W E E K L Ythe

c e n t r a l e u r o p e a n u n i v e r s i t y

An independent newspaper by CEU students and alumni October 21, 2015, Year 5, Issue 62

In this Issue:2- CEU Smalltalk 3 - Interview with CEU’s Center for Teaching and Learning 4 - Syrian Voices at CEU 5 - Op-Ed on Ilgar Mammadov, CEU Alumnus Imprisoned in Azerbaijan 6 - The Future of Turkey’s EU Bid 7 - A Week in Review: Sami-Cultural & Coming Out Week8 - Halloween in Budapest

CEU UNITED

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THE CEU WEEKLY

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Small Talk

CEU SMALLTALK

While it is raining cats and dogs in Budapest, homework is raining on CEU students. Hundreds of pages of readings, assignments and papers start to pile up. So does the stress. In such

demanding yet exciting times, it is important to remain motivated and give ourselves a little break during studies. We turned to people of CEU and asked them to share their secrets of how to keep afloat.

“What do you do to unwind? How do you reward yourself?”

Luise Maria Silva MericoLegal Studies Brazil My approach is to drink a little

wine. After assignments, during

assignments. It makes me more

creative!

~ Ann-Kathrin BeckSchool of Public Policy

Germany

Anastasia Zabusova School of Public Policy

Russian Federation

Being at CEU is very stressful. For students, but also for

staff and faculty. I ride my bicycle every day from my

home here and back. That’s the best I can do for myself,

because I have another 24 hours-job looking after my small

daughter. Being on the bike is my time!

Abdulhakim LezanoEthiopia Philosophy

Aidana ZhalelovaKazakhstanEconomics

Oliver KissHungary Economics

Robin FraitureNetherlands

School of Public PolicyI was kind of struggling with

depression. And I don’t know when I

get me-time. I have no time. Managing

school, staying alive and a relationship

at the same time. It’s hard…

I try to play drums, the acoustic

drum set. I have to go really far

in the city, it’s not that I can do it

during the break, but I really enjoy

it.

I just do reading and stay in my room.

Sometimes I watch some movies from Ethiopia,

where I come from. I also chat with friends

online. After I submit a paper or do an exam,

usually I sleep.

Well, I actually started a thing this weekend that sounds

quite funny. On YouTube they have these vids with yoga

mindfulness and I did that. My room is small but I made

a little space with a towel on my floor. During this yoga

session, you have to concentrate on your breathing and it

really helps.

Sanja TepavcevicFrontiers of Democracy Initiative

Eszti BesenyeiGender Studies Hungary

I have a bunny. I got him at my previous

university, so he graduated with me. Why have

an animal? It’s cute and you take care of it.

Petting it is really relaxing. And when I hand in

an assignment I just have a beer.

ISSUE 62

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Interview

When I registered for my Foundations in Teaching in

Higher Education course at CEU last year, I mostly expected some “Teaching for Dummies” course combined with some educational Psychology and Pedagogy. I soon discovered that CEU’s Center for Teaching and Learning (CTL henceforth) offers courses that are very different from traditional teacher training courses, and also that CTL’s activity is diverse and extensive – just not always visible at first sight. This is why I asked CTL faculty members Helga Dorner, Joanna Renc-Roe and

Sally Schwager, with Tünde Polonkai as office manager, to talk about the Center’s past, present and future. Joanna answered to my questions via mail.The history of teaching centers

around the world goes back to the 1980s. They first appeared in the Scandinavian and in the US/UK context; the CTL at CEU was founded in 2011. As Sally told me, one of the main reasons for establishing such a unit at CEU was that “doctoral students at CEU – a graduate-only institution – have fewer opportunities to teach than at universities with undergraduate students.” Apart from doctoral students, as

Joanna highlighted, CTL also works together with “CEU faculty, and other universities and the wider profession.”

