and solidarity.
In June 2013, the state’s response to Gezi resistance, one of the biggest resistance movements in Turkey’s history, has shown the world the authoritarian face of AKP’s Islamic neoliberalism. Now, almost 9 years after the beginning of the Gezi resistance, with an unlawful judicial process, the Erdoğan regime sentenced lawyers, city planners, civil rights activists and journalists/documentary directors including Osman Kavala, Can Atalay; Mücella Yapıcı and Çiğdem Mater as the “organizers of Gezi resistance” to imprisonment with 18 years to heavy imprisonment for life. Even after this shocking persecution, resistance movements and solidarity are far from being over, in spite of the oppression, threats and persecution of the authoritarian regime or the recent pandemic Covid-19 that is used as an excuse for even more oppression by the authoritarian governments. Yet, resistance movements and solidarity have never stopped. In this workshop, we will discuss resistance movements, solidarity and hope, focusing on the case of Turkey but looking at practices of “critical hope” from other places; in order to listen, understand, network and strengthen one another.
Organised by Eylem Çamuroǧlu Çıǧ, Christine Hanke (both Digitale und Audiovisuelle Medien, Medienwissenschaft UBT), and Katharina Fink (Iwalewahaus, Sophiatown Art Collective)