Turkey is living in the midst of a conflict that affects the political social, economic, and cultural aspects of the entire country. The Kurdish question, which has been shaped in the middle of the complex dynamics of this conflict, can be seen as one of the most pressing situations both in the southeast region as well as in metropolitan areas. The problem shapes not only the political realm, but also the daily experiences of various social groups and therefore has a significant social impact.

With the project “Towards A Blueprint for Reconciliation: Engaging the Civil Society and Capacity Building” we intended to conduct a systematic examination of civil initiatives that work to contribute to peace and the solution of the Kurdish question in Turkey, as well as to share the methods that have been used in other post-conflict societies to confront the past, reveal the truth, and facilitate justice.

Within the scope of a project initiated within Anadolu Kültür between February and December 2010, we aimed to contribute to the identification of new, trackable, forward-looking strategies by conducting a comparative evaluation between local civil initiatives and examples from around the world. Within the scope of this project, we have completed the following activities:

• We conducted thorough interviews with 28 civil society organizations in Istanbul and Diyarbakır whose work concerns the solution of the Kurdish situation. Among the organizations we spoke with, there were individuals working on gender, children, poverty, forced migration, health, disappearance, the construction of peace, human rights advocacy, and education. With the findings from these interviews, we published our “Civil Society Organizations Interview Report.” The report includes an evaluation of current projects as well as problem areas that were detected.
• In light of the findings from the in-depth interviews we conducted with these civil society organizations, we held a meeting centered around three primary themes that we identified. The meeting, "Truth, Justice, Memory: Experiences, Testimonies, Quests," was held in Istanbul on 4-5 December 2010.
• We created our website, www.hakikatadalethafiza.org. The website contains sources on subjects like transitional justice and confronting the past that have been translated to Turkish as well as the information of institutions working on these topics; it was opened for the use of rights advocates. Related local and international institutions can be found at the link below: