welcome

Hello!

I am Meltem, an education and media professional currently serving as a lecturer at Maastricht School of European Studies. In addition, I serve as the pod producer and host of the Sesta podcast, which received recognition in the Women, Peace, and Security Highlights Report of United Nations Peacekeeping in 2022.

My academic journey includes a bachelor’s degree in European Studies from Zuyd Hogeschool, where I embarked on an enriching exchange semester at Sciences Po Lyon. I further pursued a pre-master’s at Maastricht University and obtained a master’s degree in Arts and Culture with a specialization in Politics and Society.

My professional career, which commenced in 2011, encompasses diverse roles at institutions such as the Fourth United Nations Conference on the Least Developed Countries (LDC-IV), Maastricht University, Interreg Euregio Meuse-Rhine (a European Territorial Cooperation Programme involving Germany, Belgium, and the Netherlands), Zuyd Hogeschool, ARTE, Wonder Media Network, and Home for Cooperation.

I maintain an active collaboration with the United Nations Peacekeeping, having participated in the Seeking Peace podcast project in 2022. “Seeking Peace” delves into women’s pivotal roles in fostering enduring peace, whether through grassroots activism, peace negotiations, journalism, politics, or as uniformed peacekeepers.

In subsequent years (2023 and 2024), I contributed to the Peace Begins with Her project, which aims to spotlight the crucial role of women in constructing and safeguarding global peace. Below you can watch my interview (in Dutch) at Maastricht Belicht, a local programme highlighting socio-political developments in Maastricht region, where I share my experiences at Peace Begins with Her project. For more information on Peace Begins with Her, please see the link.

If you have any collaboration ideas or simply wish to connect, please don’t hesitate to reach out. Even without specific concepts in mind, I believe in the power of collaboration to transform abstract ideas into tangible realities. As the saying goes, two heads are better than one!