The People in Dialogue website shares testimonies from a Dialogue for Social Cohesion which young Syrians and Turks initiated in the southern Turkish cities of Gaziantep and Sanliurfa in late 2018. As part of this Dialogue project, the young people teamed up in Syrian-Turkish pairs to interview community leaders of both nationalities, aiming to learn more about their hopes and visions for a ‘new Gaziantep’ and a ‘new Sanliurfa’ in which everyone – both newcomers and long-time residents – can lead peaceful, fulfilling lives.  

The ideas which the young people found most inspiring are featured on this site, linked to their personal reflections about them. 

Through these conversations between young and older leaders, and between people of Turkish and Syrian origin, the Dialogue for Social Cohesion aims to inspire its participants – and, through this website, people everywhere – to envision and then help build the kind of future they would like to be part of. By promoting listening, appreciation and respect, it focuses on the best of what is; opens up spaces for imagining what can be; and, by doing this, helps shape what will be.  

The Dialogue for Social Cohesion is an initiative of the Education Programme for Syrian Refugees and Host Communities, implemented by the Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ) GmbH, on behalf of Germany’s Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ). The Dialogue is made possible with additional support from the GIZ Sector Programme ‘Promoting Gender Equality and Women’s Rights,’ with technical advice provided by Dialogue experts from the consulting firm management4health (dialogue@m4health.pro).

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The individuals whose images and quotes appear on this site have provided their express consent for them to be published.  

Photographs were taken by Ahmad Aljabri.