Panel I: The Media and Social Injustice in Armenia
Moderator:
Antranig Kasbarian
Panelists:
Edik Baghdasaryan
Khatchig Mouradian
Gayane Torosyan
Discussant:
Stephen Kurkjian
This panel will discuss the structure and functioning of Armenia ’s media today, focusing on 1) the media's role/effectiveness in reporting on corruption/social ills, and 2) the way in which media are organized (ownership patterns, monopolies, censorship issues, etc.).

[discuss this panel] [links] [abstracts]

Panel II: Environmental Politics in Armenia
Moderator:
Jeff Masarjian
Panelists:
Jeffrey Tufenkian
Anne Shirinian-Orlando Ursula Kazarian
Robert Kalantari
This panel will discuss prospects for developing an environmental movement in Armenia . Specific topics include 1) coalition-building strategies on environmental issues; 2) prospects for reforming mainstream public/private policies toward the environment; 3) Looming environmental issues that must be dealt with (illegal deforestation, depletion of urban green spaces, industrial mining, nuclear energy and the need for alternative energy resources)
[discuss this panel] [links] [abstracts]

Panel III: Armeno-Turkish Relations:
Pitfalls & Possibilities Following Hrant Dink’s Assassination
Moderator:
Dikran Kaligian
Panelists:
Peter Balakian
Halil Berktay
Henry Theriault
This panel will discuss the recent assassination of journalist and human rights activist Hrant Dink, focusing on the following areas of repercussion: 1) Its effect on Armeno-Turkish dialogue, now being pursued at various levels; 2) Its effect on Turkey’s internal reform process, including its treatment of minorities and restrictions on freedom of speech and intellectual inquiry; 3) Its effect on efforts to gain acknowledgement of the 1915 Armenian Genocide. The panel will also examine the conditions that led to the assassination of Hrant Dink and the post-assassination ultra-nationalist backlash in Turkey .
[discuss this panel] [links] [abstracts]