MISSION

A large part of humanity's past is located in the Mediterranean. The Aegean is the cradle of remarkable civilizations which have influenced the course of history. For centuries, at the crossroads of East and West, humanity found cultural models; ideas were exchanged, and new systems were shaped.

The civilizations and cultures varied but we women could always find common denominators. Our common denominator was the inequality between men and women, where women were placed at a disadvantage within the society, excluded from decision making, marginalized and subject to oppression and exploitation.

Our long struggles have endowed us with rich experiences. The women's movement is not a way of thought and action aimed solely at sexual discrimination. We learned to study the culture of others. We learned how to analyze and distinguish the differences between us, which allows for the opening of new roads of action. With great sensitivity, we can see invisible, probable, bridges of communication. For women, mutual understanding, peaceful coexistence and non-violence in resolving our differences, are imbedded deeply in our consciousness and are inviolable principles.

In the international women's movement we learned to collaborate and struggle for those things that unite us, and to turn our differences into an asset. Thus we intend to carry this capacity of women into the relations between Greece and Turkey.

Our intention is to sustain solidarity and peace in the region. This is our obligation to our children and to the future.

We are conscious and we appreciate the efforts made till now by different groups to flourish the friendship and the humanitarian feelings rooted among Greeks and Turks. Now we appeal to all women in both nations to join hands in this effort to know each other, to develop harmonious relations, to nourish peaceful ideas, to produce non-violent actions. Our aim is to create a network for the de-escalation of tensions and in times of crisis to influence our governments with our peaceful interventions.

This grassroots movement has started with the joint efforts of both Greek and Turkish women who believe in social equality, equal opportunities and peaceful co-existence.