MAR – Meeting of Communities Affected by Dams and Climate Crisis May 2025
The European meeting of people affected by the energy model and climate crisis began in Barcelona, Spain, bringing together 16 organizations from the continent. The meeting is part of the construction process of the IV International Meeting of Communities Affected by Dams and Climate Crisis. In this case I represent Ceni e.v (Kurdish womens diplomatic office) and TEV-EKO (a new network of kurdish ecological constelation)
AfectadosEnLucha #IVEncuentro #IVMeeting #MAR
Guest lecture at the study trip to Szczecin with focus on “Water”, May 8-9 2025 with other experts and NGOs
As part of the official town twinning program between Szczecin and Friedrichshain-Kreuzberg, our association – Friedrichshain-Kreuzberg Derîk e.V. – had the opportunity to present our ongoing ecological projects.
“The event opened with a series of lectures and discussions among local and international experts, focusing on environmental and scientific perspectives from both cities. The first day began with a meeting with experts at the Institute of Biology at the University of Szczecin. They shared their knowledge and experience with us:
Prof. Robert Czerniawski (co-organizer of the visit); Fabian Reitemeyer (representative of the Friedrichshain-Krezuzberg district for climate policy); Şermin Güven (Freie Universität Berlin, water management during the humanitarian crisis in Syria); Dr. Ewa Milczarek (Representative of the ZWiK Board of Directors for Rainwater Management); Michał Durka (Director of the State Water Management Authority Wody Polskie, Regional Administration for Water Management in Szczecin).” https://staedtepartner-stettin.org/
In my contribution as a specialist, I provided an overview of the broader ecological context, with particular emphasis on the increasingly persistent drought conditions affecting the region, as well as the environmental and political dynamics along the river systems.
Our engagement highlighted the significance of transnational ecological solidarity and underscored the urgent need for collaborative environmental strategies in times of accelerating climate crisis.
Jineolojî und Soziale Ökologie in der Praxis Link
“In diesem Workshop erkunden wir die Verbindungen zwischen Jineolojî und sozialer Ökologie und wie diese Perspektiven unser politisches Handeln prägen. In einer kleinen Gruppe werden wir unsere Erfahrungen und Aktionen mappen und sie in einen praktischen sozial-ökologischen Leitfaden übersetzen.
Durch interaktive Diskussionen reflektieren wir zentrale Fragen: Wie erkennen wir Natur, Ökologie und Gesellschaft als miteinander verbunden? Welche Rolle spielen wir bei der Förderung ökologischen Bewusstseins und Widerstands? Wie können wir eine ökologische Haltung gegenüber zerstörerischer und ungesunder Politik, besonders in Krisenzeiten, entwickeln?
Ein kreativer Teil des Workshops lädt die Teilnehmenden dazu ein, ein visionäres „ökologisches Frauendorf“ zu gestalten – einen Ort, an dem Frauen und Natur in Einklang stehen. Zum Abschluss schauen wir ein Video über JINWAR und diskutieren, wie ökologische Prinzipien in den Alltag integriert werden können.” Ceni e.V.
Salon für Ästhetische Experimente : Investigating the many levels of water 17 November 2024 panel with Julia Lazarus, Simone Hain and Şermin Güven
Concept: Julia Lazarus
Water is not easy to pin down. Constantly shifting between three aggregate states, water is always on the move, it is inside and outside us and can transcend all boundaries. All living beings depend on water, which makes it an extremely valuable commodity, especially when it becomes scarce. Yet it is still one of the few remaining natural resources that has not yet been fully capitalized. In many places, water is treated as a common good and it is a central task of local authorities to distribute water fairly and at an affordable price to everyone. However, this basic principle of municipal responsibility is increasingly being called into question by the various interest groups.
