Özyeğin University Hosted “Food, Migration & Social Cohesion Workshop”

Özyeğin University has hosted the “Food, Migration & Social Cohesion Workshop” as part of the “TUBITAK-1001 Project on Food, Homemaking, and Social Integration for Syrian Women in Istanbul, Gaziantep and Hatay.” Associate Professor Susan Rottmann from the Anthropology Program at Özyeğin University serves as the project's Principal Investigator.

After the opening speech of Assistant Professor Burcu Mutlu, Chair of the Anthropology Program, the project team shared the project findings and analyses on migrants’ perception of home and belonging, changing culinary practices after migration, and the ties between food and social cohesion.

In the first session of the workshop, expert academics shared their research and experiences by addressing the themes of belonging, home-building, collective memory, identity, and gender at the intersection of migration and culinary practices.

The program continued with the keynote speech by Prof. Zafer Yenal from Sabancı University, which focused on the historical and current sociological implications of migration-led food-agricultural practices and regional/local cuisines in the history of Türkiye.

The second roundtable session brought together local government and civil society representatives from Istanbul and Gaziantep, as well as migrant women active in the field. The participants discussed the role of food in social cohesion, best practices in the field, and future policy recommendations. The event ended with a screening of the documentary Heterotopia and a coffee presentation by OzU Brew Academy.

For more information about the TUBITAK project, please visit
https://foodandmigration.ozyegin.edu.tr/en/home-en/