Ben Spies

excellence in teaching

Meet CEU’s Center for Teaching and LearningThe main framework for working

with doctoral students is the CTL Certificate Program for Excellence in Teaching and Higher Education, graduate seminars and private consultations. The driving concepts behind the Program are scholarship, reflection, collaboration and innovation. These are not just empty words, but real organizing powers behind the CTL courses. During our discussion, we came to the conclusion that the CTL’s work with doctoral students turns CEU’s disadvantage – no undergraduate programs where students could teach – into an advantage, even a privilege. The CTL seminars and certificate program do not simply aim to offer a crash-course to survive doctoral students’ teaching duties – they empower students with

skills and knowledge to become “self-reflexive scholars” and enable them to “sustain professional development both as teachers and researchers” in their academic and other professional careers. Concerning future plans, Helga highlighted possible projects to get out-of-town CEU students more involved with the CTL by using online technology.The CTL’s work with CEU faculty is voluntary, formative and confidential. Therefore, it is also quite invisible to the student body, but their professionalism contributes to many

excellent CEU courses without you noticing. It is their foremost belief that they do not judge or evaluate – they offer their help, be it practical or other methodological issues, if it is asked for. Helga, Joanna and Sally are all researchers themselves, well-connected with colleagues all over the world, and they bring state-of-the-art, research-based knowledge on scholarly education to CEU. All in all, I have learnt through CTL courses that teaching, good teaching, is hard and demanding. But I also learnt that teachers are not born – teaching can be learnt. And if you work together with Helga, Joanna and Sally, either as a professor or as a student, it becomes a bit easier (and definitely a lot more fun).Thank you CTL team!

~ Medzibrodszky AlexandraHistory

Hungary

Read more from Alexandra about the Foundations in

Teaching in Higher Education on the CEU Weekly Blog:

ceuweekly.blogspot.hu! And also check out the CTL’s

website: ctl.ceu.edu.

THE CEU WEEKLY

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Syrian Voices at CEU

Syrian VoiceS at ceU

It was one late afternoon earlier this month, and Oktober Hall in

the School of Public Policy (SPP) was filled with guests, many of whom had to stand throughout the panel discussion titled The Refugee Crisis from a Syrian Perspective. Organized by the Center for Conflict, Negotiation and Recovery (CCNR), the discussion brought insights into the current refugee crisis via the lenses of two Syrian researchers, a Syrian student at SPP, and a Syrian asylum seeker.

Maan Abu Layla used to be an accountant and is an asylum seeker in Hungary. From 2013 to early 2015, Maan was stuck in Jordan’s black job market when World Food Program food coupons for refugees were reduced and medical treatment in camps was “taken away.” He finally chose to be smuggled into Hungary via Greece, Macedonia, and Serbia. This author first met Maan in Bicske reception center in early May, shortly after he arrived in Hungary. He was then still hopeful of going to France, where his brother was waiting for his application to be decided. Five months later, his brother’s status remains unclear, and Maan has seemed to give up hope of moving to France, saying

that he now only wishes to be able to study in Hungary before thinking of any longer term plan for his own life.Like Maan, millions of Syrian,

displaced by the civil war, have sought haven in Turkey, Jordan, and Lebanon. But the poor conditions in refugee camps and black job markets that treat Syrian refugees as a lucrative source of cheap labor mean that there is no end to the misfortune of this population if they continue to stay there. “You may have to work 16 hours per day

to earn 200 USD per month,” said AlHakam Shaar,  who was born and raised in Aleppo and now is a research fellow for CCNR’s Aleppo Project.Fleeing to Europe for a better life,

Maan and many other Syrian refugees share the same desire to go back to their homes in Syria when it is safe again. The Aleppo Project is one novel initiative focused on making Syria a livable place again for Syrians.Initiated  and supervised  by CCNR’s

director, Prof. Robert Templer, the Aleppo Project aims to support a successful reconstruction of Aleppo after the conflict ends. The project team has gathered data from Aleppo’s maps and Aleppians’ narratives collected by the Aleppo Survey, conducted by

an SPP Passion Project team (Tamilla Dauletbayeva, Attila Mester, and Yuxin Wang, all MPA’ 15). Now, the project continues with research fellows and students in the The Aleppo Project course, from both the SPP at CEU and the  Graduate School of Architecture, Planning and Preservation  at Columbia University.  Eventually, the project team will produce policy papers that will tackle some of the most important issues that have faced Aleppo and that are likely to be a challenge after the war ends.“Aleppians are very loyal citizens

