UNESCO to host international conference on Great migratory movements in history: the case Asia Minor

Organized in association with Kazakhstan, the event will bring together experts from different parts of the world, notably Jean-Paul Demoule, Professor of European Protohistory at the Université Panthéon Sorbonne (France) and Luiz Oosterbeek, Archeologist and Secretary-General of the International Council for Philosophy and Human Sciences (CIPSH).

It is part of a series of conferences on great migrations in different regions of the world, organized since 2008 by the Republic of Kazakhstan under the auspices of UNESCO as contributions to the International Decade for the Rapprochement of Cultures (2013-2022) of which UNESCO is lead Agency.

The experts will examine the population movements that led to the rise of early civilizations in Asia Minor: the area bordering on the Black Sea to the north, the Mediterranean to the south, the Aegean to the West and the Armenian Highlands to the east.

An analysis of historic mass migrations that took place in the area could help understand that dynamics surrounding the flight of millions of people from Africa and the Middle East on Monday.

A historic perspective can contribute to our understanding of the forces at work in the massive displacements of populations from one region to another and help address the dramatic human consequences of the today’s migrant crisis.

The conference will facilitate an interdisciplinary approach to gain insight into the interaction between migration, circulation and social transformation. In light of recent research, the invited experts will share views on the conditions of emergence and dissemination of the first signs and writings, the exchanges that have led to technological innovations and the construction of historic narratives.