5th International Summer School on Security and/or Human Rights
The 5th International Summer School, held in Mardin, brought together young participants from 16 countries to discuss the future of security and human rights. With a program full of workshops, lectures, and cultural activities, the event offered participants both learning opportunities and the chance to build international networks.
The 5th International Summer School on Security and/or Human Rights, held in Mardin, a southeastern Anatolian city near the Turkish-Syrian border, in August 2025, was a remarkable success. Organized by the Human Rights and FNF Türkiye and Geneva Offices, the program created a unique international platform for dialogue, learning, and collaboration.
Over 20 young participants from 16 different countries successfully participated, more than 700 people from all over the world had applied in advance. The Summer School aimed to rethink priorities in the age of uncertainty by critically examining how security policies and human rights principles can coexist and reinforce one another. The program gathered participants from across Europe, the Middle East, Latin America, Africa, and beyond, representing different professional and academic backgrounds. This diversity fostered not only intercultural exchange but also mutual learning, as participants discovered common challenges and shared solutions across borders.
The Summer School officially opened with welcoming remarks and an engaging ice-breaking session led by representatives of FNF Türkiye, the Human Rights Academy, and Prof. Dr. Çiğdem Üstün (EDAM). The following sessions brought together a distinguished group of experts: Ambassador (R) Mustafa Osman Turan, Arda Okçu (UNHCR Ankara), Sine Özkaraşahin (NATO), Can Selçuki (Research Istanbul), Burak Dalgın (entrepreneur, investor, and MP), Anusha Zubairy (Türk Kızılay), and Dr. Ümit Şahin (Istanbul Policy Center). Each speaker provided insights from their field, enriching participants’ understanding of migration governance, security cultures, technology and open societies, humanitarian law, and environmental security.
One of the strongest elements of the Summer School was its interactive workshop format, which turned theory into practice. Over three workshop sessions, participants worked in groups on carefully designed case studies. These included scenarios on climate, conflict, and displacement; the use of information in border narratives; and urban security and social cohesion. Later workshops examined the narratives of fear that shape security discourses, and finally challenged participants to propose practical, rights-based responses to fictional crisis scenarios. This method allowed participants to apply what they had learned in lectures, debate with their peers, and develop concrete strategies for bridging security and human rights in real-life contexts. The energy and creativity that emerged from the group work demonstrated how collaborative problem-solving can generate innovative approaches to pressing global issues.
Beyond the lectures and workshops, the program offered valuable cultural and networking opportunities. The “Freedom on the Road” excursion gave participants the chance to discover Mardin’s rich history and cultural diversity. Shared meals, hosted in traditional local venues, created further opportunities for participants to connect on a personal level, exchanging experiences from their own countries and professional contexts.
The Summer School concluded with final group presentations, a farewell dinner, and the certificate ceremony. The atmosphere was both celebratory and forward-looking, as participants reflected on the skills, knowledge, and networks they had gained during the week. Many underlined how the combination of academic insight, peer-to-peer exchange, and experiential learning made the Summer School a truly transformative experience.
As part of this initiative, an essay competition was launched, encouraging participants to reflect on the themes of the Summer School. The selected essays will be published to amplify the voices of young experts.
The 5th International Summer School on Security and/or Human Rights demonstrated the power of combining academic expertise, practical casework, intercultural dialogue, and institutional support. It created a vibrant space where the next generation of leaders could rethink security and human rights together and left participants inspired to carry these lessons into their future work.