and  have a long  tradition of catering for their city,” explained AlHakam. This has laid the ground for many initiatives inside and outside Syria, led by national and international universities and research institutions, to invest their resources in archiving and safeguarding Aleppo and Syria’s heritage. What makes The Aleppo Project different, according to AlHakam, is “its comprehensive scope and scholarly-practical nature.” The project will incorporate the memories of the past and visions for the future from Aleppo’s  people, both those still  in the city and those who have been displaced, from both Aleppo’s old and modern districts. In addition, the Aleppo Project also expects to offer a more holistic view at the causes of the conflict. “Leading powers have no strategy to solve the conflict, while the problem to Russia’s intervention is it doesn’t support any logical solution,” said Armenak Tokmajyan, another  research fellow for the Aleppo Project.

Syrians Share Their Perspectives on Current Events with The CEU Weekly

~ Giang VuSchool of Public Policy

Vietnam

CEU - Tuba Zoltan, Kepszerkesztoseg

Maan Abu Layla on the way to a safer place

ISSUE 62

resolution reminding Azerbaijan that the case of Ilgar Mammadov has to be resolved. Azerbaijan responded with an assault inside the prison, in which another prisoner attacked and beat Ilgar during a regular walk.Ilgar’s case has become a rallying cry

for the enforcement of international human rights law in Europe. The initial reaction of the EU was rather mild. However the crackdown on civil society in Azerbaijan is becoming more severe. Over a hundred activists, journalists, and opposition politicians now languish in the country’s prisons, and the issue is gaining attention in the European press, as well as NGO and policy circles.Azerbaijan’s parliamentary elections

this November may put additional pressure on the regime. The Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe has announced that it will not monitor the elections, effectively delegitimizing them. The COE Committee of Ministers has again voiced the issue of implementation of ECtHR decisions, this time directly requesting the release of Ilgar Mammadov. At the moment it looks like the regime is at least pretending to step back: Ilgar’s case was suddenly heard in the Supreme Court of Azerbaijan. The court did not set

him free, but sent his case back to the Court of Appeal for reconsideration.What will happen next remains to

be seen, but it’s clear that Ilgar needs support and publicity. Several months ago I spoke to his fellow activist Natig Jafarli, who said, “We hope for international pressure. There is nothing to expect from our state. Many of our friends are behind bars… When European authorities ignore the case of human rights in Azerbaijan, we feel that we were sold for oil and gas.”Even from Europe, there is much

we can do for Ilgar and other Azerbaijani activists. We can speak about Azerbaijan with journalists and politicians. We can make sure the pressure on the regime does not decrease. We can do it for the sake of dignity, for the sake of human rights, and with the hope of seeing our fellow alumnus delivering public lectures at CEU, instead of being beaten in prison.

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Op-Ed

ceU alUmnUS in the heart of Policy claSh Between the eU and azerBaijan

Many CEU students dream about bringing change back

home to their societies, or traveling to distant developing countries to take part in the struggle for human rights, dignity and democracy. Not many such dreams include going to prison.Ilgar Mammadov is one of us. After

graduating from CEU, he established the civic movement Republican Alternative in Azerbaijan, to engage youth in political life and challenge the regime there. With this movement gaining momentum, he later ran for president. He understood he could not win in an environment in which President Ilham Aliyev controlled the media and administrative resources, but it was the only opportunity to speak to his people about the values of democracy and the corrupt regime’s crimes. The government arrested Ilgar for allegedly inciting a violent protest in Ismalli, a small town in which he had not even been present.

