Grosman: “We have to think small like bees so that we can achieve great things”
The founding partner of the Oxford University Advisory Board Member, Co-founder and CEO of the Center for Democracy and Peace Building, Eva Grosman presented her presentation on “Building Capacity for Resilience and Political Transitions” on the second day of the 1st Political Psychology Symposium organized by a collaboration of Üsküdar University Political Psychology Research and Application Center and Oxford University.
The symposium, which brings together academicians from Üsküdar University and Oxford University, discussed the theme of “Psychology of Chaos, Complexity and Cooperation in Post-Truth World.”
On the second day of the symposium; Eva Grosman, Üsküdar University Dean of Humanities and Social Sciences Faculty Prof. Deniz Ülke Arıboğan and Üsküdar University Vice Dean of Humanities and Social Sciences Faculty Assoc. Prof. Tayfun Doğan gave lectures on various subjects.
The first speaker of the symposium’s second day was Oxford University Advisory Board Member Eva Grosman gave a lecture on “Building Capacity for Resilience and Political Transitions”.
Grosman: “The Holy Friday Agreement was a political and social innovation”
Grosman provided information about the Holy Friday Agreement and said that many issues were solved between Catholics and Protestants. Grosman said; “The Holy Friday Agreement was a political and social innovation. This brought reconciliation between many groups. The structural frameworks of the Holy Friday Agreement were presented, but the transition seemed to last a long time as this traumatic process cannot be managed as a normal change.”
Grosman: “The number of issues that need to be solved in Northern Ireland is increasing”
Grosman mentioned that discrimination in Northern Ireland is still too high and that Catholics and Protestants live separately. Grosman said; “Only 7% of children receive coeducation. Catholics go to Catholic school and Protestants go to Protestant school. Community relations go backwards due to poor perception and administrative problems. The number of issues that need to be solved in Northern Ireland is increasing.”
Grosman: “More people were killed during peace period in Northern Ireland rather than wartime”
Grosman noted that more people were killed during the peace period rather than wartime in Northern Ireland and that suicide rate is quite high. Grosman said; “Northern Ireland is a tragic irony. More people died during peacetime than in the wartime. The rate of suicide is too high. Our social norms are rapidly changing our approach to relationships and career.”
Grosman: “Turkey is a very important country”
Grosman also mentioned the three leadership types that Üsküdar University President Prof. Nevzat Tarhan remarked in his speech and she mentioned that she wanted to add more to this. Grosman said; “Üsküdar University President Prof. Nevzat Tarhan talked about emotional intelligence and physical intelligence in his speech. I want to add cultural intelligence to these types. This concept is understood to be in many cultures and multiple cultures. Istanbul is a city that embraces different cultures, combines East and West and brings different cultures together. That’s why Turkey is a very important country.”
Grosman: “We have to think small like bees so we can achieve great things”
Grosman said that standards should be raised in order to attract people to peace and emphasized the importance of thinking like bees in order to solve big problems. Grosman said; “A bee can produce honey at a teaspoonful rate during its lifetime. It can't even take advantage of the honey it makes. But it works for generations to come and therefore future generations make use of it. We need to change the actions of everyone, not by fighting, but by supporting their activities. So we need to think small like bees so we can do great things.”
Doğan, “The main motivating force in life for human is the effort to make the life meaningful”
Üsküdar University Vice Dean of Humanities and Social Sciences Faculty Assoc. Prof. Tayfun Doğan gave a lecture titled ‘Efforts to Make Life Meaningful and Pyschopolitical Reflections’. Doğan emphasized that the search for meaning is an integral part of human existence and said; “The main motivating force in life for human being is the effort to make his life meaningful.”
The effects of Political Psychology to Turkey are discussed
Üsküdar University Dean of Humanities and Social Sciences Faculty Prof. Deniz Ülke Arıboğan gave a lecture titled “The Nature of Pyschopolitical Analysis”. Prof. Arıboğan also delivered the closing speech of the symposium. Prof. Arıboğan stated that even though political psychology is new in its field, it had a profound effect in Turkey.
Arıboğan, “The year 2001 was a year when globalization accelerated”
Prof. Arıboğan showed video clips of September 11 terrorist attacks. Prof. Arıboğan emphasized that she watched these images live from home on September 11, 2001 and this was the first time that left a mark on a global scale. Prof. Arıboğan said; “2001 was a year in which globalization accelerated on the world given the increase in military spending after September 11.
After the symposium, the founding partner of the Oxford University Advisory Board Member, Co-founder and CEO of the Center for Democracy and Peace Building Eva Grosman received a plaque from Üsküdar University Dean of Humanities and Social Sciences Faculty Prof. Deniz Ülke Arıboğan.
The symposium, which was broadcasted live on the Üsküdar University TV, ended after souvenir photo was taken.
Üsküdar News Agency (ÜNA)