Turgut Gambar

The Role of Social Media in Democracy Movements: The Case of Azerbaijan

Mr. Turgut Gambar is a founding board member of the NIDA Civic Movement, a Baku-based organization that seeks to promote democratization in Azerbaijan through nonviolence. He also helped to found the OL Youth Movement, a group that engages youth in democracy building, where he was part of the team that launched the Free Thought University Project, an online platform for lectures, debates, and discussion on politics, economy, and law. He has conducted research on religion and democracy, the situation of religious communities in Azerbaijan, and their attitude toward secularism.  As part of his work, he has advocated for youth engagement, the release of political prisoners, and freedom of assembly. During his fellowship, Mr. Gambar is analyzing the role of social media in advancing democratic struggles in authoritarian settings.