“When European

authorities ignore the case

of human rights in Azerbaijan, we feel that we

were sold for oil and gas”

Defense lawyers quickly appealed to the European Court for Human Rights, who ruled that Ilgar’s prosecution was politically motivated and he must be released. In June 2015, the Committee of Ministers of the Council of Europe issued a

~ Nataliya NovakovaSchool of Public Policy

Ukraine

Helpsetthemfree.org

THE CEU WEEKLY

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Op-Ed

the eUroPean Union’S concernS on tUrkey’S memBerShiP

After twenty years of having a close relation with the

European Union (EU), Turkey is still struggling to join the Union. The two parties signed the Customs Union in 1995. In December 1999, the Helsinki European Council was concluded with the preparation of the EU for enlargement process. Since then, Turkey becomes an official candidate for the EU membership.The negotiation process has started

since 2005 after the screening process of the EU legislation. Based on thirty-five chapters, basis for negotiation, Turkey has to fulfill in order to seal the deal. Turkey is well prepared for the accession in only a few chapters while the rest remains questionable. In the year 2013, more than twenty chapters are not ready for the negotiation, according to European Commission. Further reforms by Turkey’s government should be taken to meet the requisitioned standards.Along with the above challenges, the

core interests of EU’s member states over certain sensitive issues serve as

the enormous stumbling block for Turkey to overcome, for any single member could block the decision. In terms of geography, roughly five per cent of Turkey’s territory is regarded part of the European continent with the rest of the territory falling within the Asian continent which remains controversial for some members, especially France. In cultural aspects, religion in particular, the vast majority of Turkish is Islam perceived as a threat to the identity of EU’s Christianity while the EU has put its utmost efforts in building a single identity at both grassroots and state levels. Taking geopolitical component into

deep consideration, Turkey is a buffer state between the two continents, Asia and Europe. The country shares border with war-affected countries including Iraq and Syria, where the strong military bases of Islamic State in Iraq and Syria – aka ISIS – are located. Importantly, the EU might be skeptical of how Turkey could manage to settle the protracted conflict with Kurd. The acceptance of Turkey’s

membership would involve the EU in the complex relations amongst Iraq, Syria, Turkey, Kurds, and ISIS. The horizontal move of the EU by the approval of Turkey membership will put EU in great danger as these issues will produce unexpected or unrealized spill over effects on the EU.The emerging possible challenge is

the uncontrollable mobilization of people into the EU. Recently, the EU has attempted to cease or reduce the heavy flow of refugees and migrants by intimately working with Turkish government through financial supports as compensation for Turkey’s efforts in handling the crisis. As time passed by, Turkey will become the huge stockpile of various national refuges and migrants, and the government would inevitably bear more heavy burdens on its shoulder. In other words, the future of Turkey’s membership is even more questionable since the EU lacks of collective decision and mechanisms on how to cope with such a crisis.The surrounding atmosphere of

Turkey is perilous while the domestic

IRES Student Ly Venghong Looks Into The Tough Road Ahead For Turkey’s EU Candidacy

ABCDEuropasituation remains dubious. The EU is still indecisive on the enlargement of incorporating Turkey as a member. For the time being, Turkey has limited ability and capacity to fulfill those written conditions; therefore, the substantial assistance of the EU must be timely in place in coping with these concerns.

~ Ly VenghongIRES

Kingdom of Cambodia

ISSUE 62 In Review: Coming Out and Sami-Cultural Week

INSIDE A WEEK AT CEU: OCTOBER 5TH-9TH IN REVIEW

~ Camilo Montoya-GuevaraCultural Heritage

Canada

Alexandra Wagner School of Public Policy

Canada

Your inbox, filled with CEU event emails, confirms that week

by week CEU life is busy, vibrant, and stimulating. October 5th to the 9th proved to be a particularly enlightening week, with the Cultural Heritage program’s “Sami Cultural Week” and HRSI “Coming Out Week”. Read our coverage below:Sami Cultural Week “aims to raise

awareness of endangered cultures and vanishing tangible and intangible heritage by presenting a threatened indigenous culture, the Sami, through various events” organized by students Mariam Ajapahyan, Gergő Paukovics, Michael Shamah, Sanijela Stulic, Nora Ujhelyi, and faculty members Dora Merai and Zsuzsanna Szalka.As part of the course “Introduction to

