I was invited to speak at a panel held at NYU DC. The panel consisted of four main expert speakers on the refugee crisis. Starting off the panel with a brief speech, I was honored to have been invited to such an event.
One of the panel speakers whom I enjoyed a great conversation with was Brian Salant who is a research assistant in the International Program at the Migration Policy Institute. Mr. Salant contributed to the panel by including his research on how Syrian refugees can integrate into society and their contribution to the Turkish society.
Dr. Basel Termanini, Vice President of the Syrian American Medical Society, was there as well and shared his experience at the hospitals and schools in Syria. After the panel, the two of us had a discussion about the importance and power of photography. He even suggested me a book that I might be interested in, “Soup for Syria”.
I also had a chance to meet Dr. Selcuk Sirin, a J.K. Javits Professor at NYU Steinhardt in the Psychology department. During his presentation, much like my intentions, Dr. Sirin focused on the children. One of his most important point he got across was the displacement of children due to the war and the many psychological affects caused by it.
Overall, getting a chance to share my photography with everyone at the NYU DC panel and having my photography on display was a great honor and experience.
Photography by Sinem Oguz
Photography by Sinem Oguz