- https://www.udk-berlin.de/en/research/graduate-school/salon-fuer-aesthetische-experimente/salon-fuer-aesthetische-experimente-investigating-the-many-levels-of-water
- http://diffrakt.space/en/studien-zu-den-verschiedenen-wasserstaenden-salon-fuer-aesthetische-experimente/
BERLIN SCIENCE WEEK 2024_Ecopolitics traversing Waterbodies – Tales & Epistemologies Influencing Water Governance 2024: Panel presentaion with Ecopol Research Group – RIFS Potsdam. With Jenny García Ruales, Şermin Güven, Shyam Wuppuluri
Moderation: Elisabeth Weydt
Co-conception and realization of: Water Care – Wassersorge(n) 2024:
Public program accompanying the exhibition Wasserspiegel – Water Bodies
Gebaute Utopie / CONSTRUCTED UTOPIA 2023
JINWAR - ein feministischer Ort des ökologischen Widerstandes /Aufbruchs – eine Antwort auf die Krisen unserer Zeit.
https://spore-initiative.org/de/programm-in-berlin/besuchen-und-mitmachen/gebaute-utopie
Workshop: Climate Change and river ecosystem at the Tigris river. 2022
A workshop with Kids from Khanke/Kurdistan Autonomous Region Irak – KRI. Cooporation with the Initiative Our Bridge a non-political and non-religious humanitarian aid organisation fighting for the shelter, guardianship and school education of orphans, semi-orphans, refugees and children in the crisis regions of Northern Iraq. 12.December 2022. Khanke/ Kurdistan Autonomous Region Irak – KRI.
Seminar: Encountering waterscarcity and escalating risks at khabur river basin. 2022
Department of Spatial Planning. University of DUHOK. 29th November 2022. Kurdistan Autonomous Region Irak – KRI.
Moderation: International Dokumentation at Duhok International Filmfestival IFF. 01.-08.December 2022 Kurdistan Autonomous Region Irak – KRI.
Presentation: Women Building Resilience Against Environment Crises in North East Syria / JINWAR | Universität Wien Vienna Anthropology Days 2022 26. – 29. September 2022. WIEN
Panel: at Kurdish Filmfestival 2022 Berlin: Monitoring Euphrat and Tigris
(Karl-Lieb-Knecht Haus | Rosa-Luxemburg-Saal Berlin, 15th October 2022. BERLIN
Präsentätion: Performance Studies International, conference #27. Water, War, Drought: North and East Syria.
Şermin Güven, Nilufer Gros, Engin Sustam, Xezne Ibrahim, Hevi Musa, Celil Kaya. Online. 2022
EXHIBITION: Gebaute Utopien + JINWAR | Contructed Utopias + JINWAR Juni-August. 2022. Berlin
Presentation: Ten years of war in Syria. Ten years of ecological disasters – their cascades and water supply shortages. – A political crisis.“Images of Peace” Finnisage (29 Oktober 2021) Nachbarschaftshaus Urbanstr. e.V., Urbanstr. 21, 10961 Berlin. (Berlin Exhibition date: 01 October 2021 – 29 October 2021)
Presentation: Mobilising along Euphrates-Tigris: translocal civil society, environmental contestations, and the concept of ‘Mesopotamia’, at: EASA2020: New anthropological horizons in and beyond Europe. Lisboa (20-24 July 2020).
Presentation: Internationale(Städte-)Partnerschaftsarbeit im Kontext von Repression (Workshop), at: 19. entwicklungspolitisches Fachforum „Das Gegenteil von gut ist gut gemeint: Internationale Partnerschaftsarbeit – Vielfalt, Versäumnisse und Perspektiven“ Berlin (27 November 2019)
Presentation: Opposing the non-negotiation of water policy concerning the river Tigris/Turkey. Panel: The (non)negotiability of infrastructural development: examples from the Global South II at: German Anthropological Association (GAA) conference “The End of Negotiations?” Konstanz (30 September 2019).
Digital Projects
Map project (shaping waters): Below the line above the line.
Cooporation and advising the exibition project of Iacopo Gallico (©2022) at the Kurdish Film Festival Berlin September/October 2022
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DGzOoh1tyv8
Mind Map and analyse on escalating risks regarding the COVID-19 pandemic in Germany and Iran – based on a review of press releases and scientific research between April 2020 and February 2021. https://coronainc.a-kfs.de/covid-19-escalating-risks/
Digital waterscarcity map of euphrat and tigris river basin Turkey/Syria/Irak https://www.wasserturm.org/ [work in process]
Güven, Şermin; Stich, Daniel (2020) LehreWiki. Projekt von Prof. Dr. Martin Voss.: Ökologische Kommunikation und Soziologie des Risikos nach Luhmann. Ökologische Kommunikation: Kann die moderne Gesellschaft sich auf ökologische Gefährdungen einstellen? (1986) http://lehrewiki.martinvoss.de/index.php?title=Covid-19_Wiki#.C3.96kologische_Kommunikation_und_Soziologie_des_Risikos_nach_Luhmann