Heritage Management”, students were given minimal instructions on how to create and stage a cultural event, and through team cooperation landed on the idea of Sami Cultural Week. Initially divided into groups the

students proposed different event ideas, and eventually weaved together: “exhibition, performances (music or dance), and also a film screening. These were the three main ideas, combined into a cultural week” as Cultural Heritage student Gergő explained. A highlight was the guest-lecture

delivered by Sami scholar, Peter Sköld, from Umeå University in Sweden. The realization of this lecture reflects the students’ “structured ambition” as Merai explained since the idea to invite him came purely from

student initiative. Initiative being key to the dynamic of the course, as the instructors led the various steps to a finished project, but it was in the hands of the students to provide the content. With the week concluded, both

students and instructors reflected that working on a large team, was one of the biggest challenges, but also the most satisfying element that brought the project to fruition. Coming Out Week, presented by

HRSI and volunteers, celebrated LGBT issues and emphasized visibility. The week began with a sticker competition, and included events like Coming Out as an Ally, Open Mic, a film screening of “God Loves Uganda”, a round table with LGBTQI NGOs, and ended with ‘queering’ t-shirts on Friday night!HRSI staff, Zsofia Suba, Victoria

Apostol, and Simona Gamonte spoke

highly of event turnout, volunteers and performers. Celebrating, promoting and respecting the diversity of people and human rights, particularly LGBT rights, was an important part of the week and HRSI’s mission. Faisal Mohammed highlighted the

Open Mic event saying, “I think it gives a voice for the voiceless . . . it enables people to come out.” Mohammed, from the Cultural Heritage program, performed a traditional Ghanaian dance praising women called Bamaaya, which originated in northern Ghana. Kiel Ramos Suarez, a Gender Studies

student, performed at Open Mic. Speaking of her experience of being LGBT in the Philippines, and the history of the movement there, she underlined how the performance was a milestone, all part of the process of coming out. The necessity of the event was evident in her words: “People [are] coming from countries which may have high stigmatization [and] their voices might have been silenced in those countries, so when they come here, there’s a space for them to talk about it.”Inside a week at CEU shows that

while our inboxes may be full, you don’t want to miss out on these events!

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Dor

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Faisal and Kiel performing during Open Mic

Sami Week Opening Ceremony in the Octagon

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The CEU Weekly is a student-alumni initiative that seeks to provide CEU with a regularly issued newspa-per. The CEU Weekly is a vehicle of expression for the diversity of the perspectives and viewpoints that in-tegrate CEU’s open society: free and respectful public debate is our aim. We offer a place in which current events and student reflections can be voiced. Plurality, respect, and freedom of speech are our guiding principles.

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HALLOWEEN FESTIVAL ON VOROSMARTY SQUARE

DRACULA IN THE LABYRINTH

"NIGHTMARE IN BUDAPEST”

HALLOWEEN PARTY ON THE DANUBE

~ Maryna Nazarian Economics

Ukraine

Traditionally Hungarians celebrated ‘Halottak Napja’ - ‘the day of the dead” to honor the dead saints and their late family members. But in recent years the Western Halloween tradition is becoming

more and more popular. Check out where you can have fun on the night of Halloween this year:

Halloween in Budapest

*Any opinions expressed by contributors and/or interviewees herein are those solely of those persons and do not reflect the opinions of The CEU Weekly or CEU.

When: 18.30-21.00

A real dress-up festival with contests in several

categories, including best costume, best make-up,

and best pumpkin lantern.

Úri utca 9., or Lovas út 4/a in the Castle

When: 18.00 - 19 00

The Labyrinth of Buda Castle is situated in a

complex of caves and cellars underneath the Buda

Castle district. At 6 PM the light goes out, and

you can explore the labyrinth with lanterns. An

unforgettable adventure!

1033 Budapest, Bogdáni út 1-3.

Interactive horror theatre. Journey into

the realm of darkness in the style of

the American haunted house and magic

castle ride.

When: 22.00

Party on a Halloween themed ship. A welcome

drink, great music and dancing, and friendly

people guarantee a terrific time. Price: 14 EUR.

Book tickets here: http://budapestrivercruise.

com/halloween-boat-party-budapest

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