Medeni is the Executive Director of the liberal think-tank Freedom Research Association in Turkey. He has been deeply involved in promoting rule of law, democracy and human rights in Turkey, as a public policy expert and a civil society member, for more than 10 years. Medeni studied International Relations and his current research focus is the transformative impact of technology on the political authority.

Medeni, why did you join #TransatlanticLab?

I feel like there’s an extremely important contribution liberals can make but haven’t yet fully been able to, to the major themes of this program, both from a theoretical and a practical/policy point of view. It’s important to demonstrate that liberals are eager to take the initiative to address the most burning questions of our time. I personally believe stronger transatlantic relations are key to achieve common understandings and solutions on either of the themes. That’s why I join #TLAB.

What are you most excited about?

I’m excited to attend #TLAB from two respects: First, in a time in which the transatlantic relations can be termed, at best, as shaky, it is of tremendous importance to take such an initiative to bring together the policy professionals from two sides of the Atlantic, to address challenges that are far beyond the national boundaries. Secondly; organizers do a great job bringing on the table such hot and timely topics as Climate Change, Trade and Digitalization. I believe all of them are very important topics liberals should actively engage. I expect to create stronger bonds with peers, develop deeper insights and hopefully create long-lasting partnerships during the program.

Elvedina is a student of Information Technologies at the International Burch University in Sarajevo. Besides that, she is active in politics and society. Digitalization amazes her, and she believe in a full use of it. She looks forward to meeting everyone who is going to participate in this program, and she is especially interested in the Hackathon.

“I am glad that I got the chance to visit US for the first time! Digitalization is something I want to work on, and this programme gave me an amazing opportunity to see where it is now and what we can do to improve it even further in our communities. I’m looking forward to meet other participants and sharing experiences”, she says.