As part of the symposium, Turkish and Greek academics and researchers, descendants of the exchangees, gave presentations on the importance of preserving personal historical narratives and cultural heritage. The event emphasized cultural pluralism and emphasized the importance of increasing the number of museums and memorial houses to preserve the memory of the exchange.
Additionally, cartoonist Semih Poroy's "Footprints of the Population Exchange" exhibition was on display for art lovers during the symposium. Prepared with the support of the Şişli Municipality, the exhibition, which depicts 19 elements of the population exchange through cartoons, will be open to visitors until April 9th.
This important academic event addressed the historical, legal and sociocultural dimensions of the population exchange, making a valuable contribution to developing a culture of peace between the Turkish and Greek peoples and strengthening collective memory.
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International Symposium on the Turkish-Greek Forced Population Exchange on its 100th Anniversary:
Memory, Identity and Reconstruction
The "International Symposium on the Compulsory Population Exchange between Turkey and Greece on its 100th Anniversary", organized by the Lausanne Exchangers Foundation (LMV) and the Şişli Municipality in cooperation with the Center for Asia Minor Studies (KMS) and the Minority Groups Research Center (KEMO), was held on April 1-2, 2024, at the Şişli Municipality Nazım Hikmet Culture and Art House.
The symposium, attended by 36 academics and independent researchers from Turkey, Greece, England, France, Brazil, and Canada, addressed the Turkish-Greek population exchange from a variety of disciplines. Experts from various fields, including history, law, social anthropology, and folklore, analyzed the phenomenon of migration in three fundamental stages: before, during, and after the population exchange.
The symposium's keynote speaker, Prof. Dr. Zafer Toprak, emphasized that the population exchange should be considered within the context of the nation-building process in Europe. Furthermore, the current debate surrounding whether forced displacement constitutes a human rights violation brought a new perspective to the symposium.